Mazel, Hov.

I’m head-over-heels in love with Jay-Z, and as such it’s always hard to do anything close to a review of his projects. So I choose not to. Reasonable Doubt and Blueprint are at the top of my list. Kingdom Come and MCHG are towards the bottom. For now, that’s as far as I’d like to go.

I can say, with chest puffed out confidence, that my favorite rapper’s pregnant pauses are probably better than a lot of your favorite rappers’ entire discographies. That’s where I am. Day-1/A-1 Die Hard. When I discovered 4:44 was an album release and the “4:44” posters were not some mysterious promo for something else, I was overwhelmed with excitement and fear: Please, Hov. Don’t disappoint me again.

I could not have asked for more. Shawn Carter, a 47 year old former dopeboy, a business man, father, husband, philanthropist, philanderer, and one of the greatest rappers of all time has given us an intimate portrait of someone who has made mistakes, who has regrets, who recognizes his faults. It’s not my job to forgive him for his infidelity and luckily he’s not asking me (or you) for forgiveness. He put his art out there, but I dont know if he’s begging US to come home as much as her. This isn’t about that because as much as I adore the BeyHova hybrid, the intricacies of their relationship is not what enthralls me.

Staying awake on pins and needles for his release on the evening of June 29th, 2017, I made sure I was ready. Drinks, snacks, speakers. My first listen I was blown away and was too engrossed in the music to start exploring and dissecting the subtleties of his godly flow. I was simply falling back in love with my favorite. He came home and I am so proud. He did it!! A 10 track album of near perfection made it easy to overlook the mistakes. The times he fell off beat. The times where something didn’t sound quite right. He probably bet 50 grand that he was gonna get it in one take.

I’m Puerto Rican and Jewish. I probably ID more with my Latina-ness (you can blame my Jewish mom who started sending me to PR for months at a time when I was 7) than my Jewish-ness. Ethnically and culturally I am a Puerto Rican Jew. I can sing Hector Lavoe songs verbatim and I fast and go to Temple on Yom Kippur. I may lean towards one more than the other, but like being a woman, a New Yorker, an academic, and a hip-hop head, they are part of who I am.

Once I got my head out of the clouds I settled into 4:44 and realized I had a problem.

“The Story of O.J.”

The strain of Black and Jewish relations is no secret, particularly if you are a New Yorker and have any knowledge of Crown Heights. While much of our history is parallel there are stark differences between the Black experience and the non-Black Jewish experience in this country. Black people were brought here against their wills, Jews came here often out of desperation.

However, Jews, unlike Black people in this country, have a distinct advantage: whiteness. It wasn’t something given though, it was something thrust upon them (and since, something for which they’e fought). Before World War II Jews were considered an “other.” But no one wanted to spend money on, or fight or die for, an “other.” Particularly an “other” who was unwelcome here to begin with. The declaration of whiteness became a necessary part of Jewish survival. It’s not an overstatement to say that in an effort to avoid the violence of white supremacy, it’s easier to assimilate. It’s why you see more Steins than Steinbergs. Upon arrival at Ellis Island Jews had the option of changing their names to sound less Jewish and more “American.” Black people do not have the option of shedding their Blackness. Your skin has made you a target for political and societal violence for centuries without the option of the same type of assimilation.

I have a problem with Jay’s statement on Jews and ownership. Not just because it’s factually incorrect (it is). But sadly, the statement that “Jews own all the property in America” is a statement that is rooted in anti-Semitism.

I’m not calling Hov an anti-Semite. But the statement is rooted in the ideology. I cannot claim to know what his intent was, but intent doesn’t matter here. Continuing to popularize the myth that Jews “own everything” contributes to the already bloated anti-Semitism that exists in this country (amongst whites and non-whites).

It’s a delicate line for me to straddle, because in one sense I understand that Shawn Corey Carter is from Bed Stuy which is in spitting distance from places like Williamsburg and Crown Heights which happen to be heavily populated by Jews and those Jews own a whole lot of shit. I also understand that he is in an industry where Jews are, in fact, in many positions of power.

His comment reflects an old way of NYC thinking. Jews took root in Black neighborhoods, because no one else wanted to, either because of location or the racial demographic of the area (e.g.-Black and/or Latino). After centuries of being banned from buying property, or being allowed to hold jobs outside tailors, shoemakers and “money lenders” (Jews were forbidden to be actual bankers) an opportunity arose in New York City; buying residential buildings and opening businesses where others didn’t want to. They also found themselves in positions of authority, often in communities outside their own-teachers, doctors, welfare workers. Those positions were those of authority but not necessarily of power; they weren’t allowed to enter unions or become cops, for example (my great grandfather fought for years to enter the plasters’ union…well he didn’t so much as fight as get beat up). I’m sure some of them were terrible teachers, doctors, welfare workers, business owners and landlords. And I’m sure some of them were menschen.

There is an undeniable problem with certain sects of Jewish people and their behaviors when it comes to business practices and government supports. However, we’re smart enough to know that painting an entire group of people with the same brush leads to, at best, prejudice and discrimination, and at worst, violence. Right?

I can only speculate on what Hov’s intentions were, but I’m left feeling uneasy. Not angry, just conflicted. And it’s perfectly okay for art to leave you feeling conflicted, hell, it should, at least some of the time. I’m nowhere near ready to end the 20+ year relationship I have with Jigga (bite your tongue!), but I have feelings about this one line that disappointed me, in this overall gorgeous album.

“Why would saying Jews own everything even be considered an insult? That’s a COMPLIMENT!” I can hear those words. I have heard those words. To simplify, the idea that Jews run everything has been a justification for exile and genocide for centuries. It connects us to being considered scammers, thieves, snakes, devils, rats and what was a favorite among German Nazis, leeches. Part of why Hitler was successful (until he wasn’t) was because through propaganda he convinced an entire nation that Jews were the reason for their suffering. Their poverty, their famines, their joblessness, was because the “Jews were taking over” every aspect of their societies (again. Not true. Jews were simply existing in their tight knit communities because literally no one else wanted them around).

If an artist speaks on alleged Black brokenness in relation to Jewish successes it adds to anti-Semitic rhetoric that continues to be acceptable among communities where Jews are already seen as devils (a common Jewish joke: Why do Jews cover their heads? To hide their horns). Jigga’s lines about Black dollars in strip clubs and Jews owning all of America does not equal him being an anti-Semite, just misinformed. It’s likely that it actually was meant as a compliment and without any malice at all. However, as attacks against Jews and Jewish institutions rise at alarming rates, I can’t help but perk my ears up when someone who has a platform as large as his adds to the rhetoric.

On American Gangster Hov celebrated “Black bar mitzvahs,” toasted to his successes with “mazel tov,” and got some challah bread before he holla’d at his Jewish lawyer and I’m left wondering where any of this fits.

It’s a single line in a single song that struck a chord. Music will do that to you. My feelings haven’t changed. My favorite is the best who ever did it. But, if I were unable to engage with his art critically the whole (albeit one sided) relationship would be disingenuous.

I’ll be getting the hard copies of 4:44 upon release and probably spending my rent money on concert tickets.

I wish for him one hundred years of success. Once again, it’s his time.

L’Chaim.