Jay-Z tried to save Amy Winehouse the first time they met

Amy Winehouse and Jay-Z. Photos / AP, Getty Images

Jay-Z has opened up about his relationship with Amy Winehouse and how he tried desperately to save her.

Winehouse died in 2011 after a battle with drink and drugs, and Jay-Z has now said he was immediately concerned about her when they met for the first time in a New York pub.

"I looked at her, and I was like, 'Stay with us', he explained on Tidal's Rap Radar podcast.

"The first time we hung out, I told her, 'Stay with us.'"

"She was telling us, she was writing the songs to our face...'They're trying to make me go to rehab, I'm not going,' like, what? You have to go!''

Winehouse was found dead of alcohol intoxication at her London home on July 23, 2011. She was 27.

Jay-Z also spoke about the stigma around social illness and how it prevents people from getting the help they need.

"We're not dealing with that because it's not the cool thing to do. These things unfortunately have to happen on a large stage so everyone can see," he said.

Not only did Jay-Z work with Winehouse on a remix of her hit single Rehab, but he also worked with Linkin Park frontman Chester Bennington who took his own life in July.