There’s been a lot of discussion going on in the household about Hova.  Besides the hypnotic “Empire State of Mind” that leaks from every car that drives by, I’ve been floored by the amount of access Jay has not only received for himself, but that he has received as a representative of hip-hop.  Needless to say, with his performance at Obama’s Inauguration, dropping Blueprint 3, and appearing on a number of high-profile interviews including his recent appearances on Real Time with Bill Maher and Oprah, Jay’s had a pretty good year.  Even still, when he walks up to the chair in every interview you can see the wonder in his eyes.  Amidst all of this, it seems he gets more and more level-headed about it all.

In this clip at the end of his interview, the two take some time to discuss their opposing views of the “n-word” in hip-hop.  I still recall that, only a couple of years ago, Dahlak’s Def Poetry performance of A Peculiar Evolution caused a ruckus on the YouTube boards, with people both praising and condemning the poem — but all in agreement that he was speaking on a taboo subject.  Times have certainly changed, with the past year’s elections blowing the lid off the race discussion.  The fact that this discussion is now being carried candidly between two of the largest icons in music and television, in front of a room full of soccer moms, is quite amazing.

Hit the jump for the rest of the interview.