By now, news of Jay Z's Roc Nation partnership with the NFL that will focus on entertainment and social justice has made the rounds. With this new deal, Roc Nation is said to be the co-producer of the Super Bowl halftime show that's been wrought with controversy for the last few years. It's an interesting link between the two corporations, considering that Jay Z has not been shy about criticizing the league in the past. However, the hip hop mogul shared with the Wall Street Journal that he hopes this deal will create a space for players to exercise their freedoms to protest without it necessarily being done so during games.
“He absolutely brought this conversation alive,” Jay-Z said of Colin Kaepernick. “We like to think that the way we build the [NFL’s social-awareness program] Inspire Change platform, that if anything close to that would happen in the future, then Kaepernick would have a platform where he can express himself and maybe it doesn’t have to take place on the field.”
Jay added that he doesn't shirk away from an opportunity to work with people who don't share his political ideologies because he recognizes that in business, that comes with the territory. “I’m black. That’s my world,” Jay said. He added that if he cared about only aligning himself with people of his political mindset, “then I couldn’t have any TV shows. I couldn’t put my platform on TV because I’m sure someone who owns the broadcast network has supported someone who I don’t believe should be in office."
“We’re going through a tough time,” he said. “A lot of people are not agreeing with one another. And we have to just push it along a little bit. There’s no magic pill. No one is going to have the solution themselves. You just have to do your little thing to push it along.”