Jay-Z emphasizes his senior status

The rap star isn't ashamed to be older.
UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- In a chamber where matters of worldwide importance are usually debated by reserved diplomats, several hundred people are waiting to hear from one of the most alluring international figures of all.
Beats and rhymes pumping through the speakers, a group of policymakers, music industry executives, dignitaries and schoolchildren patiently wait for the arrival of Jay-Z, who is premiering his MTV documentary about his firsthand experiences researching the global water shortage crisis. Soon, the superstar rapper enters with an entourage of ...
Wait. Let's back up a second.
Jay-Z -- Hova, Jigga Man, the ultimate hustler from Brooklyn -- is at the United Nations, being hailed as a humanitarian. And songs like "Give it to Me" are playing in the background.
To put this into perspective: Chances are mighty slim that you'd ever hear 50 Cent's "G-G-G-G-UNIT!" chant here. And no matter how much Jim Jones is "BALLINNN!!!!" these days, he'd be more likely to appear on "Dancing With the Stars" than set foot inside the U.N.
Elder statesman
Such is life these days for rap's king, the recently unretired Jay-Z. Now a global superstar, Jay-Z seems more like an elder statesman -- at 36, he's the president of Def Jam Records, has sold tens of millions of records, is head of the Roc-A-Fella dynasty, part owner of the New Jersey Nets pro basketball team and a living rap legend.
Yet Tuesday's release of his comeback record, "Kingdom Come," may be the biggest challenge of his career.
Jay-Z is once again working with the trendiest hitmakers -- The Neptunes, Dr. Dre, Kanye West and Sean Garrett. But while "Show Me What You Got," the first single, is a definite party jam, Jay-Z calls the record "very mature."
"It was very important that I made a record reflective of where I am in my life. Too many people, when they get like 30 years old, they still try and make records for like, 15-year- olds, and that makes the genre so small and narrow," says Jay-Z, sitting on a private jet during a one-day, seven-city promotional trek across the nation (he did concerts at each stop).
"People who grew up listening to hip-hop, we still love hip-hop when we're 30 or 40," he says. "I just felt it was very important for me to make a grown up album and that's the tone of it, the whole album."
But hip-hop is dominated and driven by youth. Though veterans are still making hits -- Snoop Dogg is also in his 30s, as is Eminem -- most of the big songs come from young rappers, or older stars gearing their music toward youth, like producers Lil Jon and Jermaine Dupri.
Proud of getting older
But Jay-Z is no longer interested in making hits strictly for the kids or the clubs. In an industry where stars try and shave years off their ages, Jay-Z proudly talks about getting older on "30 Something," with lines like: "I know everything that you wanna do, I did all that by the age of 22," boasting "30's the new 20." And on "Lost Ones," he raps over a melancholy piano melody about past problems with girlfriend Beyonc & eacute; and his split with Roc-A-Fella founder Damon Dash.
"Lean Wit It, Rock Wit It" it is not.
"I've gotta show that we can make adult records, I've gotta show that we can make vulnerable records and emotional records and real stories and just different [stuff]. You've got to show the complexity of hip-hop or we're in trouble, I really believe that," Jay-Z says.
Garrett, the producer behind hits like Fergie's "London Bridge" and the Pussycat Dolls' "Buttons," says Jay was especially concerned with not trying to replicate what's being heard in the streets.
"He's a real thinker. He really was looking for very particular sounding records and really big tracks, and things that didn't sound like something already out there," he says.