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Culture June 25, 2018
The break down of Jay-Z's "The Story of OJ"
Jay-z’s thirteenth studio album, “4:44” received a total of 8 Grammy nominations this year. The album is one of Jay-z’s most personal works to date. It includes a song dedicated to his mom, who lived as a closeted lesbian her whole life. In “Kill Jay-Z” the rapper also talks about the Solange elevator incident. He even wrote an apology to Beyoncé about his alleged affair in the title song “4:44”.
There are many songs worth noting in the 10-track album, but the “The Story of OJ” created the most buzz. The song, which talks about modern racism in America, was also nominated for two Grammys; best record of the year and best music video. Though both the video and song were impactful, Jay Z did not take home any Grammys, leaving fans frustrated at the lack of recognition from the Recording Academy for the impactful song and video.
The animated music video for “The Story of OJ” references racist black caricatures from history. It juxtaposes Disney’s vintage cartoon style with images of lynching, slaves, and the Ku Klux Klan.
In Jay-Z’s explanation of the song to iHeartRadio he says, “‘The Story of OJ’ is really a song about we as a culture, having a plan, how we’re gonna push this forward. We all make money, and then we all lose money, as artists especially. But how, when you have some type of success, to transform that into something bigger.”
The title of the song is also a nod to OJ Simpson’s alleged remark “I’m not black, I’m O.J.!”. The statement reflects the idea that O.J.’s “wealth and status somehow helped [him] to transcend the color of [his] skin.” However, in the song, Jay-Z raps about how, no matter what kind of job, status, or wealth a person has, if they were born into the black community, they will remain a part of it.
The song’s message drives home that no matter what your financial wealth or status may be, you still belong to the Black community. Ultimately, you have a duty to give back to this community. This isn’t an empty message from Jay-z. In response to the Black Lives Matter movement, Beyoncé and Jay-z wired tens of thousands of dollars of bail for protestors in Baltimore and Ferguson. Though they prefer to keep their donations private, the pair has many philanthropic programs in the works.
The message about staying true to your community is especially potent in the context of Kanye’s latest statement. Kanye made the bombshell remark “When you hear about slavery for 400 years—for 400 years? That sound like a choice! Like, you was there for 400 years, and it’s all of y’all?”
Not only is this statement wildly misguided, but it perhaps reflects an ignorance that is fostered by Kanye’s own status and wealth. One of the employees at the TMZ headquarters, Van Lathan, fired back saying, “While you are making music and being an artist and living the life that you’ve earned by being a genius, the rest of us in society have to deal with these threats to our lives.”
Lathan’s words reflect the same idea that Jay-z has in “The Story of OJ.” That it is easy to distance yourself from the struggles the black community faces once you’ve reached a high enough level of wealth.
The lyrics and imagery in “The Story of OJ” contrast the history of the black community with today. But it does emphasize that there is still a type of slavery that exists: financial slavery. According to the Center of Global Policy Solutions, White households have a median wealth 20 times that of African American households.
The statistics are depressing. It’s a reflection of the systemic and social barriers that has limited the African American community from upward economic mobility. Existing discrimination prevents them from getting hired so they settle for manual labor and service sector jobs that have lower pay, fewer chances of advancement and scarce benefits. As a result, the poverty rate for African Americans is 2.8 times higher than that of Whites. Low income is also a huge barrier against going to college. According to CGPS, the lack of college education contributes to 5 percent of the racial wealth gap. This vicious cycle is what perpetuates financial slavery. No amount of wealth can help erase the history of institutionalized racism. Poverty is no choice either, Kanye.
In Jay Z’s footnotes for the song’s video, Actor Mahershala Ali says “We don’t have the capacity to play offense. We can’t move cause we are constantly looking for the moment when you’re going to be disrupted. So you walk through the world very aware that the world views you a certain way. So you gotta play defense and you gotta play it real smooth.”
Ali’s statement proves to be very real even in today’s society. Recently, a video of a white woman calling the cops on a family BBQ went viral. The contents of the video soon reveal that the call was unprecedented and unnecessary.
A similar event happened at Yale University in which a white student called the cops on Lolade Siyonbola, a black student at the university who happened to be napping in the dorms. The student said Siyonbola looked “out of place”.
These incidents are a reflection of the larger problem of racism at hand. It also puts black people in danger considering the disproportionate amount of police brutality committed against black Americans.
Jay-Z is amongst many artists taking part in the national conversation on racism. While “The Story of OJ” talks about financial slavery, Childish Gambino’s newly released “This is America” video touches on mass incarceration. It is simultaneously a comment on gun violence, police brutality, racism, and many other complex issues.
Kendrick Lamar was also recently awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his album DAMN, in which he raps about dealing with racism and oppression.
The conversation on these important issues should continue to be discussed. Revisiting Jay-Z’s “The Story of OJ” reminds us of the problems America continues to face.
