JAŸ-Z Talks Capitalist Critiques, Kendrick Vs. Drake

The thoroughness was necessary considering that when it comes to the Jigga Man, everyone has an opinion, good and bad, and usually to the extreme. Add to that the fact that his interviews have become unicorns; it’s rare that the Reasonable Doubt rapper actually addresses his criticism.

Case in point, while discussing his last project, 2020’s A Written Testimony with Jay Electronica, he spoke on the chatter of him being deemed a capitalist in the worst sense of the word.

Reports GQ:

On “Universal Soldier,” you say, “You ain’t keep the same energy for the Du Ponts and Carnegies.” You’re engaging with the pushback that you get sometimes—people throw “capitalist” at you in a derogatory sense.

The only thing I heard coming up was the American dream. You could make it, if you pull yourself up by the bootstraps. I heard that my entire life—until we started being successful. Then it was like: You’re selling out because you’re making money. People had this allure for the “struggling artist”—that’s a mind game, what we would call, back in the day, “tricknology.” I’m not going for that. I make art first and then I make sure that I’m compensated for my art. I didn’t get here by taking advantage of people or taking advantage of the loopholes in the system, or some wrinkle in a capitalist structure. That structure exists; I just see the world for what it is, not for what I want it to be. I’m a realist. It’s not idealistic. People speak about the world how they want to see it. You’re never going to win like that.

Another particular moment that will get the people talking is JAŸ’s take on the Kendrick Lamar and Drake beef.

As a spectator, what did you think of the 2024 back-and-forth between Kendrick and Drake?

I’m going to have an answer you’re not going to like. Well, I don’t know if you’re going to like it. That’s presumptuous. There are four pillars of hip-hop. There’s breakdancing, graffiti, there’s DJ’ing and battling. Breakdance is not at the forefront of rap anymore. It’s actually an Olympic sport. So that’s dead [laughs]. Graffiti, beautiful in certain places. It’s not part of hip-hop. The DJ was in the forefront. It was Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince. Eric B. and Rakim. You don’t even know the DJ for half of the artists anymore. And the last pillar is battling. We love the excitement and I love the sparring, but in this day and age there’s so much negative stuff that comes with it that you almost wish it didn’t happen.

Really?

Now, people that like Kendrick hate Drake, no matter what he makes. It’s like an attack on his character. I don’t know if I love that. I don’t know if it’s helpful to our growth where the fallout lands, especially on social media.

Worth noting, Jigga was self-aware of how his criticism comes across, adding, “I sound like the old guy wagging his finger,” after saying bringing in kids was “too far.”

Oh yeah, you can’t talk Hova without bringing up the Super Bowl.

“I think everyone should experience music in its totality,” said JAŸ-Z when asked about the famed halftime show he curates for the NFL. “And for a lot of years, it was only one side of music that was being represented. We got the opportunity to create a more balanced idea of what popular music is today. I’m not going out on a limb. These are the most famous people in the world. I didn’t pick the indie artist that I really like from Portland. The number one streamed artist in the world.”