*Jay-Z used part of his latest live performance to revisit one of the most talked-about relationships in sports and entertainment.
While performing at Yankee Stadium, the rapper delivered a freestyle that referenced former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, immediately fueling fresh discussion online.
“You picking & choosing the politicking as usual, they digging deep for narratives, it’s embarrassing, they running outta characters, had to bring back up Kaep again,” Jay-Z rapped, per College Sports Network.
The performance came during the opening night of a three-show run celebrating two landmark albums in his career: the 30th anniversary of “Reasonable Doubt” and the 25th anniversary of “The Blueprint.”
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CBS Sports NFL insider Jonathan Jones interpreted the lyrics as a reference to Kaepernick’s legal resolution with the league.
“In a freestyle last night, Jay Z says Colin Kaepernick signed an NDA with the NFL in his 2019 confidential settlement with the league. Jay Z partners with the league as the official live music entertainment strategist through Roc Nation,” Jones wrote.
Kaepernick reached a confidential settlement with the NFL in 2019 after filing a collusion grievance alleging owners had effectively shut him out of the league following his national anthem protests. The agreement’s financial details have never been made public.
The latest lyrics stand in contrast to Jay-Z’s earlier public support of Kaepernick. The quarterback’s protests against racial injustice and police brutality became a national flashpoint in 2016. Questions about that support intensified after Roc Nation entered into a business partnership with the NFL later in 2019 to oversee the league’s live music strategy, including the Super Bowl Halftime Show.
At the time, critics argued the agreement sent mixed signals because Kaepernick remained without an NFL team. Kaepernick’s wife, Nessa Diab, later voiced her frustration.
“We will never turn our backs on @kaepernick7 because your idols decided to work with the same organization that is actively keeping Colin unemployed all because he peacefully protested against social injustice in black and brown communities, specifically police brutality. So really, how can Jay-Z and the NFL utter social justice in their partnership while keeping Colin unemployed because of his social justice work?” she wrote on Instagram.
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