- Music
- 03 Jul 17
Guy Oseary, manager for U2, Madonna, and Amy Schumer, posted a photo of himself with Jay-Z on Instagram over the weekend, along with a caption defending the rapper's use of Jewish stereotypes in the song "The Story of O.J." off of his new album 4:44.
In his new song, "The Story of O.J", Jay-Z raps: "You wanna know what's more important than throwin' away money at a strip club? Credit. You ever wonder why Jewish people own all the property in America? This how they did it."
He plays off of the stereotype that the majority of the world's wealth is controlled by Jewish people, and many have criticized the artist of harbouring these antisemitic sentiments himself. However, producer Guy Oseary, who was born in Israel and is Jewish himself, asserts that Jay-Z is “attempting to use the Jewish people in an exaggerated way to showcase a community of people that are thought to have made wise business decisions. As an example of what is possible and achievable."
Oseary adds, “I’m not offended by these lyrics. I hear them the way he intended them to be heard.”
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According to the rapper, "The Story of O.J." is about "we as a culture, having a plan, how we're gonna push this forward. We all make money, and then we all lose money, as artists especially. But how, when you have some type of success, to transform that into something bigger."
This is not the first time the rapper has been accused of antisemitism. In 2007, his song "No Hook" featured thematically similar lyrics: "Had to get some challah bread so you can holla back. My Jewish lawyer too enjoyed the fruit of letting my cash stack."
These accusations seem to be at odds with the artist's public stance on antisemitism. In 2006, Jay-Z participated in a video campaign with Russell Simmons, in which the pair spoke out against racism of all kinds, including antisemitism.