No one is more consistent in pissing off Black Twitter than Jay-Z whenever he opens his mouth to endorse capitalism and defend his billionaire status—things he frankly does way too often.
That was, once again, the case on Wednesday night when the Brooklyn rapper joined a Twitter Space hosted by journalist Rob Markman along with DJ Khaled to promote their recent song “God Did” from the producer’s new album of the same name. In a snippet being circulated on social media, Jay-Z addresses those who have criticized his business ventures and pro-capitalist approach to activism throughout his career.
“We not gone stop,” the musician said. “Hip-hop is young. We still growing. We not falling for that trick-nology the public puts out there now. Before it was the American Dream. ‘Pull yourself up by your bootstraps. You can make it in America’—all these lies that America told us our whole life. And then when we start getting it, they try to lock us out of it. They start inventing words like ‘capitalist’ and things like that. We’ve been called n-----s and monkeys and shit. I don’t care what words y’all come up with. Y’all gotta come with stronger words.”
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He added: “We went our alternative route, we made this music, we did our thing. You know, we hustled, we fucking killed ourselves to get to this space and now it’s like, ‘eat the rich.’ Man, we’re not stopping.”
The internet seemed both perplexed and humored by Jay-Z’s comments, particularly his belief that “capitalist” is some illegitimate or derogatory term invented to bring down the Black community. Additionally, folks pointed out the disparity between Jay’s conservative economic views and his admiration for radical, anti-capitalist Black leaders such as Malcolm X and Fred Hampton in his lyrics.
Despite most famous musicians partaking in capitalist ventures and flaunting their riches, Jay-Z has become an especially controversial figure over the past few years for his emphasis on money-making as a path to Black liberation. This ideology has long been embedded in his music but has come under more scrutiny as his fanbase evolves politically. For instance, the rapper was sharply criticized when he announced a partnership with the NFL amid the league’s countless racism scandals and even criticized Colin Kaepernick—whom he once supported in a song—for his method of protesting the league. He also infamously encouraged Black people to engage in gentrification in a song he performed in a tribute for slain rapper Nipsey Hussle.
Most recently, Jay-Z came under fire for a financial literacy program he launched with Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey called The Bitcoin Academy for residents of Brooklyn’s Marcy Houses, the public housing complex where he grew up. Amid growing backlash against the use of cryptocurrency—particularly, celebrities promoting the financially risky digital currency to their followers—the program was met with sharp criticism on social media. Residents of Marcy Houses also criticized the rapper for being out of touch with his former community in an article for The Guardian.
As evidenced by his most recent comments, it seems like Jay-Z has done a lot of listening but hardly any learning. It might be a fool’s errand expecting a billionaire to give up their money-hoarding ways, but the least he can do is pick up a dictionary.
