Days after President Obama came out in support for marriage equality, rapper/mogul Jay Z had a chat with CNN and gave his thoughts on the president endoursing gay marriage.
Said Jay-Z:
“I’ve always thought it as something that was still holding the country back. What people do in their own homes is their business and you can choose to love whoever you love. That’s their business. It's no different than discriminating against blacks. It’s discrimination plain and simple...I think it's the right thing to do, so whether it costs him votes or not - again, it's not about votes. It's about people. It's the right thing to do as a human being.”
Well said Mr. Carter. I remember when I was a teenager and I compared homophobia to racism, and one of my teachers got pissed because she felt you can't compare the Black struggle with the gay struggle. I didn't understand how to word it at the time because I was young, but now that I look at it, I was on the money with my thoughts. It wasn't just black folk that marched with Martin Luther King. All people from all walks of life marched with him for equality and justice for all, and the gay issue and the black issue does have something in common: It's a civil rights issue that we are all fighting for, and for blacks of all people who want to get all up in arms because all of a sudden they want to protect the sanctity of marriage (especially when it wasn't too long ago that Black folk weren't allowed to marry) is just plain ignorant and hypocritical.
In other news, Jay announced that he is launching his own Coachella-like festival called Budweiser Made In America on Labor Day Weekend. The rapper/mogul will be the headliner and curator during the two-day event, which will be held on three stages in Fairmount Park in Philadelphia on Sept. 1 and Sept. 2, with a percentage of proceeds benefitting the United Way Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey.
Says Jay: “Whenever I enter into a project I try to hit some touch points. The first being, is it great? Once we start there, we’ll end up in a great place. The second one, is it gonna push the culture forward? I think this concert will do that.”
He also explained why he chose the City of Brotherly Love as the host city. “Everybody knows my love affair with Philly with the amazing, talented artists I’ve signed from here,” said the Roc Nation CEO, as his Roc-A-Fella protégé Freeway stood behind him.
No word on if he will be getting his wife to perform on any of those days, but since my B-day is September 2 I would love to check this Live Nation-sponsored festival out. I do have a feeling that most of the performers will be from his Roc Nation roster.
Also check out the Made In America press conference
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