Throughout January, Oprah’s OWN network is hosting a month-long celebration honoring civil rights legends as we approach the 50th anniversary of the historic Selma to Montgomery marches led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. With that said she’s sharing celeb thoughts on what racism means to them.
Surprisingly, Hov shared his admittedly “interesting” take on the genre’s impact in his Master Class episode. (I believe it premiered sometime last year)
“It’s a strong one,” he warns of his opinion, before laying it out. “I think that hip hop has done more for racial relations than most cultural icons….Save Martin Luther King, because his dream speech we realized when President Obama got elected.”
The impact, Jay-Z continues, isn’t limited to any one group, age range, background or geographic location, either. “This music didn’t only influence kids from urban areas,” Jay-Z says. “People listen to this music all around the world, and [they] took to this music.”
Racism, he adds, is a learned behavior that becomes difficult to teach in a home where hip-hop artists are respected and celebrated. “Racism is taught in the home,” Jay-Z says. “It’s very difficult to teach racism when your kid looks up to Snoop Doggy Dogg.”
Outside the home, hip-hop music has brought people together as well.
“Before, people partied in separate clubs. There were hip-hop clubs and there were techno clubs,” Jay-Z explains. “Now, people party together, and once you have people partying, dancing, and singing along to the same music, then conversations naturally happen after that… Within conversations, we all realize that we’re more alike than we’re separate,” he says.
Check out his thoughts in his own words HERE
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