O.J. Simpson finally spoke out concerning Jay-Z’s now iconic track, “The Story of O.J.,” which landed on his 2017 album 4:44. Moreover, blogger Augustus Lymon asked him about the track on April 7, specifically its most explicit reference to Simpson. “O.J. like, ‘I’m not black, I’m O.J.’ …okay,” Hov rapped on the song. Furthermore, the former NFL star took some issue with how simply and out of context the rapper portrayed his infamous comments on being Black. Although it was a quick interaction and a quick choice of words, O.J. gave fans the reaction that they awaited for so long.
“Well, first of all, [Jay-Z] didn’t say it right,” O.J. Simpson stated. “When Johnny [Cochran] was talking to me about it, and all that was going on was ‘Black, Black, Black,’ I said man, f**k being Black, this is me. This is about O.J. You know? It wasn’t about Black or white. It was about, ‘These guys were after me.’ So that’s how that was expressed. It wasn’t about, you know, ‘I’m not Black.’ It was about, this ain’t about being Black, this is about me.”
O.J. Simpson Says Jay-Z Got It Wrong On “The Story of O.J.”
Regardless of Jay’s apparent misinterpretation, that track still caused a massive cultural splash and discussion upon release. Aided by a 1940s-style cartoon video, the song raised a lot of conversations on Black identity, wealth, and stereotyping. Despite that being his last album as of writing this article, the 53-year-old remains as relevant as ever. In fact, he just announced a surprise concert in Paris, France on Friday (April 14) commemorating the work of Jean-Michel Basquiat and Andy Warhol. In partnership with Louis Vuitton, this out of the blue performance will surely capture much of what makes him such a compelling MC.
Meanwhile, his previous catalog continued to show its staying power and commercial dominance even decades after its release. On one hand, his classic album The Blueprint recently received a triple-platinum certification from the RIAA. On another, his project Vol. 2… Hard Knock Life just surpassed Watch The Throne as his highest-selling work to date. Whether O.J. Simpson likes it or not, Jay provided one of the most relevant and far-reaching reflections on his case n recent years. For the latest news and updates on O.J. Simpson and Jay-Z, log back into HNHH.