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Jay-Z 4:44 Tour More Than Hip Hop

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Oakland, CA – Jay-Z brought his 4:44 Tour through Oakland tonight and just like his past performances, he was simply outstanding. The icon, he stands alone commanding the crowd, needs no backup dancers or background singers. Just a mic and a band.

The stage was unlike any other, four huge video screens that come down from the ceiling and hang tilted in mid-air also connect into two screens that captured past and current music videos. Jay-Z doesn’t have to worry about anyone not being able to fully enjoy his concert.

The show began with “Kill Jay-Z”, No Church in the Wild” and “Lucifer”. The sellout crowd knew all the lyrics, but it was the intro to “Jigga My Ni**a” that brought the house down, an oldie but goodie followed by “Izzo (H.O.V.A)”.

Not many Hip Hop artists tell a story, over Jay-Z’s career he rose from the projects to stardom and each album told that part of his story. “On To The Next One”, Public Service Announcement” and “99 Problems” these lyrics came across the video screens:

“License and registration and step out of the car
“Are you carrying a weapon on you, I know a lot of you are”
I ain’t stepping out of shit, all my papers legit
“Well do you mind if I look around the car a little bit?”
Well my glove compartment is locked, so is the trunk and the back
And I know my rights so you goin’ need a warrant for that
“Aren’t you sharp as a tack? You some type of lawyer or something?
“Somebody important or something?”
Child, I ain’t passed the bar, but I know a little bit
Enough that you won’t illegally search my shit

In today’s world social media has captured many situations that have left our country divided on social issues. However, many of those in the black community have been dealing with the injustice of law enforcement for a long time. It was reintroduced and now we all are taking a stand.

“It’s not about disrespecting the flag, its about injustice. We should all be effected by what’s going on in the world today!”

Jay-Z throughout his performance touched on political issues involving police brutality, the civil rights movement and mental illness. he dedicated the “The Story of O.J.” to Dick Gregory and Muhammad Ali. That message along with good music separates Sean Carter from the rest.

But what’s a concert without some of his favorite hits, Jay-Z said referred to “Allure” off the Black Album as being his favorite joint. And despite the ongoing feud with Kanye West, Jay-Z couldn’t leave off one of their greatest hits, “Niggas In Paris” while featuring a few clips from their hit video “Otis” on the video screen.

To close Jay-Z did the New York anthem, “Empire State of Mind” but before that he played E40’s “Hyphy” just to let the fans know, he enjoys Oakland music. His last message was the best one to end the show:

“Believe in yourself, keep yourself around positive people. Love always trumps hate!”

And with that “Hard Knock Life”, another one of his hits which was probably the most jubilant performance. The message, anyone on earth facing hard times, can overcome with focus, determination and dedication. His story is motivating to so many.

Jay-Z ended the set with the song “Smile” dedicated to his own mother on his 4:44 album. Then “Numb/Encore” was dedicated to his late friend and artist Linkin Park’s Chester Bennington who committed suicide. He stated mental illness is a issue and always check on your friends and family at all times.

His ability further educate through music is the new generation of Hip Hop. Jay-Z cover over 25 songs in two hours and while doing so delivered powerful messages throughout his performance. The 4:44 Tour is more than Hip Hop, it’s a look into the future of Hip Hop.

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Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

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Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

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O.J. Simpson, 76, Dies of Prostate Cancer

Orenthal James (O.J.) Simpson, who rose to fame as a college football player who went on to the NFL and parlayed his talents in acting and sportscasting, succumbed to prostate cancer on April 10, his family announced.

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Orenthal James (O.J.) Simpson. Wikipedia photo.
Orenthal James (O.J.) Simpson. Wikipedia photo

By Post Staff

 Orenthal James (O.J.) Simpson, who rose to fame as a college football player who went on to the NFL and parlayed his talents in acting and sportscasting, succumbed to prostate cancer on April 10, his family announced.

Born and raised in San Francisco, the Galileo High School graduate was recruited by the University of Southern California after he was on a winning Junior College All-American team.

At USC, he gained wide acclaim as a running back leading to him becoming the No. 1 pick in the AFL-NFL draft in 1969 and joining the Buffalo Bills, where he had demanded – and received — the largest contract in professional sports history: $650,000 over five years. In 1978, the Bills traded Simpson to his hometown team, the San Francisco 49ers, retiring from the game in 1979.

Simpson’s acting career had begun before his pro football career with small parts in 1960s TV (“Dragnet”) before “Roots” and film (“The Klansman,” “The Towering Inferno,” Capricorn One”).

He was also a commentator for “Monday Night Football,” and “The NFL on NBC,” and in the mid-1970s Simpson’s good looks and amiability made him, according to People magazine, “the first b\Black athlete to become a bona fide lovable media superstar.”

The Hertz rent-a-car commercials raised his recognition factor while raising Hertz’s profit by than 50%, making him critical to the company’s bottom line.

It could be said that even more than his success as a football star, the commercials of his running through airports endeared him to the Black community at a time when it was still unusual for a Black person to represent a national, mainstream company.

He remained on Hertz team into the 1990s while also getting income endorsing Pioneer Chicken, Honey Baked Ham and Calistoga water company products and running O.J. Simpson Enterprises, which owned hotels and restaurants.

He married childhood sweetheart Marguerite Whitley when he was 19 and became the father of three children. Before he divorced in 1979, he met waitress and beauty queen Nicole Brown, who he would marry in 1985. A stormy relationship before, during and after their marriage ended, it would lead to a highway car chase as police sought to arrest Simpson for the murder by stabbing of Brown and her friend Ron Goldman in 1994.

The pursuit, arrest, and trial of Simpson were among the most widely publicized events in American history, Wikipedia reported.

Characterized as the “Trial of the Century,” he was acquitted by a jury in 1995 but found liable in the amount of $33 million in a civil action filed by the victims’ families three years later.

Simpson would be ensnared in the criminal justice system 12 years later when he was arrested after forcing his way into a Las Vegas hotel room to recover sports memorabilia he believed belonged to him.

In 2008, he received a sentence of 33 years and was paroled nine years later in 2017.

When his death was announced, Simpson’s accomplishments and downfalls were acknowledged.

Sports analyst Christine Brennan said: “… Even if you didn’t love football, you knew O.J. because of his ability to transcend sports and of course become the businessman and the pitchman that he was.

“And then the trial, and the civil trial, the civil case he lost, and the fall from grace that was extraordinary and well-deserved, absolutely self-induced, and a man that would never be seen the same again,” she added.

“OJ Simpson played an important role in exposing the racial divisions in America,” attorney Alan Dershowitz, an adviser on Simpson’s legal “dream team” told the Associated Press by telephone. “His trial also exposed police corruption among some officials in the Los Angeles Police Department. He will leave a mixed legacy. Great athlete. Many people think he was guilty. Some think he was innocent.”

“Cookie and I are praying for O.J. Simpson’s children … and his grandchildren following his passing. I know this is a difficult time,” Magic Johnson said on X.

“I feel that the system failed Nicole Brown Simpson and failed battered women everywhere,” attorney Gloria Allred, who once represented Nicole’s family, told ABC News. “I don’t mourn for O.J. Simpson. I do mourn for Nicole Brown Simpson and her family, and they should be remembered.”

Simpson was diagnosed with prostate cancer about a year ago and was undergoing chemotherapy treatment, according to Pro Football Hall of Fame President Jim Porter. He died in his Las Vegas, Nevada, home with his family at his side.

He is survived by four children: Arnelle and Jason from his first marriage and Sydney and Justin from his second marriage. He was predeceased son, Aaren, who drowned in a family swimming pool in 1979.

Sources for this report include Wikipedia, ABC News, Associated Press, and X.

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