Former President Barack Obama unknowingly pointed out that people don’t need the government to succeed when he praised Jay Z in a Thursday video message.
Shawn Carter, most commonly known as Jay Z, received an award as the first rapper to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame Thursday night.
In the video, Obama said to the crowd, “Like all of you, I am a fan. And I have been listening to Jay since I was a young and hungry state senator.”
His praise for Jay Z’s hard work did not stop there.
Here’s what the dropbox link @S_C_ posted.
(My President) Obama inducting Jay into the Songwriters Hall of Fame pic.twitter.com/BVY7nVyDtz— New Life (@LordBalvin) June 16, 2017
“I like to think Mr. Carter and I understand each other. Nobody who met us as younger men would have expected us to be where we are today,” said Obama, emphasizing the idea of individual agency through Jay Z’s rags to riches story.
While Jay Z currently is worth around $810 million according to Forbes Magazine in 2017, he started out as a drug dealer in the 1980s selling his music.
“I’m pretty sure I’m still the only president to listen to Jay Z’s music in the Oval Office,” he said. “That may change at some point, but I’m pretty sure that’s true now,” added Obama.
Obama’s support for Jay Z arises some controversies. The rapper previously wore a medallion that said to be from the Five Percent Nation, a black supremacy movement, at a Nets Game back in 2014. While Five Percent Nation did not recognize him as a member, he allegedly also expressed their ideas in his lyrics.
Jay Z also gave a $1.5 million donation to Black Lives Matter in 2016. A Black Lives Matter branch in Philadelphia has undergone controversy when they banned white people from attending a meeting back in April.
“Jay, you have been inspiring in making me want to be active in my retirement just like you have been in yours,” said Obama.
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