Jay-Z’s Mother Gloria Carter Marries Longtime Partner

JAY-Z’s mother, Gloria Carter, had the wedding of a lifetime in New York City over the weekend. On Sunday night Gloria Carter married longtime partner Roxanne Wilshire in Tribeca, with the wedding’s subsequent reception not ending until around 1 AM. Guests of the star-studded event included Beyoncé, Tina Knowles-Lawson, Kelly Rowland, Tyler Perry, Robin Roberts and more.

JAY-Z, born Shawn Carter, opened up about his mother’s sexuality on 2017 track “Smile” from his thirteenth studio album 4:44. Portraying his mother in the music video was future Swarm star Dominique Fishback.

JAY-Z - Smile ft. Gloria Carteryoutu.be

"Mama had four kids, but she's a lesbian/Had to pretend so long that she's a thespian/Had to hide in the closet, so she medicate/Society shame and the pain was too much to take," he rapped on the song. "Cried tears of joy when you fell in love/Don't matter to me if it's a him or her/I just wanna see you smile through all the hate/Marie Antoinette, baby, let 'em eat cake."

JAY-Z Discusses His Mother's Coming Out Story | My Next Guest Needs No Introduction | Netflixwww.youtube.com

Hov spoke at length about his mother’s coming out on David Letterman’s Netflix series My Next Guest Needs No Introduction where he shared his happiness for his mother’s relationship with Wilshire. The rapper also detailed Gloria Carter’s feature on “Smile,” which features a poem that she wrote on a plane to Los Angeles where she was visiting her son.

In 2017, Gloria Carter spoke on the D’Usse Friday podcast about presenting the poem to her son, which she recited over the phone while he recorded for the song’s final cut.

"I was sitting there and I was telling him one day. I just finally started telling him who I was. Besides your mother, this is the person that I am, you know? This is the life that I lived," Gloria said. "So my son started actually, like, tearing because he was like, 'That had to be a horrible life, ma.' I was like, 'My life was never horrible. It was just different.' So that made him want to do a song about it."