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Five years ago, Jay-Z’s Roc Nation partnered with the NFL, a partnership that was in many ways the league’s clumsy attempt to make up for its botched handling of the Colin Kaepernick protest movement.
“Roc Nation, the entertainment company founded by rapper and businessman Shawn ‘Jay-Z’ Carter, is entering into a multi-year partnership with the NFL to enhance the NFL’s live game experience and amplify the league’s social justice efforts,” the NFL said at the time.
What has happened since then? Unless Jay-Z is doing something we can’t see publicly, his “social justice efforts” remain nonexistent.
The live gaming experience part? That’s something else entirely.
Jay-Z continues to dictate how the NFL presents itself to the public by capitalizing on the popularity of its biggest event: the Super Bowl.
Jay-Z is actually changing the image of the NFL in a way that no one has done before. He is blatantly injecting black culture into the league’s Super Bowl bloodstream. MAGA may hate that. The right wing may hate that. But right now, the NFL’s overwhelmingly conservative owners are allowing Jay-Z to wield that kind of influence. It’s been remarkable to watch.
The latest evidence of this came on Sunday when the NFL, Roc Nation and Apple Music announced that Lamar will captain this year’s Super Bowl halftime show.
“Rap music remains the most influential genre to date. And I will be there to remind the world why,” Lamar said in a statement. “You hit the right note.”
Yes, they did.
Jay-Z, who is co-producing the halftime show, said in a statement: “Kendrick Lamar is truly a once-in-a-generation artist and performer. His deep love of hip-hop and culture shapes his artistic vision. He has an unparalleled ability to define and influence culture worldwide. Kendrick’s work transcends music and his influence will be felt for years to come.”
The league does not seem to be satisfied with a football Game, it wants to be a factor in the culture Game.
Specifically, the game of black culture. Lamar is an extremely black choice. Yes, Lamar has appeal outside of the black community, but make no mistake: Despite being one of the most significant cultural forces today, Lamar is unashamedly black, just like the medium in which he excels.
There are some NFL owners who would probably rather see Kid Rock perform. No one else would. But they would. So the fact that Jay-Z keeps bringing rappers through at the NFL’s most important event is an amazing thing. We’re a long way from Maroon 5.
This is ironic, of course. The league has not always treated its black players and coaches well, Kaepernick being a prime example. Yet the NFL wants to use black culture to attract younger fans who will embrace it.
Even Jay-Z hasn’t always understood the significance of the Kaepernick movement. At his first press conference in 2019, he sat next to Roger Goodell, the league’s commissioner, and said, “I think we’re past kneeling. I think it’s time to move on to concrete things.”
“I’m really into action – I’m into real work,” he told the media at the time. “I’m not concerned with how it looks. How it looks only lasts for a few months until we start working. I’ve been in that situation many times. Take Tidal as a great example from five years ago. Today people see it differently, they have a different perspective on it. But back then people didn’t understand what was going on.”
“So I’ve been in that situation many times. I just show up and do my job, I don’t care how things look from the outside. If protesting on the field is the most effective way, then protest on the field. But if you have a vehicle that you can use to inspire change, you can speak to the masses and educate at the same time.”
Jay-Z has put all of his NFL resources into the culture aspect of the game. At least that aspect is working. Probably even better than he could have imagined in his wildest dreams.
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