Jay-Z always has a trick up his sleeve and this 4:44 rollout my show much more than we expected.
On June 30th, Jay-Z released his 13th studio album titled 4:44 exclusively on his streaming platform Tidal. While the album has certainly made headlines (jabs at Kanye), there are a few thoughts from the song titled “The Story of O.J.” that have garnered discussion.
Upon the initial play, listeners will understand Jay’s rendition of the infamous line from O.J. Simpson where he stated that he is no longer black, but simply O.J. — meaning he has superseded race and is viewed in a different light than those who share the same complexion.
On Monday, July 3rd at 4:44pm, a video was released on Tidal titled “4:44 The Footnotes of The Story of O.J.” Hov and a few other prominent black men within the entertainment industry unpacked their feelings about similar rhetoric, as well as discussed their thoughts on the current plight of black Americans and it’s stagnation over the past few decades.
The video begins with CNN’s Van Jones describing his experience within Yale Law School and him being unaware of how peers and teacher’s behavior outside the classroom effected their future:
“I thought I was showing up in class, doing my work, turning things in on time raising my hands. There was a whole other social world going on where those professors were picking students and helping them to become supreme court clerks, and I was just some little black kid from a public school, I didn’t even know that was possible.”
Another clip shows Jay-Z discussing the duality of playing into that superior feeling:
“Like O.J. would get to a space where he’s like, ‘I’m not black, I’m O.J.’ Like Tiger Woods would get to a space and think, ‘I’m above the culture.’ And that same person when he’s playing golf and playing great, you’re protected. When you’re not, they’re gonna put pictures of you drunk driving and, like, embarrass you. That world will eat you up and spit you out.”
Chris Rock then chimes in with his legendary ability to interweave comedy and truth with a story about his mother and going to the local veterinarian to have her teeth removed.
“God forbid the white people found out that they were using the same utensils–on n***** that were being used on their dogs–that’s my mother!“
The remainder of the video is full of impactful sermons from Will Smith, Kenya Barris, Kendrick Lamar, Lil Rel Howery, Michael B. Jordan, Mahershala Ali, Mack Wilds, Trevor Noah, Michael Che and more discussing their unique but shared experiences.
Upon the video’s completion, a teaser of another video from the 4:44 album begins. If it follows the trend of this inaugural episode then it will be released this Friday at 4:44pm. Judging from the look of it the video may have relation to the actual song titled “4:44” from the album.
No matter what may be in store for Friday at 4:44pm it has the potential to be a headlining topic.
What do you think about episode 1 of Footnotes? Any prediction for episode 2? Let us know in the comments below!
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