“Jay-Z this, Jay-Z that (Jay-Z won’t hold my hand no more)” Blueprint 2
Jay Z is reliving the lyrics from his popular 2002 hit “Blueprint 2” as his name and face were splattered across newspapers in New York City.
The hip-hop mogul claimed he was being “demonized” and “denounced” for refusing to distance himself from high-end retailer Barneys, after two young African-Americans were allegedly racially profiled.
Jay Z continued in his statement released on his website Life + Times that he’s waiting on “facts and the outcome of a meeting between community leaders and Barneys.”
Beyonce’s husband has received mixed support from his fans following the statement, but singer-actor Queen Latifah made it clear where she stood.
On the red carpet during last weekend’s Black Girls Rock in New Jersey, Latifah told media outlets that were present,
“I don’t know that it’s there. I think that Jay Z’s been pretty clear when it’s hit him close to home [and] when things just don’t sit right with him, but obviously things warrant further investigation. But we’ve been going through this for a long time. We know that this is something that has been continuous in our community for us when we go into various stores. I would hope that that’s not the case with Barneys. That some people got overzealous and did the wrong thing and that it’s not the whole corporation because I like Barneys and I’d hate to have to boycott them! That would be terrible. I’m hoping that this whole situation gets solved and it’s a lesson to everybody else and these other stores to be cognizant of your shopper. Just because you have on a baseball cap doesn’t mean you don’t have money. We don’t have to justify where we got the money to buy an expensive belt.”
What do you think of Queen Latifah’s statement? Is she being naive about racism?
