JAY-Z on Colin Kaepernick: “We disagree on the tactic, but are marching for the same cause”
The rapper and business mogul opens up about the perceived tension between him and Kaep.
In 2019 JAY-Z experienced a tidal wave of backlash after Roc Nation announced its partnership with the NFL that will have the league committing to at least 10 years and $100 million towards social justice reform.
According to the official press release, through his company Roc Nation, Jay-Z will be co-producing the Super Bowl Halftime show and also contribute to Inspire Change, a foundation the NFL started in response to public outrage over their mishandling of Kaepernick’s peaceful #TakeTheKnee protest.
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Now the rapper and Roc Nation founder has finally addressed his critics in a recent interview with The New York Times, where he acknowledges the perceived deception of Kaepernick.
“No one is saying he hasn’t been done wrong, he was done wrong,” Hov conceded to The Times. “I would understand if it was three months ago. But it was three years ago, and someone needs to say, ‘What do we do now — because people are still dying?'”
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Hov then outlined the company’s deal with the league, noting how the partnership, in his mind, works towards both he and Kaepernick’s goals.
“We are two adult men who disagree on the tactic but are marching for the same cause,” he opined. Journalist Jemele Hill has previously said that although she trusts that Roc Nation and Jay-Z are well-intentioned, she doesn’t trust the NFL to address its own issues around diversity and systemic racism honestly.
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“I feel like Jay-Z is giving them way too much of his cultural capital that they have not earned,” Hill said. “There has always been this tension of, ‘Will progress be made from working from the inside?’ The things that Jay-Z is trying to accomplish; he doesn’t need the N.F.L. to do.”
In response to those concerns, Hov explained, “As long as real people are being hurt and marginalized and losing family members, then yes, I can take a couple rounds of negative press.”
