Ricky Gervais and Jay-Z come from two staggeringly different worlds. However, thanks to the fame both have acquired thanks to their respective world-class talents, their paths have crossed on numerous occasions, and one hilarious encounter shows the real Shawn Carter.
The person responsible for the two of them becoming acquaintances is Chris Martin from Coldplay. The English frontman and the New Yorker business mogul have had a bromance for over 15-years, with Jay even describing the ‘Yellow’ singer as “a modern-day Shakespeare”.
They collaborated on numerous occasions, including famously at the Grammy’s in 2009 to play their joint track ‘Lost’. Additionally, Martin gave Jay a helping hand at his NYE concert at the Barclays Center in 2012 as they delivered a spine-tingling version of ‘Run This Town’ from Watch The Throne.
The Coldplay singer is also friends with Gervais and played a satirical hyperbolic version of himself in the comedian’s sitcom Extras. Since that union, they’ve remained close. He even joined forces with the comic’s alter-ego David Brent from The Office in 2015 on the cringe-inducing track ‘Electricity’.
In 2017, Gervais popped by DJ Whoo Kid’s ‘Shade 45’ programme on Sirius XM and gave some light on his unlikely relationship with Hov when the host asked him if he’s had any dealings with the world of hip-hop.
“I’ve met Jay-Z a few times,” the comedian revealed. “The first time I met with Jay-Z was backstage, I’m a friend with Chris Martin from Coldplay. I met Jay-Z at a thing, and we were talking, he’s really funny, really really funny bloke.
“And then, I met him again, and I think it was with Chris Martin again, and Jay-Z said to me, ‘Oh, I saw you in The Four Seasons in New York, I was going to come over, and say hi, but, I wasn’t sure if you’d remember me.’ I went, ‘Well, I’d still know who you were,” and he just started laughing,’ Gervais adds while bursting into a fit of laughter.
He continued: “And I go, ‘Oh look, Jay-Z, the most-famous rapper on the planet. Yeah, I remember you.’ He was so sweet. He meant that he wasn’t sure I’d remember we met, but it was so sweet that Jay-Z said, ‘I don’t know if you remember me’.”
This anecdote from Gervais shows a humble side to Jay that you wouldn’t expect from somebody of such high status, and it proves that even the almighty Hov is a human too.