Stay Connected
Atlanta Black Star/Video/ABS Originals
ABS OriginalsEntertainmentNews VideoVideo

‘I’m Already Rich’: Jay-Z Finally Addresses Claim That He Sold Out by Working With the NFL

Posted byBy Daryl Nelson | Published on: CommentsComments (0)

Jay-Z addressed the accusation that he sold out by working with the NFL.

He did it on a song called “Flux Capacitor,” which is on Jay Electronica‘s new album “A Written Testimony,” released in the early hours of March 13.

“Why would I sell out? I’m already rich, don’t make no sense / Got more money than Goodell, a whole NFL bench / Did it one-handed like Odell, handcuffed to a jail / I would’ve stayed on the sideline if they could’ve tackled that s–t themselves,” rapped Jay-Z.

In August, it was revealed that Jay-Z would be working with the NFL on its social justice initiatives and its entertainment.

The backlash he received was because many said that Colin Kaepernick was blackballed from the NFL for kneeling for the national anthem when he played for the San Francisco 49ers. Kaepernick hasn’t played in the NFL since he opted out of his contract at the end of the 2016 season.

During the press conference, when Jay-Z’s partnership was announced, he was asked if Kaepernick would also be involved.

“I’m not his boss,” he explained. “I can’t just bring him into something. That’s for him to say. We all do different things. We all work differently for the same results. I don’t knock what he’s doing, and hopefully he doesn’t knock what I’m doing.”

But one person who did knock Jay-Z was Kaepernick’s girlfriend Nessa Diab, who accused him of only working with the NFL for money, which is one of the main things he addressed in his “Flux Capacitor” verse.

“The disappointment in Jay-Z isn’t in the partnership. The disappointment is wrapping it in social justice,” tweeted Diab in August. “Jay has phenomenal music, he’s done so much nobody’s taking that away from him! Do your business! But don’t talk to me about that League when they’re doing dishonorable things.”

“Don’t you dare call it a social justice reform attempt when it comes to working with that company,” she added. “Don’t mess with my family!”

Democracy needs journalism it can trust.

This election season, the stakes are higher than usual — and so is the pressure on newsrooms to soften their coverage, stay quiet, or just disappear. Independent reporting, the kind that answers to readers instead of advertisers or political pressure, matters more in a moment like this, not less.

For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed independent and reader-funded. We have no corporate owner and no shareholders telling us what to cover or how to cover it. That independence is also our biggest vulnerability: nothing protects it except readers choosing to fund it directly.

Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under in a moment like this, it's rarely the independent, reader-funded ones that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Give once Give monthly Support another way

Related Stories

Back to top