Leading up to the 50th anniversary of the historic Selma to Montgomery marches, Oprah's OWN network will be airing a series of civil rights-related programming. Yesterday the network aired a special "Master Class" episode that featured a variety of firsthand accounts from "iconic masters," including rapper and business mogul Jay Z (born Shawn Carter).
In his clip, Jay explains that he has a "very interesting take on the culture of hip-hop" and warns viewers that "it's a strong one." The rapper has played a major role in the evolution of the genre since the release of his 1996 debut album, and he has seen the changes the genre has made in the overall American culture.
"I think that hip-hop has done more for racial relations than most cultural icons and I say, save Martin Luther King because his dream speech we realized when President Obama got elected," he explains. "But the impact of the music, this music didn't only influence kids from urban areas, it influenced people around the world. People listened to this music all around the world and took to this music."
He goes on to explain the roots of racism, emphasizing that it is learned.
"Racism is taught in the home," he adds. "I truly believe that racism is taught when you're young. So, it's very difficult to teach racism when your kid looks up to Snoop Doggy Dogg. If you look at clubs and how integrated they have become. Before people partied in separate clubs -- there were Hip Hop clubs and there were techno clubs -- now, people party together and once you have people partying, dancing and singing along to the same music, then conversations naturally happen after that. Within conversations, we all realize that we're more alike than we're separate."
Watch the clip for yourself below, and let us know if you agree with Hov's statements in the comments section.
