In conjunction with the release of his 11th solo album, The Blueprint 3, Jay-Z is gracing the cover of XXL magazine for the publications October issue. Speaking with XXLs Special Projects Editor Bonsu Thompson, the self-proclaimed, God MC delves deep into many hot topics currently buzzing around him, including his mega success, BP3, jabs at his new singles D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune) and Run this Town, his tenure as the president of Def Jam and life as hip-hops ultra businessman. Check out a few excerpts below.

CRITICISM OF D.O.A.
Im not hating on young people. Like, when people say that, Im like, What are you talking about? Its just stupid. Im not hating on young people Im not Bill Russell, [saying] Michael Jordan aint %&%*. Im saying Lil Wayne and Kanye are like LeBron and Kobe. My job as someone at the forefront of the game is to leave it in a better position than when I came in. Same way that Russell [Simmons] left it to me. Cause this thing saved my life. Literally. So I have a responsibility to it karmically. And after that its on you. I did my part. I made D.O.A. I said it. I made the statement. I made the push. Here, yall take it from here.

HIS LEGACY AS FORMER DEF JAM RECORDS PRESIDENT
So if you ask me to grade my performance as the president, Id say A-plus. No one can bat a 100. Its impossible. I mean, everyone is looking at my %&%*. But if we really looked under the hood [of] every single [record exec] and the acts they put out in that time, Id be comparable to anyone.

HIS STANDING IN THE GAME
But when I say Im the best, I dont say that outta my ass. I say that with all my stats behind me. I put that against anybody. I mean anybody. I really believe that I believe in a lot of things. I believe that SportsCenter is the best thing on TV. I shouldnt have to prove it. But I do have these stats to prove it. Im talking about real run. Im not talking about years off. Im talking about straightboom, boom, boomback to back. Were not talking about heritage acts either. Were not talking about respect what Ive done. Im talking No. 1 [albums] 10 times. The Beatles is the only one [to have more No. 1 albums]. They got 19, and if I get a surge of creativity, I could make nine albums next year.

XXLs October issue includes stories on The Making of The Blueprint, the current state of lyricism in hip-hop, Raekwons Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II and much more. The mag hits newsstands September 15