NEW YORK ― When Brooklyn-born rap megastar and entrepreneur Jay Z finally broke his silence over charges that business partner Barneys New York had racially profiled two Black college students, he contended that ending his partnership with the pricey retailer would only deprive other college students of scholarships funded by proceeds from the deal.
“This money is going to help individuals facing socio-economic hardships to help further their education at institutions of higher learning,” Jay Z, whose birth name is Shawn Carter, said in a statement.
“My idea was born out of creativity and charity … not profit,” he said, noting that The Shawn Carter Foundation, which provides scholarships to students, would reap 25 percent of all sales from his collaboration with Barneys, known as “A New York Holiday.”
While Jay Z’s design to help college students finance their college education is an ostensibly laudable goal, some Hip Hop scholars are not “feelin’ it,” so to speak, when it comes to Jay Z’s refusal to distance himself from Barneys.
Among the critics is Pedro A. Noguera, an education professor at New York University and member of the advisory board for the Hip Hop Education Center, which is also housed at NYU.
“Jay Z, like too many other Black entertainers, fails to realize that he has a responsibility that rises far beyond making donations to scholarships,” Noguera said. “If he refuses to publicly condemn Barneys over this incident or to distance himself from them, one can only conclude that he is more interested in making money.”
