Earlier this month, we presented a list of the five most controversial moments of Jay-Z’s career. This included his infamous feud with Nas, his 1999 stabbing of Lance “Un” Rivera, his elevator fiasco with Solange, and more. But, we figured that since we brought to light some of Hov’s lowest moments, it’s only fair that we prop up a few instances where he stood up for what is right.
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Below, we’ve presented five times where Jay-Z used his platform as a mogul, entertainer, and artist to advocate for social justice. Whether it be through his Roc Nation company or with his own words, these moments demonstrated the Brooklyn rapper’s genuine concern for his community. Check them out below.
NFL
In 2018, Jay-Z and Roc Nation agreed to a partnership with the NFL, which gave them creative freedom to help decide who the performer would be at each annual Super Bowl Halftime Show. Along with this, the deal led to Roc Nation establishing the Inspire Change campaign, which sought to “drive further progress in police-community relations, criminal justice reform, education, and economic advancement,” per the NFL’s website.
Earlier this year, the NFL released its official 2023 Impact Report, offering statistics to prove how the Inspire Change campaign has served communities all across the U.S.
Documentaries
In back-to-back years (2017-18), Jay-Z served as an executive producer on Time: The Kalief Browder Story and Rest in Power: The Trayvon Martin Story, two doc-series revolving around the widely controversial killings of young Black Americans. When speaking on the respective creation of the two shows, which both included exclusive content regarding the murders, Jay made sure to honor the memories of the slain victims.
“Some of us will do the important work locally at the micro level to awaken our neighbors. Some of us will work for progress regionally,” he wrote in a column for The Hollywood Reporter. “And a few of us will be like Kalief Browder, a modern-day prophet whose death two years ago started a discussion that continues today about how poor, black juveniles are treated in the criminal justice system.”
Meeting the Governor
Again showing advocacy for police reform, Jay-Z spoke with New York mayor Andrew Cuomo in 2014 to stand up for Eric Garner, an unarmed NY resident killed by a law enforcement officer. The officer who killed Garner, Daniel Pantaleo, was not indicted for the man’s death, which caused national outrage that was shared by Jay-Z.
“[Jay-Z and Cuomo] had a productive conversation about doing a top-to-bottom review of the criminal justice system, and how we can all work together to pass a reform package that ensures equality in the eyes of the law,” Cuomo’s spokeswoman Melissa DeRosa said at the time.
[RELATED: 5 Life Lessons from Jay-Z’s Lyrics]
Team ROC Summit
Last year, Jay-Z and Roc Nation hosted their inaugural social justice summit. According to Forbes, attendees of the event included prominent activists, entertainers, lawyers, businesspeople, professors, experts, media personalities, and organizations from across the country. Roc Nation’s Team ROC division, responsible for “social justice and philanthropy,” helped to organize the summit, alongside The United Justice Coalition, a committee founded in 2019 that aims to find “tactical approaches to combat systemic injustice throughout America.”
George Floyd
When George Floyd was murdered by Minnesota police officer Derek Chauvin in 2020, many powerful Black Americans used this as a call to action to speak up for their community, who had grown tired of their mistreatment at the hands of the U.S. police force. This included Jay-Z, who ordered Team ROC to take out a full-page advertisement in newspapers like The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Denver Post, and The Boston Globe to give his two cents on the matter.
To bolster his message, Jay-Z quoted Martin Luther King’s “Bloody Sunday” speech that he gave in Selma, Alabama in March 1965.
“A man dies when he refuses to stand up for that which is right,” the ad read. “A man dies when he refuses to stand up for justice. A man dies when he refuses to take a stand for that which is true. So we’re going to stand up amid horses. We’re going to stand up right here, amid the billy-clubs. We’re going to stand up right here amid police dogs, if they have them. We’re going to stand up amid tear gas!”
Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Live Nation
