The first video from Jay-Z’s platinum-in-five-days new album 4:44 has been released outside of the Tidal exclusive. The final track on the album, “The Story of O.J.” sees Jay-Z discuss slavery and black oppression, O.J. Simpson’s alleged statement, “I’m not black, I’m O.J.” (a topic of the Tidal exclusive documentary of the same name), and how to make money make money (by buying property and art).
In a recent interview about 4:44 with iHeartRadio, Jay-Z described the meaning of the song: “The Story of O.J. is really a song about we as a culture, having a plan, how we’re gonna push this forward. We all make money, and then we all lose money, as artists especially. But how, when you have some type of success, to transform that into something bigger.”
Read: Jay-Z’s album features an apology to Beyoncé and an ode to his gay mother.
Jay’s verses play out over a chopped-up sample from Nina Simone’s “Four Women,” a song that addresses slavery and its legacy in America through the stories of four black women characters. Watch the full video below and head to Tidal for all the album content if you’re a subscriber.
Credits
Text Charlotte Gush
Screenshot via Youtube