The “J” in Jay-Z
No, this is not yet another article about some moron celebrity gone Kabbalah. Jay-Z’s latest (and possibly last) video-99 Problems is a striking, sparse, black and white tribute to the Marcy projects in Brooklyn where he was raised. He tromps these Brooklyn streets with none other than Rick Rubin (MOT) who produced the song. The video is also interspersed with a school bus with Hebrew writing and a close-up of an Orthodox man. Jay-Z has hinted that he will retire, but resurface as rapper Sean Carter (his real name). Bets are that because contractual obligations prevent him from rapping as Jay-Z on another label, he will retire the name in order to follow longtime friend Lyor Cohen (MOT) who left his current label Def Jam for Warner music.
Can’t wait for Madona to get to Jay-Z and Beyonce… I say we start a Jmerica pool to try to guess when they start walking on glass themselves.