Jay Z Defends Hip Hop After Imus Racist Remark Message Board and Comments

First I would like to state in response to the comment left by PTBartman that Jay-Z did not call Don Imus a racist. The article states and I quote,"What Don Imus SAID was racist." Which it undoubtedly was. Anytime you refer to a group that is primarily comprised of black women as "nappy-headed hoes" it's obvious to me that you are not directing your comment at those women in the group of caucasian decent. Secondly the mere fact that you play a well known rap song as a bumper or mix a Hip-Hop track into your daily playlist, broadening your target audience there by gaining higher ratings translating into more money, does not mean that you are necessarily influenced by that medium. If that were true then the mere fact that you say he aired anything by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. would mean he should be familiar enough with the struggle that Blacks go through during day to day life not to make such an off handed and thoughtless remark about these Black women. Though I do agree with you that a man should be judged by his actions. Was the fact that he chose to make such a statement not an action within itself? Or atleast some sort of reflection of his character. The thing is Jay-Z's "point," as you so pertenantly put it, was not to call Don Imus a racist, but too instead draw light to the fact that the media chooses not to use the attention that was given to the situation to discuss all forms of racism and stereotyping, but rather to focus on the one medium that is primarily created by those who are so often the subjects of these stereotypes and racist remarkes.

"But to single out hip-hop and pull us into the ring with Don Imus, that's wrong. It wasn't dealing with the real issue. "What Don Imus said was racist. It wasn't about censorship, and it wasn't about free speech. And it wasn't about rap's influence, because Don Imus is not influenced by rappers. He's not a fan of rap." In the article Jay-Z: "But to single out hip-hop and pull us into the ring with Don Imus, that's wrong. It wasn't dealing with the real issue. "What Don Imus said was racist. It wasn't about censorship, and it wasn't about free speech. And it wasn't about rap's influence, because Don Imus is not influenced by rappers. He's not a fan of rap." As a Listener of the Imus show for over 30 years I’d like to state that both points are false. First John Donald Imus is not a racist, a man should be judged by actions not schtick. As a white kid growing up in central Jersey in the 70’s the first place I heard of Dr King was on the Imus in the Morning Program. Imus introduced me to the blues. Imus introduced me to the sermons of the Rev GE Patterson and the campaign of Harold Ford. If he truly is a “racist” he’s not a very good one. As to Jay-z’s second point. Not only does he listen to rap/hip hop but he played it on his show in mix with many other genres. In particular I remember his using “f**k Tha Police” by NWA as a bumper for years. Like I said If Imus is a Racist, he’s not a very effective one.