Jay Z `excited` about fatherhood

The 41-year-old rapper, whose real name is Shawn Carter, hosted a charity carnival in New York over the weekend and revealed that he is looking forward to being a daddy.

'I'm excited,' he told E! News. 'I think that is pretty easy.'

Talking about his charity, The Shawn Carter Foundation – which gives kids from poorer homes college scholarships – he said he feels honoured to be able to help youngsters achieve their potential.

'Someone emailed me this morning and said, 'Some people climb the ladder and grab the ladder. And some people pull more people up the ladder and you are a person who pulls more people up the ladder.' I was very humbled by that,' he explained.

'If you want to be lazy, that's a different thing. But if you apply yourself and do everything that you have to do to get to a certain point and can't go further because of your financial situation, I think that is a shame.'