Media Bitchfest

Oh White People…

November 19th, 2006 by Justin

I love when The Times takes on a genre they know the majority of its subscriber base has no interest in. Honestly, the fresh take is usually a good read and you can’t help but snicker at the strained cultural bridging that has to take place to explain the context. Take this story about Jay-Z’s new album “Kingdom Come” for instance…

Jay-Z, who turns 37 next month, has been advertising this comeback since before he went away. In “Encore,” a song from “The Black Album,” he rapped, “When I come back like Jordan, wearin’ the four-five/It ain’t to play games with you/It’s to aim at you, prob’ly maim you.” (That “four-five” was typically sly: a reference to Michael Jordan’s post-comeback jersey number, and also to a kind of pistol.)

So for those keeping track at home, that was both a sports reference and a gun reference within a rap lyric explained for the benefit of an affluent readership who doesn’t know what channel ESPN is on, believe in staunch gun control and would recognize Tariq Ali before Talib Kweli.

Kelefa Sanneh of the New York Times, you are truly doing God’s work. Today you get a hearty salute from Media Bitchfest.

Posted in New York Times, Jay-Z

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