Russell Simmons Calls Out Jay-Z, Writes Open Letter Explaining Why He’s Wrong About Occupy Wall St
In an interview with the New York Times over the weekend, hip-hop mogul Jay-Z basically flip flopped on Occupy Wall St, saying he’s not in favor of OWS because
he doesn’t understand it, even though his company, Rocawear, tried to capitalize off the movement. Now Russell Simmons, who supports OWS, is taking Jigga to task, going so far as to pen an open letter to Jay-Z explaining why he’s wrong about the OWS movement.
Here’s a snippet from the Simmons letter, entitled Jay-Z is Right 99 Times, But This Ain’t One:
So, Jay, here’s the deal. You’re rich and I’m rich. But, today it’s close to impossible to be you or me and get out of Marcy Projects or Hollis, Queens without changing our government to have our politicians work for the people who elect them and not the special interests and corporations that pay them. Because we know that these special interests are nothing special at all. In fact, they spend millions of dollars destroying the fabric of the black community and make billions of dollars in return. For example, the prison lobby paid politicians to create a so-called “War On Drugs” that resulted in a prison economy that disproportionately locks up black and brown people, including many of your friends and mine.
Simmons goes on to credit Occupy Wall Street with changing the trajectory of the political conversation in this country:
Within the first weeks of OWS, the conversation had been changed to the real issue that is eroding America; economic inequality, a topic that hasn’t been discussed for decades.
Russell Simmons deserves credit for standing up on behalf of principle on this issue. Jay-Z could understand OWS if he cared enough to engage and listen, but he doesn’t. Maybe he’ll care enough to listen to what Simmons has to say.
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Nice letter from the man who bends over African Americans and humps them dry with the RUSH card. Keep them impoverished and wanting more, right?
Breathe.
At least I think he took the red pill and got out of the Matrix. I agree that Uncle Russ understands the issue is one of economic inequality and seems to be trying to help. Tell Jigga to get his b**t off the throne. Maybe Mos Def (Yasiin Bey) can take over the educational talk to Jay-Z from here: “Poor so hard, my clean clothes look grimey…Doctors say I’m the illest, I ain’t got no insurance, It’s them n****s in poorest, be them rebel guerillas…”
Corporatism is waging war on the middle class, on the American dream, on most Americans and they are killing us. They have already put millions of people, millions of families into chaos, misery and ruin. I include my own in this number. Yes, homeless, with no ID here I come! I need some money! Then they won’t let me vote because I’m poor and unable to prove that the bridge I live under is in the district! Y’all can see my drawers!
Wake up and help us move in the right direction by eliminating the power and influence of the ultra-wealthy, taking money out of politics and making voting maximally accessible for the good of all. That’s the ideal objectives… but, if I’m honest, I also fear that the ‘everyman’ the media keeps trotting out before us, really isn’t smart enough to understand and work toward these ideals. Unfortunately, a lot of the bigots and cretins in office actually do represent us as American people…
Oh good times, good times, but no one ever threw me and my ilk a rent party!
http://www.tumblr.com/blog/thiscallsforalcohol
http://www.tumblr.com/blog/destituteamerica
Black people shouldn’t listen to either of these “lapdogs of Jews of the music industry.” Neither of them are doing anything truly great to help black people, unless it’s putting money in the pockets of them, and their Jew masters. Who, for instance, owns the bank that the Rush Care is tied in with ? Why doesn’t he start his own BLACK-OWNED black, and help finance black folks with homes, businesses, cars, etc, with little interest? And how many blacks are these guys providing for black folks? Perhaps, 10 or 15, or is it 50, 100, or more? And what kind of positions are they, and what kind of money are they being paid ? And I mean hired by and paid by Jay-Z and Simmons, and not the same olf bloodsucking, crooked Jews that are behind them. How much have they donated to black colleges? So this is merely a case of the pot talking about the
kettle. — Rev. George Brooks
Neither Jayz nor Beyonce has any education. Do you really think he read that? Russell should’ve called him.
I truly have mixed feelings about Russel Simmons. You can say the is a Jewish lapdog. But does he has a realistic other choice? I would never say Rush is the same as Jay Z. He is not that ignorant or money hunger.
I give Russel a lot of credit for one thing: I have not seen any other black person on his level do. He has backed Minister Farrakhan against Jewish opposition. He even went to Israel and complained and criticized ADL Director Abraham Foxman. So I have more respect for Rusself Simmons than I have criticisms. He has even step to Bill Cosby about some of the blatantly hypocritical behavior of his. I am not all pro Russel Simmons. But I am way more pro him than I am anti him. I think Jay ignorant Z is an altogether totally selfish subject. Realistically, there is no perfect choices for none of us black folks. We surely are not creating any as an unit of people. So Russel Simmons is very much of a plus in my book than a minus.
I met Mr. Simmons at a symposium at Butler University in Indianapolis and the Black Student government Assn. got him there to speak with some opposition. Butler has been known to be an open campus for dialogue( saw Bill Clinton, John Legend, Cornell West there also). The one thing that stuck with for years Russell stated was that ” I’m not that smart, but i have smart people around me.” That’s the paradigm. We know Tyler Perry has given plenty of good skilled jobs to blacks in his TPS. We don’t know who Russell of J(Shot his own brother)Z has around him. Russell was cursing like a sailor at the event and the crowd seemed to vibe with him( a lot of students and adults were there). He did keep it real. Just wish they all would work together( like Google and yahoo) and employ thousands of our beswt and brightest themselves. Hotep
Correction-Best