During the premiere episode of CNN's "The Van Jones Show," host Van Jones sat down with legendary rapper and business mogul Jay-Z to discuss politics, race and the justice system.
In the past few weeks, President Donald Trump has been criticized for allegedly calling Haiti, El Salvador and several African nations "sh*thole countries" in an immigration briefing.
The subsequent backlash was swift with many calling Trump a racist. And Hov was one of many disappointed that Trump would say something this egregious. He called Trump's statements "hurtful" while drawing comparisons to former Clippers' owner Donald Sterling and implying Trump may be a racist "superbug."
Rapper Jay-Z tells @VanJones68 that President Trump's "shithole countries" comment was "disappointing and hurtful" #VanJonesShow
https://t.co/DnAL5ipSKM
https://t.co/dv504UErOf— CNN (@CNN) January 28, 2018
Trump replied to the segment on Twitter, touting how low black unemployment is despite unemployment being on the decline since 2010, according to Vox.
Somebody please inform Jay-Z that because of my policies, Black Unemployment has just been reported to be at the LOWEST RATE EVER RECORDED!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 28, 2018
The show also included segments about former San Francisco 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick, Meek Mill and the justice system. Hov has been a vocal supporter of Kaepnernick's fight against police brutality and racism. He has also called on justice reform after rapper Meek Mill's legal issues went viral. On the show, Hov said that Kaep chose the right path and has become an icon in the process.
Jay-Z on Colin Kaepernick: "Would you rather be playing football getting your head dinged in or would you rather be an iconic figure for the rest of your life?" #VanJonesShow
https://t.co/QBtOcXas1J
https://t.co/6assfRY0Uw— CNN (@CNN) January 28, 2018
The justice system "needs to be reworked," hip hop star Jay-Z tells @VanJones68 during discussion about probation and bail reform #VanJonesShow
https://t.co/RcMFYI2eRh— CNN (@CNN) January 28, 2018
Jay-Z also touched on the significance of the #MeToo movement by saying the allegations brought up "needed to be uncovered for the world to correct itself."
Hip hop legend Jay-Z tells CNN's @VanJones68 that #MeToo "needed to be uncovered for the world to correct itself" #VanJonesShow
https://t.co/3140xI6kNt
https://t.co/t9IgKmO9DQ— CNN (@CNN) January 28, 2018
Appearing on Van Jones' show was not the only thing Hov did to grab headlines Saturday night. The 4:44 rapper also discussed his 1999 boycott of the Grammys. At Clive Davis’ annual pre-Grammy gala on Saturday, Hov said that he will take a more active role making the Grammys a more diverse entity.
“I didn’t come back until… 2004 when a beautiful, young lady whom I love dearly had a solo album… the beautiful Miss Beyonce. And I realized, ‘Man, art is super subjective and everyone is doing their best, and the Academy, they’re human like we are and they’re voting on things they like and it’s subjective,’” he told the audience, which included Quincy Jones, Tina Fey, Jerry Seinfeld, Diddy and Beyonce.
“And if we believe in it — ’cause we do, we can pretend that we don’t care but we really care — we care ’cause we’ve seen the most incredible artists stand on that stage and we’re inspired to be that, so I was like, ’I have to be here,’” he added. “That is the idea for all of us to get involved and to push this thing further no matter what happens at the Grammys, it’s going to be what it is. Bob Marley is going to be Bob Marley, whether he’s nominated for a Grammy or not. Tupac is going to be Tupac, Biggie is going to be Biggie.”