Jay-Z has come under fire for continuing his collaboration with upscale department store Barneys' after the store came under fire after its New York branch was accused of racial profiling against two black customers. The incident sparked outrage from a number of Americans and there were widespread calls for any black person working with the company to leave them high and dry. Shawn Carter had other plans though.

Jay-Z in concert
The rapper will continue to work with the fashion chain

As the rapper and businessman explains on his official Life + Times website, he insists that there is no reason for him to bow down to public pressure and terminate his contract with Barneys', citing his involvement with the firm as a potential tool for good in re-shaping the brand. Although admitting that the ongoing racial preoccupation surrounding the store is a damaging one, he continued to defend his own involvement and the company itself.

Jay-Z live
Jay wants to use his position to ensure these types of events never happen again

"While I await the findings of the Attorney General’s Office, I have agreed to move forward with the launch of BNY SCC collection under the condition that I have a leadership role and seat on a council specifically convened to deal with the issue of racial profiling," Jay wrote on his site. He continued, "I am in a unique position to use my voice to affect change to this disturbing issue. The easy position would have been to walk away and leave policy making to others hoping that someone addresses the problem. I will not leave the outcome to others. I will take this into my own hands with full power to recommend, review and revise policies and guidelines moving forward. I am choosing to take this head on."

Jay went on to explain that his involvement with Barneys' was only ever initiated to benefit The Shawn Carter Foundation, and insisted that this is still his aim. He added that, rather than only giving the initially planned 25% of profits to the foundation, he will now donate all profits from his collection to the campaign.

His latest explanation comes some time after he originally defended his ongoing work with the fashion chain, in a statement in which he claimed he was being "demonised."

Jay Z
The rapper claims he is being "demonised"