Jay-Z Responds to Harry Belafonte: “My Presence is Charity” – Let Me Explain Why He’s WrongBy Dr. Boyce Watkins
July 25, 2013Jay-Z is one of the most respected hip-hop artists in the world. His lyrical brilliance is second-to-none, and he does things on the mic that most of us could never dream of. Let’s just get that out of the way right now.
But one interesting thing about money, power and fame is that it can make you very defensive and sometimes even a little arrogant. This week, Jay-Z spoke to Rap Radar about the recent challenge by activist and entertainer Harry Belafonte, where Harry said that Jay-Z and his lovely wife Beyonce could do more for black people than get us to shake our b*utts and buy their records.
Harry’s words didn’t fall on deaf ears, and Jay came back with a
diss record during which he called Harry a “boy” and basically told him that his time of relevance is over.
I personally felt that Jay’s words were both inappropriate and disrespectful, and it seemed that quite a few others felt the same way.
In response to the Belafonte critique and subsequent backlash, here’s what Jay-Z had to say:
“I’m offended by that because first of all, this is going to sound arrogant, but my presence is charity. Just who I am, just like Obama is. Obama provides hope. Whether he does anything, that hope that he provides for a nation and outside of America is enough. Just being who he is. You’re the first black president. If he speaks on any issue or anything, he should be left alone. Of course we want to challenge [Obama] to do better, but I felt like Belafonte just went about it wrong. The way he did it, within the media, and then he bigged up Bruce Springsteen. It was like, ‘Whoa, you just sent the wrong message all around. You just bigged up the white guy against me in the white media.’ I’m not saying that in a racial way. I’m saying what it was just the wrong way to go about it. My presence is charity! Just this guy who came from Marcy projects apartment 530C, to these places of me playing in Yankee stadium tonight.” –Full Article : yourblackworld.net
Author
