Noted Brooklyn emcee Jay-Z recently joined a handful of experts for a round-table discussion while on “Real Time With Bill Maher” to address “concern-trolling” by politicians, public housing, and New York City’s stop-and-frisk practices.
When asked to share his thoughts on the controversial stop-and-frisk policy, Jay-Z commented on the lack of a middle-class and how much of a “real problem” that is in the United States. He also touched on the widening economic gap and the oppression that will eventually reach a tipping point.
“I don’t really wanna scare America, but the real problem is there’s no middle-class,” said the Magna Carta Holy Grail rapper. “So, the gap between the have and the have-not’s is getting wider and wider. Let me finish this point because I do want to scare them a little bit. It’s gonna be a problem that no amount of police can solve because once you have that sort of oppression and that gap is widening, it’s inevitable that something’s gonna happen, period.”
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Joining Jay-Z during the round-table discussion was former Massachusetts congressman Barney Frank who argued for added police presence, especially for those in public housing. As a former resident of Brooklyn’s notorious Marcy Projects, Jay-Z countered Frank’s remarks by stating that instead of more cops, people need to be moved out of public housing all together.
“They deserve to get out of there. Public housing was a temporary stop…I grew up in Marcy Projects, public housing was a temporary stop until you got yourself together and you moved on,” Jay-Z explained.
Jay-Z isn’t the first artist to go on to express their opposition to New York City’s stop-and-frisk practices. Last year, Talib Kweli appeared at a police reform rally in Brooklyn and delivered a speech to attendee’s about the suspicious nature of stop-and-frisk.
RELATED: Talib Kweli Criticizes New York City’s Stop-And-Frisk Practices
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