NEW YORK – In a move that experts are calling “consistent with everything he’s ever done,” rapper Jay-Z has chosen to move forward with his designer men’s fashion line campaign with Barney’s rather than forgo the partnership after the retailer racially profiled several African-American customers.
In a statement released on his website entitled ‘Shut Up & Shop’, Mr. Z explained that while all the proceeds of his deal with Barney’s were going to charity, the addition of a luxury men’s clothier to his portfolio will make his next corporate partnership that much more lucrative. “So sorry, but you are going to have to suck it up and get shop & frisked. Get arrested if you have to. This is too important to The Hova.” He did add that, in an effort to “throw y’all a bone,” he arranged for Barney’s to donate at least one million dollars to his charitable foundation, and he will also have a seat on an as yet unidentified council that will examine racial profiling.
The announcement is being blasted as an act of betrayal within the African-American community. “We’ve stood by him when he told us to use Bing, and Samsung phones,” said Rev. Darrel Suggs, of Brooklyn. “Hell – I was OK with my home being razed for the Barclays Center. Now he asks us to sacrifice our dignity as law-biding citizens so he can maximize cross-marketing capitalization? That’s an insult to the community that made him.”
“But what’s done is done,” added Suggs. “What can we do now? Not shop at Barney’s?”
Jay-Z also announced he will release a single in conjunction with the NYPD called “Stop & Frisk Me (It’ll Keep Tha Streetz Safe). When asked why he would endorse such an unpopular policy, he simply said “They met my asking price.”
