Jay-Z’s performance with Tom Brady follows claims he supports the GOP

tThe man who is widely considered the greatest rapper of all time does little to refute the narrative that he is veering towards conservatism following a series of recent events.

Just days after being accused of supporting a Republican-led effort to destroy public education for low-income students, Jay Z took the stage for a rare performance against the New England Patriots Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony for NFL legend Tom Brady, who is a long-time friend of the former president donald trump.

While Jay-Z has never been much of a political figure (he was an influential backer of Barack Obama’s presidential campaigns), those two recent cases have raised questions about his partisan leanings, if any.

Jay-Z’s surprise performance came Wednesday night at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. He performed his fan-favorite song, “Public Service Announcement (Interlude),” in which he raps: “My fellow Americans, it is with the greatest pride and sincerity that I present this recording, as a living testimony and remembrance of history in the making. during our generation.”

Jay-Z encouraged the audience: “Raise a hand for the GOAT, Mr. Tom Brady, tonight.”

For the uninitiated, the performance was simply the tip of the hat from one GOAT (the greatest of all time) to another.

But some skeptics wondered why Jay-Z, whose performances have been few and far between in recent years, would lend such an enthusiastic signature to an admitted friend and fan of Donald Trump during an election year. Some fans asked that question while also noting that Jay-Z didn’t even perform at any of hip-hop’s dozens of high-profile celebrations of its 50-year existence.

That the performance came immediately after Jay-Z and Roc Nation Endorsing a program in Pennsylvania that Democratic critics say aims to destroy public education certainly didn’t matter either.

In case you missed it, a new campaign underway in Pennsylvania aims to get students from Philadelphia’s low-income households into the city’s private schools. The Pennsylvania Award for Student Success (PASS) program is spearheaded by Jay-Z and his entertainment company Roc Nation, which also refers to PASS grants as “Lifetime Scholarships.”

Roc Nation had publicly promised an investment of $300 million for the cause. “PASS, which is also known as Senate Bill 757, is legislation intended to increase educational opportunities for disadvantaged youth who attend the state’s lowest-performing public schools,” said a Press release by the manifested group.

But critics, including teachers groups, have blasted the campaign as being heavily influenced by Republicans to destroy public education and have pointed to Jay-Z’s friendship with a key campaign figure.

“This is not all,” the Pennsylvania American Federation of Teachers wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter. “And just in case, here’s a still photo of @South Carolina and Jeffrey Yass, Pennsylvania’s richest man, Trump’s potential Treasury secretary and the force behind Pennsylvania’s voucher push.”

The push comes as House Democrats are going forward a bill for $5.1 billion in school funding, capping annual tuition rates for charter schools.

Yass, a billionaire, is the largest donor to Republican federal campaigns this election cycle, according to CNBCfor a total of more than 46 million dollars to date.

Roc Nation’s chief philanthropy officer dismissed the criticism as invalid.

“In Philadelphia in particular, or Pennsylvania in particular, what is alarming are the competition statistics. 75% of students (in eighth grade) are not proficient in math, and 47% of students (in eighth grade) are not proficient in language arts, and when we look at the bottom 15% of the school system, the most “Under well-performing schools, those numbers become even more dire,” Dania Diaz said this week. “We are supporters of the public school system… But the numbers don’t lie, and the data shows that there must be another path to success for the state’s most vulnerable students.”

SEE ALSO:

Roc Nation’s Annual Brunch Before the Grammy Awards Has Been Canceled

Jay-Z’s Next Business, Man: A Mobile Pizzeria Run by Robots