"These things are like the forgotten pieces in hip-hop," Hov explained. "It's still about music. It's not about radio, making gimmicks — it's still about making music. Those things are piled in the corner. The three stripes that everybody is asking about is made from the original three. The first three they made on the wall was someone carving. If you look at 3, all they did was connect lines. The whole thing about this album, how I approached it, is that I wanted to make a new classic to start that all over again — to go back to making classic albums like the ones we grew up listening to."

Jay is up for two VMAs. "I feel fantastic," he said after hearing the news of the nominations.

VIDEO: Jay-Z Speaks On The Blueprint 3 Cover