Blue Ivy Inspired Jay-Z To Learn This New Skill

Jay-Z became a family man when his daughter Blue Ivy was born in 2012. And as he told LeBron James on a new episode of HBO's "The Shop – Uninterrupted," his baby girl inspired him to take up a new hobby.

The rapper also shared a sweet anecdote about how Blue Ivy reacted to the news that her father would be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Per Pitchfork, it was announced in May that Jay-Z would be receiving the historic honor alongside Tina Turner, the Foo Fighters, and fellow rapper LL Cool J. But as Page Six reported, Blue Ivy wasn't impressed.

"I got the [Hall of Fame] announcement, I was taking Blue to school, I was like, 'This ain't no celebration,'" Jay-Z recalled, sharing how it was just another day in the life for a family of musical superstars. "She walked away, I was like, 'Yo, give me a kiss I'm in the Hall of Fame!' She's like 'Bye, dad.'"

Perhaps Blue Ivy wasn't impressed because she's already won some awards herself, making history at the 2021 Grammys. But as her famous dad told the Sunday Times, he and Beyoncé aren't pushing her into the music business, insisting that "feeling loved" is the most important thing to a child.

And Jay-Z showed his love in a memorable way when she was born — by learning to swim for the first time in his life.

Jay-Z couldn't stand the thought of being unable to save his daughter

Jay-Z revealed that Blue Ivy inspired him to make a big change during a recent episode of "The Shop: Uninterrupted," speaking to fellow dad LeBron James.

As E! News reported, the rapper responded to a question about fatherhood enthusiastically, calling the experience "amazing" and "a very grounding thing." He also admitted that he couldn't swim until his 40s, when the birth of Blue Ivy prompted him to take up a new skill.

"I didn't learn how to swim until Blue was born," Jay-Z confessed, describing how he felt the need to protect his daughter from every hypothetical danger. "There goes everything you need to know. This is a metaphor for our relationship. If she ever fell in the water and I couldn't get her, I couldn't even fathom that thought."

"I gotta learn how to swim," the "99 Problems" musician concluded, sharing how the decision was one of the first signs that he was learning how to be a father. "That's it," he added. "That was the beginning of our relationship."