Celebrity fact: Jay-Z shot his brother when he was 12

He talked about it in an interview in the past weekend's edition of The Guardian:

He describes shooting his brother, who had stolen his ring, and tells how he felt after pulling the trigger: "I thought my life was over. I thought I'd go to jail for ever."

In fact his brother, addicted to crack at the time of the shooting, did not press charges and apologised to his little brother for his addiction when the future star visited him in hospital. "It was terrible. I was a boy, a child. I was terrified," he said.

The shooting is explored in the lyrics of You Must Love Me. "Saw the devil in your eyes, high off more than weed, confused, I just closed my young eyes and squeezed."

The Guardian