JAY-Z’s critically acclaimed 4:44 album was praised for its themes relating to black economic responsibility. According to a recent video from Minister Louis Farrakhan, Hov is becoming something greater.
“I said, ‘Boy this man to me is becoming a leader in the economic development of our [black] people’,” Farrakhan said after reciting a line from the 4:44 track Feud “Family Feud.”
Farrakhah explains his grandchildren played him the No I.D.-exclusively produced album.
“When I heard it I was sad, so I said, ‘I have to reach out to my brother’ because he was talking about people wanting to kill him or people desiring to harm him,” Farrakhan said in reference to “Kill Jay-Z.” “I saw death too, but I never saw death for this great brother from somebody harming him. So I called him and said to him, ‘Brother, I see death too.’ I see the death of JAY-Z of old and I see the birth of a new JAY-Z.”
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From the Nation of Islam leader’s perspective, the messages of 4:44 could mean a change in the right direction.
“In order to do great things, we’ve got to learn the value of pooling our intelligence, our knowledge, our money, to do the thing that will cause us to be honored and respected by civilized people all over the world,” he said. “So I saw JAY-Z’s album as a new beginning for him, and possibly a new beginning for us.”
Farrakhan also gave props to Ice Cube’s BIG3 Basketball League, which was a topic of discussion this week following Allen Iverson’s absence.
“By my showing up at Ice Cube’s start of a basketball league for black people,” Farrakhan said. “Wow, if tomorrow this gets bigger and bigger, white people that own the stadiums may say, ‘I’m sorry we’re not renting to you.’ Then, we’ll pool our money and buy a stadium and buy places for our artists to perform. Look, it’s our day now.e can’t sit around and act mad if the white man don’t want us in his place. Set the thing up for yourself. The time is now.”
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Watch the clip below.
