It’s no secret that JAY-Z has been one of the most influential artists in the hip-hop industry for over a decade, but Jay has really been making moves for social justice lately, especially for the Black Lives Matter movement.
Not only did he donate $1.5 million to Black Lives Matter and other social justice groups last year, but he’s become an outspoken advocate for criminal justice reform. He recently even stood in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick by making a statement in support of the former quarterback and sporting a Kaepernick jersey during a recent SNL performance.
On his 4:44 album, he wasn’t afraid to bring up touchy subjects like infidelity and marriage hardship, racism, criticism of his former friend Kanye West and even his own theories of how we should be fighting capitalism.
He’s also one of the many artists showing their support in applauding the brave women coming forward to voice their painful experiences of sexual assault and harassment. JAY-Z seems to be making an effort to intentionally use his platform to be an advocate for women’s empowerment.
At a recent show in Cleveland, he singled out a 9-year-old girl to give a special message of encouragement. He reminded her that, despite the scandals that are currently taking place, she could overcome any circumstance and become anything that she wanted to be.
“At this very moment America is way more sexist than they are racist, but you young lady, you got the potential to be the next president of the United States, you believe that,” he said.
The video quickly went viral on a popular JAY-Z fanbase Twitter account, calling Jay-Z inspirational and influential to our next generation.
