​JAY-Z Teams with NFL for Music and Social Justice Campaign

Photo: Stephen McGill

BY Sarah MurphyPublished Aug 14, 2019

JAY-Z and the NFL are putting aside their differences and joining forces to improve the football league's relationship with music and social justice.
 
Jay and his company Roc Nation will act as a "live music entertainment strategist" for the league, consulting on everything from its Super Bowl halftime show to its activism campaign Inspire Change.
 
In addition to bringing big entertainers to the league, the deal also hopes to bridge divisions caused by the long-running national anthem protests — which have been taking place since 2017, when Colin Kaepernick led the movement as a protest against racial injustice and police brutality.
 
"The NFL has a great big platform, and it has to be all-inclusive," JAY-Z said via the New York Times. "They were willing to do some things, to make some changes, that we can do some good."
 
JAY-Z has previously been a vocal critic of the NFL, and he and his wife Beyoncé have voiced and shown support for Kaepernick.
 
On last year's the Carters' track "Apeshit," JAY-Z rapped: "I said no to the Super Bowl / You need me, I don't need you."
 
Further details about the new partnership are expected to be announced later today.

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