Sorry haters but Jay-Z is at the top of his game, and is currently the most respected Hip Hop artist in the industry. Not only is he the most respected, he is also the most successful rapper. It was recently reported by Forbes that Jay-Z and wifey Beyonce were Hollywood’s Top-Earning couple with combined earnings of $122 million. They beat out the  the Jolie-Pitt and the Smiths for that top spot.

Hov is also appearing in the February issue of Interview Magazine. He touches on everything from the future of Hip Hop to his growth as a rap icon.

On the VMA debacle: “I just think the timing of what [Kanye] did was wrong, and that, of course, overshadowed everything. He believed that ‘Single Ladies’ [by Jay-Z’s wife, Beyoncé] was a better video. I believed that. I think a lot of people believed that. You can’t give someone Video of the Year if they don’t win Best Female Video. I thought Best Female Video was something you won on the way to Video of the Year. But, hey, I guess it wasn’t—and that’s a whole other conversation about awards shows and artists.”

View more photos after the jump…

On his relationship with Kanye West: “Well, he’s really more of a peer now. You know, before, he was more a new guy trying to get on—a fan of the music that I’ve made and my lifestyle—so things were a little different. But he’s an extraordinary person. He has these ideas and these things that he wants to do and places he wants to go, and he’s really passionate about them. He’s very sincere.”

You can read the entire interview over at Interview Magazine