JAY-Z Accused By Dr. Umar Of Betraying Black Race
JAY-Z has been referred to as out by Dr. Umar Johnson for what he feels is a betrayal of Hip Hop and the Black neighborhood as a complete — and all of it facilities on a current efficiency for Tom Brady.
In an outspoken interview with The Art of Dialogue, the activist and web persona slammed Hov for performing on the NFL legend’s induction into the New England Patriots’ Hall of Fame final month however not any of the occasions celebrating Hip Hop’s fiftieth anniversary.
After explaining that he’s a longtime follower of JAY-Z’s, Dr. Umar mentioned: “If it wasn’t for Hip Hop, music and culture, he might not be the megastar megabillionaire that he is. Therefore, I would have to agree that the criticism against JAY-Z is well-earned.
“You have no right — no right — honoring a white man, Tom Brady, who’s never done anything of significance for the Black community, and the NFL, who has destroyed Black men’s careers, Colin Kaepernick included, and continues to do so.
“You have no right celebrating Tom Brady’s NFL career and at the same time not perform at the 50th anniversary of Hip Hop […] I believe that JAY-Z owed it to Hip Hop to perform at the 50th anniversary.”
Dr. Umar acknowledged that Jay and his spouse Beyoncé “do a lot more than a lot of these other celebrities” relating to giving again, however continued to argue that the Roc Nation mogul was “wrong” for not hitting the stage final yr in celebration of Hip Hop’s semicentenary.
“If you’re gonna celebrate the white man, you should’ve came and celebrated the Black man,” he added. “And I just hope JAY-Z isn’t suffering from Black male narcissism. You know, we get successful and we start thinking we God and we’re better than other Blacks and we’re too good to be around other Blacks.
“So I hope Mr. Shawn Carter remembers his roots and the Marcy Projects in Brooklyn, and I hope he remembers everything he had to go through to get where he is […] A lot of people helped JAY-Z get where he got, and for him not to come and pay homage, that was wrong.”
The Pan-Africanist speaker then instructed that JAY-Z can “make it right” by placing on a free live performance for “all Hip Hop heads in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Hip Hop.”
Despite Dr. Umar’s criticism, the Brooklyn-bred billionaire wasn’t solely absent throughout final yr’s Hip Hop 50 celebrations.
He did put collectively a free multimedia exhbition on the Brooklyn Public Library referred to as The Book of HOV, which “explore[d] JAY-Z’s global impact as a musician, innovator, entrepreneur, and philanthropist,” based on its web site.
Thousands of artifacts from the rap legend’s embellished profession stuffed a number of flooring of the library, together with authentic recording masters, never-before-seen pictures, iconic outfits and prestigious awards.
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There was even a surprising recreation of Baseline Studios, the famed New York City recording spot the place Jigga crafted traditional albums like The Blueprint and The Black Album.
The 54-year-old confronted comparable racially-charged cricism in 2019 when he partnered with the NFL following the league’s alleged blackballing of Colin Kaepernick for taking a knee through the nationwide anthem in protest of racial injustice and police brutality.
The multi-year deal noticed JAY-Z and Roc Nation change into concerned in shaping a lot of the league’s leisure programming, together with the halftime present, as effectively its social justice efforts.
Hov defended the divisive partnership by arguing that Kaepernick’s protest was highly effective however that “we’ve moved past kneeling” and “it’s time to go into actionable items.”
“I believe real change is had through conversation, real conversation and real work,” he mentioned at a press convention on the time. “And what better way to do it than where the conversation first took place?”
