EARLIER THIS YEAR, Jay-Z found himself on the receiving end of one of President Trump’s infamous tweets after he contributed to the narrative surrounding the President’s ‘sh*thole country’ remarks.
Speaking on CNN in January, the 48-year-old rapper argued that economic improvements cannot negate the lack of respect shown by a world leader.
It’s not about money at the end of the day. Money doesn’t equate to happiness. You treat people like human beings. That’s the main point.
Unsurprisingly, Trump wasted no time responding to Jay-Z’s remarks, tweeting: “Somebody please inform Jay-Z that because of my policies, Black Unemployment has just been reported to be at the LOWEST RATE EVER RECORDED.
More than two months on, Jay-Z was yet again asked to comment on the Trump administration, and it’s clear the rapper feels a negative is ultimately giving rise to a positive.
While appearing on My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman, Jay-Z reasoned that the uproar born of Trump’s policies will eventually act as a force for good.
I think it’s actually a great thing, and here’s why. What he’s forcing people to do is have a conversation and people to band together and work together. Like, you can’t really address something that’s not revealed.
Reflecting on the impact Trump’s campaign and subsequent election has had on race-relations in the United States, Jay-Z acknowledged it’s been damaging, but is hopeful it can be addressed.
He’s bringing out an ugly side of America that we wanted to believe was gone and it’s still here. And we still gotta deal with it.
“We have to have tough conversations. We have to talk about the N-word and we have to talk about why white men are so privileged in this country,” he added.
You can watch the segment here.
