Watch Jay-Z Honor Chester Bennington With ‘Numb/Encore’ Performance
Jay-Z reflected on the tragic death of his former collaborator, Linkin Park singer Chester Bennington, and the need to address mental health issues in a BBC Radio 1 interview.
“Hopefully his death serves as a wake-up call,” Jay-Z said. “Mental health is a real thing. You never know what people are going through, and you think because they’re performers and he sold 14 million records – that doesn’t equate to happiness. Money or fame doesn’t mean anything if you’re not happy inside.”
“A lot of people we go on and we don’t deal with what’s happening to us,” the rapper continued. “Especially for a performer like that: You just start numbing yourself … You just go and get bigger audiences and move further away from yourself. It’s tragic.”
Jay-Z performed a pair of songs in honor of the 50th anniversary of BBC’s Live Lounge. A choir joined the rapper for “Family Feud,” replicating the gospel sample that buoys the track on Jay-Z’s new album 4:44. He also played “Numb/Encore” in dedication to Bennington.
Jay-Z has paid tribute to Bennington multiple times since his death. The rapper incorporated “Numb/Encore” into his set at V Festival last month. “Please make some noise so [Bennington] can hear you all the way in heaven tonight!” he told the crowd. He also performed the Collision Course song when he headlined his Made in America Festival the first week of September.