I just feel like this is a weird stance, but maybe that's just me. I hate arguments of "blah blah COULD have done xyz instead." Well yeah, there's literally thousands of things that anyone COULD have done, but he didn't. He partnered with the NFL and positive changes HAVE happened. And I truly hope more positive things happen also. I agree that the way this is happening is FAR from ideal, but that comes with the territory of the NFL. I still think that doing something is better than doing nothing.
It was a more that seemed more cosmetic than progressive. The NFL wanted Jay-Z for their halftime show and he said no (So did Rihanna, Cardi, etc.) and said he was on the side of Kaep. Then when they threw a bunch of money at him to give a position of managing music for the halftime show and making clothes and booking concerts like Meghan Trainor, he jumped on without Kaep and said dumb shit like “We’re beyond kneeling,” as if he ever kneeled. Could something good come from it? Of course. Did he handle it all wrong? I say yes.
I think if you’ve seen the Kap saga play out the way it has, and opt to partner with the league without consulting him, you’re a tool. Any good you do the NFL is going to use as PR for why they’re actually progressive, forget about the whole Kaepernick thing, we’ll air a tribute to the flag before the Super Bowl to reset and get back to the pre-Kap status quo where we pretend we’re non-political but salute the troops every Sunday before every game. Fundraising is great but I think Jay actively harmed Kap’s cause at the same time.
Which is clearly what Jay thinks. People can disagree with that but I don’t think it makes Jay a, uh, tool.
I think I can agree with most all of this. I agree that the WAY this has all happened is far, far, far from ideal.
My final thought on it is Jay-Z is a billionaire. As he once said, the NFL needs him, not the other way around. He could set up his own social justice initiative and make it happen, but he’d rather be part of NFL’s PR wing.
I think we agree on most of the overarching thoughts of this situation, but you are much more on the pessimist side and I am more on the optimist side. I don't think this is a bad thing at all, we're obviously allowed to feel differently, but I think that's what it comes down in this conversation. I know that shitty things have, and continue to happen, but I see progress
Even if all that were true, which it might or might not be, I personally think it’s wrong to say this somehow now defines Jay Z as a person and his legacy.
It’s very easy to judge someone for wanting to work in “the system” to change it (and, yes, to make money from it) when you haven’t spent half your life as far away from it as Jay has. That being said I don’t actually know you, so maybe I’m assuming too much.
Also when Jay, in another context, tried to offer an alternative to “the system” with Tidal, which is so much more artist and art friendly than Spotify and Apple Music, people clowned him too, including on here
I’m not gonna post my activism resume, but I have met a lot of organizers and activists and volunteered for some organizations I’ve learned a lot from. My outlook on Kap and Jay Z is shaped by people who have been working a lot longer and harder than me towards police and criminal justice reform.
I actually think Tidal was admirable, I’ve heard it has the best royalty rate for artists. I’m not “canceling” Jay Z, I called the guy a tool.
That doesn’t really negate what I said. It’s still you forming or vocalizing the opinion in the end. Which is fine, don’t get me wrong, but I can also understand Jay’s point of view, I think.
I mean, he’s not former a child star, he was very much the opposite of a billionaire for half his life. Jay is also pretty well known for having pretty much same entourage on the road with him that he has had since before his career started.
To be diplomatic, on that cursed picture he's the least worst of three evils. He did stuff like Water For Life that was cool. Kanye and Jack are just awful.
Yea, what could go wrong? "James Klessens, the head of an organization called Forward Cody, hopes to expand manufacturing in the area. Mr. Klessens and Kanye have spoken about transforming Cody into an old-school company town with a Yeezy-powered economy, but said he didn’t know anything further than what Kanye had made public."
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