Jay-Z admits rap glamorises violence

Rapper Jay-Z admits rap music glamorises guns, violence and crime but insists it is necessary to make a point.

The hip-hop entrepreneur - real name Shawn Carter - came from a poverty-stricken background where drugs were rife.

And he feels it's important for rappers to exaggerate "life in the ghetto" - because it’s the only voice the underclass gets.

He says: "Of course, no one really lives like that every day: 50 Cent has Thanksgiving dinner with his family like everyone else, trust me.

"You have to look at the root of the problem. There's something real there. How are all these guns in these neighbourhoods?

"How are all these drugs in these neighbourhoods? It makes me sad that all this only becomes a problem when it reaches the suburbs."