What did Jay Z say? Twitter trolls rapper after he compares being called ‘capitalist’ to the N-word

Jay Z was recently subjected to relentless criticism on Twitter, after he compared being called a capitalist to a racist slur.

On Wednesday, August 31, the Empire State of Mind singer appeared on a Twitter Spaces chat session alongside Rob Markman and Ari Melber. During the 17-minute interview, Jay Z attempted to narrate a rag to riches story which took an unexpected turn.

While speaking about bolstering fellow Black billionaire entertainers like Kanye West, Rihanna, and LeBron James, Jay Z emphasized that they were "not gonna stop." He then went on to add that society had tried to "lock" them out of the “American dream” and invented the word “capitalist” as they ascended towards success:

"Before was the American dream, ‘Pull yourself by the bootstraps, and you can make yourself…you can make it in America,’ all these lies that America told us our whole life."

What he said next earned him a lot of flak from netizens. The rapper compared being called a “capitalist” to racist slurs:

"And then when we start getting in, they tried to lock us out of it. They start inventing words like you know, ‘capitalist,’ you know, things like that. I mean, you know, we’ve been called ‘n**ger’ and ‘monkeys’ and shit. I don’t care; those words y’all come up with. Y’all gotta come up with stronger words.”

Internet users were confused when they heard that the singer-entrepreneur, who is estimated to be worth $1.3 billion, compared “capitalist” to the N-word. Many noted that the Roc Nation founder too is a capitalist, given that he has amassed fame stacking millions of dollars.

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Interview anecdote puts Jay Z under fire on social media

Some fans pointed out that Jay Z is rightfully being called a capitalist since he entered a multiyear partnership with the NFL, which would undoubtedly be adding more money to the bank.

For those who are unaware, the NFL received massive backlash for their treatment of San Franciso 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Kaepernick announced that he was effectively exiled from the league after he called attention to racial injustice and police brutality.

Netizens went on to list endless instances of the rapper acquiring millions of dollars in America in an attempt to give proof of his capitalistic tendencies.

A few tweets read:

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“Eat the rich”: Jay Z bites back at rhetoric during Twitter Spaces chat

During the interview on August 31, Beyoncé’s husband went on to criticize American inequity. He also spoke about how it is unfair to target wealthy Black creators, calling out the notion of "Eat the rich." He said in the interview:

"We’re not gonna be tricked out of our position. Y’all locked us out. Y’all created a system that, you know, doesn’t include us. We said fine. We went our alternate route. We created this music. We did our thing, you know, we hustle, we f**king killed ourselves to get to this space. And, you know, now it’s like, you know, you know, ‘Eat the rich.’"

For the uninitiated, "Eat the rich" is a popular political slogan to promote anticapitalism and address class conflict. It is pinned around the premise of standing up to those holding positions of power in society and compelling them to be accountable for their actions towards the less fortunate.

The controversial comments from Jay Z came during his Twitter Spaces chat where he and DJ Khaled were promoting the latter’s album - God Did.