Accusations were made against Jay-Z for penning anti-Semitic lyrics for the song The Story of O.J and now he has responded to them, saying that it is difficult for him to take such things seriously. The tune is part of the rapper’s album 4:44 and became a source of huge controversy due to its lyrics as they mention Jewish people and how they became rich in the US.
It was then stated by the Anti-Defamation League that even though they believed that it wasn’t the intention of the 47-year-old rapper to promote anti-Semitism, it could not be denied that the lyric played directly into the anti-Semitic stereotypes concerning money and Jews. In a statement, they said that the idea of Jews owning property in the country and getting financially ahead via credit was false and odious. They said that such notions had been a part of society for years and their concern was that the lyrics would simply feed into these preconceived notions.
When Jay made his appearance on the Rap Radar podcast, he was questioned about the anti-Semitic accusations. The rapper insisted that he couldn’t be accused of discriminating against the Jews because traditionally the lyrics of his songs tend to exaggerate the black image all over the world. He asserted that the Jewish community were being hypocrites if they were choosing those lyrics to pick over because he had been exaggerating the black image for years and no one had a problem with that.
In the interview, Jay continued to say that he had exaggerated the situation deliberately because that’s simply a part of his artistic license. He added that he was fully aware that it is not just the Jewish who own everything in America because he himself owns stuff and it was simply an exaggeration. The rapper said that he had only meant to say that people should follow this pattern if they want to get property and other things. He said that it was the context that mattered and not anything else as he had not intended to stereotype or insult anyone through his song.
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