After yesterday’s conference Jay-Z sits down with CNN to talk about the Occupy Wall Street movement; saying he’d be willing to pay more in taxes if it “went to the things that really mattered”. Also, after the jump Jay reveals to MTV that there’s a possibility we might get two solo albums and another collab effort from The Throne. Nice!
It depends on how this thing finishes up [the WTT tour]. We — I say ‘we’ because I’m in Throne mode — we’re in a great place creatively. You might see a Jay, then Kanye and a Throne album next year. You know, we’re really in a great place creatively. We really found our zone.
RELATED: Roc-A-Wear’s Occupy All Streets T-Shirt
If Jay-z really gave a shit he would use his music to educate the youth and raise social awareness about how materialism is raping our people of knowledge of Self.
^ Say’s the guy on his MacBook Pro
^yup!
he throws money and excess in your face in his music but then says he supports the underdogs?! he is part of the problem. sold out along time ago…
everyone with a mac is a millionaire hahaha
Jay-Z is part of the fucking problem. People like him and Kanye practically bleed materialism and have the nerve to act like they don’t fall outside the boundaries of the working class citizen. I bet Wall Street loves Jay-Z and if they didn’t then he wouldn’t sell millions of records by using business tactics and taking advantage of media access with his money. Fuck Jay-Z.
Comments should just not exist on this site.
Hip hop has been materialistic since the beginning. 25+ years later people are just now realizing it?
This is america people! Capitalism is our governing religion. Period. It always has been, and it ALWAYS will be. This is the way of our country LONG before rap existed. You people sound stupid as hell trying to convince yourself otherwise…
Millions came here because “The streets were paved with gold”. That was 100 years ago… Don’t fool yourselves.
It’s just music. When you see pictures of him on the streets, you never see him with 10 chains or shit like that. He might be showing us how materialism in his music but he’s not like that in real life.
jay-z is that dude… stop all the hating…smh
…
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Man Jigga is an example for EVERYONE out there trying to make something for themselves. Dude was slinging rocks til´ he was close to 30. He didn´t really blow up til Vol 2, when he was 28-29. Dude kept his grind on, dude was intelligent and built a label from scratch and made it one of the most important and recognized labels on the planet. He´s one of the richest men in hip-hop, he´s been president of Def Jam. He´s fucking married to fucking Beyonce. Jigga´s career screams of success, intelligence and hard work and for that he has earned some props. Jigga and Kanye aren´t part of the problem, they´re part of the solution. Those taht are part of the problem are those fucking CEO´s who fire thousands of people but keep their own jobs. The problem is the republicans who wants lower taxes for the rich and don´t want free health care (cuz you know, they´d rather have poor people die or take a loan to pay health bills), not fucking Jay-Z and Kanye.
Everybody wants to hate the millionaire but if that was you with 9 figures in your bank account you would be singing a different tune!
The real problem is that everybody wants to be a chief but nobody wants to be an indian… That’s not how the world works, instead of jealousy, animosity and wasting time “protesting”, why don’t you go out and earn? the opportunities are there, the problem is Americans are too lazy to sieze them.
making it easy for the rich and holding down the rest is not what America has always been about. and hip hop was (and hopefully is) certainly not about materialism and fuck everyone else. if you think that then youv been listening to to much 50 and jay z. if a multi billionaire could rap he would rap about exactly the same shit as jay z. just cuz you came form nothing and now have money and a hot bitch doesnt mean shit. when he does something besides tell you hes better than you let me know
Hey i call it how i see it… Look at all the old 80′s album covers… Materialism and excess at its finest. Layers of gold rope chains, Couture clothing, and expensive european cars. Its just the way of the world, the dollar rules over everything… Just ask the WU.
I am not condoning it, but it is what it is. The only way it could change is if the american dollar became worthless and with that we have a whole nother set of problems.
all of you whiny bitches are part of the problem. trying to blame anyone you can for every difficulty in your life. how about you stop expecting someone else to pick up the bill? how about when someone works hard and earns their money, you shut the fuck up and stop whining about how they are part of the problem? waah jay-z is rich waaaaaaa. fucking pussies.
As far as america and what it has been about… I seem to recall a LONG history of greed and excess… 12 million africans shipped here over a 250 year period soley for FREE LABOR. It seems greedy and excessive doesn’t it??
Americas past is darker than its present state. Be glad you have what you have, and have the opportunities you have. With technology evolving our freedoms and privacy will be (and already is) in jeopardy.
The wealthy will always be wealthy. Family money has been passed down for generations, but new money is there for the taking. You mad you didn’t put yourself in the position to get it? This problem is infinitely bigger than hip hop…
@aggzworth In my two years on this site I don’t think I’ve see a realer comment
aggzworth and unclesam have said the rick ross grunts of the post. the discussion should be over.
It’s just music. When you see pictures of him on the streets, you never see him with 10 chains or shit like that. He might be showing us how materialism in his music but he’s not like that in real life.
you are right. i am not a slave. and 80s rappers did flaunt money. i am by no means mad! i should have explained that 90s is when hiphop really mattered to me. i fuck with rappers that give a shit about something other than money. if you guys want to suck his dick cuz hes rich than good for you! but money does not mean everything to me and i support like minded people and jayz is as far from that as i can see in hiphop. i appreciate you telling me what the world is all about lol but im all set
and by the way you just said jayz’s message and Americas use of slavery are in the same vain.. think about this shit bro
It’s really hard for me to take anything he says serious about the OCCUPY Movement, when he is one of the most successful entertainers of all time. He makes the “OCCUPY ALL STREETS” shirts and keeps the proceeds and Russell backs his action. I mean, that one action really just fucked up everything for me. A rich person, making something to support the cause against greed and he keeps the proceeds and does not give a percentage to the people who it matter to the most? This shit here is backwards.
90′s took the excess and focus around money even further… the hell are you talking about?? In the 80s it was just part of the lifestyle… The 90′s is where that lifestyle became the FOCUS of the actual music.
Just for your info NC, i didn’t watch the video and what i said was about hip hop in general. I dont give a fuck about jayz and how much money anybody has… Not all music is reflective of that, and there is music out there that is the polar opposite. that’s fucking obvious as day, and that’s not what were talking about here.
The discussion is about MAINSTREAM MEDIA and its effect on our generation. the discussion is about america and its infatuation with MONEY. Its beyond the hip hop generation its instilled in everybody. this is a capitalist country, everything anybody does at the end of the day is for money. PERIOD. Everybody NEEDS it, simple as that. if you cant understand than i dont know what to tell you.
At the end of the day you ARE a slave. You are a slave to your employer, you are a slave tot his system, you are a slave t your government. thats why you will work the rest of your life til you either DIE or RETIRE. because this whole thing is all about money. This shit isn’t about music, it isn’t about Jay-z… Just shows how simple minded and ignorant you are… Take a seat kid.
Common, de la, dead pres, public ememy, tribe, gangstarr.. come on man. theres a long list of popular 90s conscious dudes. thats when that shit was born. do some youtube research
EVERYTHING anybody does at the end of the day is for money. PERIOD..
bro you need to take a step back and check out what other people are doing. you missing a shit load if thats what you think lifes all about
i am no ones slave bro
sorry if you are..
”If we’re all saying that rap is an art form then we gotta be more responsible for our lyrics. If you see everybody dying because of what you’re saying, it don’t matter that you didn’t make them die, it just matters that you didn’t save them”
Back then Hip Hop actually encouraged awareness and knowledge whereas now the masses are exposed to the likes of Jay, Kanye & Lil Wayne who signify individualism, materialism, and excessiveness. Now what do you think this does to the youth who idolize these public figures? They become misled to a robotic life where money is god.
A society of ruthless, money hungry individuals with desensitized morals. In a time of great despair when unification and knowledge of self is needed among the people these could be the reasons for civilization’s downfall.
Hip Hop, pure in it’s origins, was hijacked, corrupted, deteriorated, and overhauled just like many other cultures or movements. For the most part, Hip Hop is dead as it was known as. I blame Clinton for sealing the coffin in ’96 with the Telecommunications Act. In the words of Pharcyde…
“when you’re rappin’ for the money, it’s jigga boo time”
Good ol’ America. It’s nothing personal it’s just business is it.
@ aggzworth
fall back on the slave references. we are far from slaves. working till death or retirement is a choice for most ppl. slaves had no choice.
how are you not inherently a slave to a system that produces debt?
Hey thanks for rattling off a list of hip hop groups i have been listening to since you’ve been in diapers. Reaserch? I dont need to do that, i am a historian of hip hop culture, but i guess youtube is where you discovered your first meaningful song though, huh?
Obviously your reading comprehension level isnt very high because you have missed every single point of what i was saying… If you go back and slowwww dowwnnnn and READ what i said i had already stated counters to you flawed arguments before you even stated them.
Oh, and if you are “nobodys slave” i emplore you to quit your job and go through the rest of your life that way… Oh wait you cant do that??? then you a SLAVE… keep telling yourself different as the boiling french fry grease scolds your skin when retrieving the latest batch at mickey D’s for minimum wage.
Hey thanks for rattling off a list of hip hop groups i have been listening to since you’ve been in diapers. Reaserch? I dont need to do that, i am a historian of hip hop culture, but i guess youtube is where you discovered your first meaningful song though, huh?
Obviously your reading comprehension level isnt very high because you have missed every single point of what i was saying… If you go back and slowwww dowwnnnn and READ what i said i had already stated counters to your flawed arguments before you even stated them.
Oh, and if you are “nobodys slave” i emplore you to quit your job and go through the rest of your life that way… Oh wait you cant do that??? then you a SLAVE… keep telling yourself different as the boiling french fry grease scolds your skin when retrieving the latest batch at mickey D’s for minimum wage.
Interesting view points. Regardless of the role that materialism plays in hip hop, the initial point I was trying to make is that people are learning and teaching to define themselves by material possessions. This distracts you from paying attention to the things that are NOT temporary and basically means we’re all fucking ourselves. You can acquire and boast about what you have as much as you want during the game, but in the end, just like in Monopoly, it all goes back in the box.
@The_Realest
I fully understand that, i didn’t mean it literally, but figuratively… And if you really think about it, in reality we have no choice BUT to work ourselves to death… Either that or live the live of a homeless bum, which isn’t much of a choice at all, is it?
Enlite you are 100% correct, but what i was saying is that its not just hip hop, its popular culture, and our society in general… I’m out though i have said all i have to say.
@ cali grown
the point their trying to make is that, thats always been there. it didnt just start with hiphop.
and the social awareness artists are still there, its the consumers who buy the wayne albums and go to the shows. its supply and demand.
and its funny how all ppl do is connect jay and kanye to materialistic kinds, and just overlook all the social conciousness songs, and then say its THEIR fault. smh. people man, people.
Oh no it DID NOT start with Hip Hop, I’m aware of that. Just like at Big Pharma or the education system. And of course the socially aware artists are still around: Reks, Malcolm & Martin, Self Scientific.
socially conscious songs? by Jay and Kanye?
I know this mindset may have “always been there” — but I believe a general idea associated with the Occupy movement is that this way of thinking — in it for self — is one of the primary causes for 99% of the worlds problems. All the current revolutions will hopefully create a new world where this mindset fades away in the future. Call me a dreamer, but the point is: Jay-z can make hits and shirts, but he’s not making people wake up.
The whole point is Jayz is saying he’s WILLING TO PAY MORE IF HIS MONEY IS ACTUALLY GONNA BE USED TO EDUCATE AND HELP PEOPLE. You people are still mad and have a problem with that? He’s saying that the way tax dollars are spent in this country should be clearly defined. Meaning accounted for cause he pays millions of taxes and then the government doesnt use it to help people and he’s saying thats not right. fools, he saying that he supports the voice of the people and that hes involved in several fights involving education, health care, poverty and he’s telling young people to use social media to keep their voices heard cause he is telling them that they matter. And some of you think he’s the problem? WOW smh
My only problem is.. Why is it Jay-Z’s job to tell help everyone??? He displays what hard work earns you, and tells of the importance of getting an education. His art is his art, and should be able to make whichever music he chooses. It is an individual’s job to improve their own circumstances. Also the government needs to play a larger factor in looking over its people.. But saying that Jay-Z, a rapper, is the root of a GLOBAL economic crisis is pure ignorance. He’s not saying it’s all about money, but he’s proud of where he’s come, and rightfully should be. The only people to blame for the circumstances the everyday average man has are the people of America for living out of their means, the banks, Wall Street and the government for not stopping it when they had a chance.
@marty mcfly
Ironically, his lyrical content discredits any sincerity behind those words and actions. It seems like a veil considering his rhymes.
John D. Rockefeller made plenty of donations to schools and churches just to buffer his image and win support. In fact, most schools he donated to especially in poor southern black communities were used to condition the population.
@xyz123
He’s not the root of global econimic crisis but he sure as hell doesn’t help our predicament with what he portrays. If there’s a finger to be pointed it’s at the gov for ENGINEERING THIS RECESSION and collapsing the housing market. I feel there’s nothing wrong with success as long as a money is god philosophy isn’t portrayed.
@Cali Grown be specific, what song or songs discredit the sincerity of his words and actions? Just be specific and ill give you my opinion and will just leave it at that so its not a whole debate but dont make statements you cant back up.
Any and every track he promotes this “out for me and only me” mentality with no regard whatsoever for the common good. What he teaches through his music is to selfishly get your money no matter who you might step on. That is a dangerous mindset for society to carry out. That is why he’s a problem and that is why he holds no credibility with me.
Any and every track he promotes this “out for me and only me” mentality with no regard whatsoever for the common good. What he teaches through his music is to selfishly get your money no matter who you might step on. That is a dangerous mindset for society to carry out. That is why he’s a problem and that is why he holds no credibility with me.
From Reasonable Doubt to Watch the Throne it’s evident.
alright then well all im saying is every hip hop artist that has ever rapped has made up rhymes about having or chasing material things. Since Rappers Delight its been partly about being the most flyest and having the most shit. At the end of the day, rappers have extended family who are still in the struggle so most of them understand poverty. Especially someone like Jayz who was not born rich, if Nas has songs about Ice, Cars and clothes does that mean he’s all about material things? NO cause really everybody likes to have some material things. Done
@marty mcfly
Yes, materialism has been present in Hip Hop since it’s conception but never to the degree it is now along with the total lack of social awareness. Hip Hop gave poverty stricken youth the chance to live comfortably so of course there would be some boasting but that doesn’t justify the buffoonery and excessive indulgence that plagues the culture today. A man can enjoy his success of course but when in the limelight there’s a responsibility to take into consideration. Yes Nas has rapped about ice, cars and clothes (as you say we all enjoy these things) but he delivers a message different from that of Jay Z. A message of awarenesse and knowledge of self which Jay lacks.
So in conclusion, Jay represents how to be a $ making robot and Nas represents how to better yourself as a human. Jay might as well be in congress with those individualistic, capitalistic words bamboozling the masses.
Not all money is good money.
@Cali Grown, I get it man your blaming Jayz for whatever you think he did but you still not being specific. What songs are you talking about where Jay is just preaching buffoonery? What songs is Jay not talking about having some level of knowledge or awareness? Like I get it but I dont know what songs your talking about where Jay is just acting like Gucci Mane. Especially when I just named off 80 songs from Jayz earlier today that dont glorify money to the extent your suggesting. If all you take away from Jayz music is money cash hoes then whos really the robot?
You just named one of many: Money, Cash, Hoes. So what can I take from a Jay Z song besides get your $ by any means necessary.
For sure Jay isn’t as bad as Gucci though. Gucci makes Jay’s lyrics look like Kweli’s.
Ok so name me some of the many songs where Jay is just glorifying money like the way your describing it. How many songs is he doing that and what songs or lyrics are you talking about.
Where’s Pac when you need him? He’d probably be occupying foreclosures all over the damn hood with a pack of Thugs no one would fuck with putting good families in houses. Rap needs some damn passion back, Jay-Z and Ye just make statements.
practically all of Watch the Throne is full of materialistic, self absorbed lyrics. There’s a reason why Chuck D called them out for their lyrical substance on that album.
Ok yeah WTT was all about money and Jayz only talks about money and nothing else. OK sure.
let’s not get started on the biting.
Biting now too so let me guess your gonna take every line he ever said from somebody else and try to convince everybody that Big or whoever is writing his music for him right? Yeah OK even though we all know that its what rappers do to show respect to other artists when they quote their lines. Are we gonna have the same argument people always have when they looking for a reason to be mad, along with him having too much money so he shouldnt rap about it? Here we go with this same ol bullshit
Jay Z is a dumbass. He tries to make it sound like the government has some sort of alterior motive with their expenditures. “If I knew where tax money goes then I would be willing to pay more…”
The Government Accountability Office makes all the financial statements of the US government available to the public. This means that not only can you see where our revenues (taxes) are going, but you can also see what is creating the monstrous deficit we have today.
Stick to rap, you’re just making yourself sound stupid.
aggzworth< some people actually enjoy their jobs and work in industries they love..they are not slaves, also some people work for themselves ( i guess thats wat u mean by not being a slave?)
martymcfly< i know wat girls like, big pimpin, money cash hoez,money aint a thang jay has sooo many great songs but cmon he obviously has his greazy songs lol u kno it !
Dumbass < AND you go and ask the public how many of them know where to even find that which u just stated? or make sense of it? CMON SON! u kno the majority of the public have no idea where there money is going…that said…how much of the u.s budget is going towards road works in new york in 2011? and primary education in north carolina? since u have the answers?….dont worry ill wait!
u aint realised they make it HARD to be accountable? on purpose!
A lot of you guys over look the message in Jay’s music. The guy does talk about material things but a lot of the time he tells you that he worked to get shit and you should too. “So Ambitious” “Murder to Excellence” all motivational. A line that always stuck out “I rather die enormous then live dormant that how we on it.” Doesn’t mean its all about money but making something out of yourself rather then being a product of environment and doing whats expected.
if you still think jayz only raps abpout materialism, you’ve spent too much time on your side of the fence. WAKE UP!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8KZzPGDsi0
listen to the whole jay-z verse. Hes talking against extensive extravigence.
one of many tracks like this from him. I will say watch the thrown is meh lyrically from him, BUT they ask social questions on it that aren’t black centric
@Cali Grown
I think I’ve said this before, but I respect your opinion to the utmost.
whats up wit people writin essays here, i didnt see no prompt at the top of the page
all i can say is im glad I live in Canada and if i break my leg or have a heart attack everyone’s paying there fair share of taxes and because of that I know im getting the health care i need
@ marty mcfly I dont get how you can’t agree that most of jay-z’s songs are about money guns and hoes, Big Pimpin, Girls Girls Girls, Can I Getta, most of his radio hits the stuff he’s known for he’s promoting get money by any means necessary
Jay-Z is part of the problem b/c he’s one of those morons that choose to vote for Obama strictly b/c of his RACE.
Vote for Ron Paul 2012!
@RonPaul bro are you stupid the Republicans are the reason our economies in this mess, they don’t want to tax the rich any more this mess is not Obama’s fault at all we wouldn’t have a huge ass deficit if it weren’t for George W.