Jay-Z said WHAT?!

Okay, after I stopped laughing my ass off and caught my breath, I sat back and gave this some serious thought. I re-read what was said and then I started laughing hysterically again. I can't believe this negro said what he said. Shawn Carter aka Jay-Z aka J Hova aka Jigga had the nerve to take umbrage at what Harry Belafonte said about him and his wife Beyonce Knowles Carter.

Back in August of 2012, The Hollywood Reporter interviewed Mr. Belafonte before he was to pick up his Golden Leopard Honor Award. It was during that interview that Mr. Belafonte opened up on a myriad of topics from not wanting Mitt Romney to win the presidency to his acting and singing careers. He also opined on the lack of Black entertainers getting involved in what he called "social responsibility". He singled out Jay-Z and Beyonce in his answer. This was what Mr. Belafonte said...

"THR: Back to the occasion of the award for your acting career. Are you happy with the image of members of minorities in Hollywood today?

Belafonte: Not at all. They have not told the history of our people, nothing of who we are. We are still looking. We are not determinated. We are not driven by some technology that says you can kill Afghans, the Iraqis or the Spanish. It is all -- excuse my French -- shit. It is sad. And I think one of the great abuses of this modern time is that we should have had such high-profile artists, powerful celebrities. But they have turned their back on social responsibility. That goes for Jay-Z and Beyonce, for example. Give me Bruce Springsteen, and now you’re talking. I really think he is black."

Now I have no idea what "determinated" means but I can let that go, it's Harry Belafonte after all. The more I thought about whether Mr. Belafonte was right in singling out Jay and his wife, the more I realized he was right. Unless Jay-Z is doing that "celebrity" thing, where they donate and give in private, where they ordered their PR person to sit on this one and keep it quiet, Jay and Beyonce haven't been all that active in the "social responsibility" realm. In fact, the more I think about it, their record is piss poor in speaking out or giving back. Then I read Jay's response to the above comments...and I laughed.

"I’m offended by that because first of all, and this is going to sound arrogant, but my presence is charity. Just who I am. Just like Obama’s is. Obama provides hope. Whether he does anything, the hope that he provides for a nation, and outside of America is enough. Just being who he is. You’re the first black president. If he speaks on any issue or anything he should be left alone…I felt Belafonte he just went about it wrong. Like the way he did it in the media, and then he big’d up Bruce Springsteen or somebody. And it was like, “whoa,” you just sent the wrong message all the way around…Bruce Springsteen is a great guy. You’re this Civil Rights activist and you just big’d up the white guy against me in the white media. And I’m not saying that in a racial way. I’m just saying what it is. The fact of what it was. And that was just the wrong way to go about it."

Yes, the one time Brooklyn drug dealer had the nerve to say that his "presence is charity". At least he was smart enough to realize that it was going to sound arrogant, but that doesn't make it any less offensive. Jay-Z's presence is charity? To whom exactly? Then he took it even further by comparing himself to the leader of the free world, saying that his presence was akin to Obama's. He stated that Obama's presence provides hope and how because he is the first Black president, if he speaks on any issue that he should be left alone. In case you missed it, that's called deflection. Taking the shine off of himself and putting it on Obama, even though Mr. Belafonte said NOTHING about the President in his interview.

Then this negro seemed to take offense that Mr. Belafonte "big'd up" the white guy instead of himself and thought it was wrong of him to do so in the "white" media. That came from the mouth of the man who is listed as one of the executive producers for the movie The Great Gatzby that was released this year and was directed by the very white Baz Lurman. He's also producing the movie Annie directed by the very white Will Gluck. Now if you don't count those two horrible films earlier on in his career, Streets Is Watching and Paid In Full, Jay-Z hasn't given a Black director a break, social responsibility indeed. What I think Jay should have done was to look back on his "social responsibility" record and try to see where Mr. Belafonte was coming from, try to understand why he said what he did. If he does that, he may just end up agreeing with Mr. Belafonte's comments, just like I do. Anyway, thanks for the laugh today Jay, I needed that.