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It's why the video for "The Story of O.J." is peppered with images of lynching and redlining of black Americans throughout history.īlack wealth often comes with a caveat: it belongs to rappers who have sold drugs to get their start or athletes who perform at the pleasure of white businessmen to provide for their families. Not an unearned inheritance, mind you, but an actual magic bullet that could cure most of our community's ailments. Whereas most wealthy people want their names plastered on buildings so their name is spoken in reverence and never forgotten when they're gone, Jay-Z more than anything wants to provide for his children. Existing as billionaire, an entrepreneur, without acknowledging that he's accomplished it as a black man would be futile. He called himself a black Republican for a reason. Jay-Z doesn't want success so he can deny where he came from. and white people to pictures with black people.
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For O.J., success meant he got to leave his blackness behind-during his murder trial, his lawyers famously redecorated his home to replace pictures of O.J. Simpson's infamous "I'm not black, I'm O.J." quote, it's met with a condescending ".okay," as a means to remind you that Jay-Z won't forget where he came from. It comes from a place of joy-his ability to leave that wealth to his children, to start his family on a history of generational wealth. But now he speaks methodically, sharing a lesson of how he's amassed his wealth: "I bought some artwork for 1 million / 2 years later, that shit worth 2 million / Few years later, that shit worth 8 million." But he doesn't share this condescendingly like he's Cliff Huxtable. In his youth, Jay-Z rapped about owning Basquiats just to brag about them.
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On that track, Nas posed the question: "Could it be the forces of darkness against hood angels of good that forms street politics?" 4:44 answers with a resounding yes-a testament to the almighty dollar.Įxisting as billionaire, an entrepreneur, without acknowledging that he's accomplished it as a black man would be futile. The rapper who once rapped back and forth with Nas about being a "Black Republican" is, according to Forbes, third in line to becoming our country's first hip-hop billionaire (behind Diddy and Dr. After listening to Jay-Z's 4:44, you can be sure the latter incenses him, because as much as his latest album is a response to his wife Beyoncé's Lemonade (where he addresses his infidelity and role in Met Gala fight with Solange) it is also an ode to capitalism. Even Barack Obama was chastised for collecting large sums of money for speaking fees. Benevolent billionaires were vilified for connections to Wall Street during the election. The reality show that introduced millions of Americans to Donald Trump had the O'Jays "For the Love of Money" as a theme song, which was playful and tongue in cheek in 2004 but now feels like a twisted omen. Sonically, 4:44 is a conservative affair, his longtime collaborator No ID opting for recognisable samples (Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, Sister Nancy’s much-used Bam Bam) in what seems like a concerted effort not to get in the way of Jay-Z’s confessional.“Billionaire” has become a profane word. It seems that Jay-Z’s fight with his own ego will not be a one-round knockout.Īs much as there is appetite for lyrics about the state of affairs in Chez Knowles-Carter, there’s music to be considered as well. Deciding that honesty is the best policy, he also throws in thinly veiled digs at Future and Kanye West. “You almost went Eric Benet / Let the baddest girl in the world get away,” he rhymes, referring to the soul singer who divorced Halle Berry in 2005. He tells himself to cry more, to show a softer side, to do it for his daughter Blue. Part mea culpa, part slaying of his id, it’s a bracingly honest dissection of his own failings as a man. To be fair to Jay-Z, he deals with the speculation head-on with 4:44’s opening track, Kill Jay Z. A private life laid bare … Beyoncé and Jay-Z.