Jay-Z salutes football rebel in New York return – Ringo Starr gets back to where he once belonged

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NEW YORK, Sept 16, (AFP): Back on stage in his native New York after a stint as a full-time businessman, Jay-Z was in the mood for his classics. And for a bit of politics.

Headlining The Meadows Festival Friday night before one of artist Jeff Koons’ giant balloon dogs, Jay-Z hailed two outspoken voices on race relations: quarterback Colin Kaepernick and recently deceased comedian Dick Gregory.

“I want to dedicate this song to Colin Kaepernick. I want to dedicate this to Dick Gregory”, Jay-Z said to hoots of approval from fans amassed for the two-year-old festival in the parking lot of the New York Mets’ baseball stadium.

“I want to dedicate this song to anyone that was held back and you overcame whatever it was”, he said.

The song was “The Story of O.J.”, the most controversial song of Jay-Z’s introspective new album “4:44”.

In the song, Jay-Z takes an anecdote from NFL running back O.J. Simpson — who allegedly, when accused of killing his wife and her lover, quipped, “I’m not black, I’m O.J.” — and examines how racial prejudice still permeates US society.

Kaepernick — a very different type of star than Simpson — has drawn fire from conservatives, notably President Donald Trump, for refusing to stand for the US national anthem as a protest over the country’s treatment of minorities.

After being released from the San Francisco 49ers, the biracial quarterback has found himself without a team, fueling charges that he has been blacklisted for his political views.

Performing “The Story of O.J.”, Jay-Z did not hold back on the song’s most contested line, emphasized over a break in the beats: “You ever wonder why people own all the property in America?”

The Anti-Defamation League, the leading Jewish civil rights group, has criticized the lyric as perpetuating stereotypes, while not suggesting that Jay-Z harbors anti-Semitic views.

Jay-Z has brushed aside the criticism, saying the lyric in context is clearly meant to show the persistence of exaggerated images of ethnic groups.

Jay-Z — who with his wife, pop superstar Beyonce, has been a close friend of former president Barack Obama — has played a handful of recent shows and returns to touring next month after several years focused on his business empire, most notably streaming service Tidal.

Best-known

Despite winning wide critical acclaim for “4:44”, Jay-Z devoted relatively little time to his new work, instead working through his best-known tracks.

He opened with the fast-charging “Run This Town”, delivered a punching version of “99 Problems”, chilled out to reggae with surprise guest Damian Marley and — inevitably for a concert in New York — led a triumphant “Empire State of Mind”.

His mind also appeared on classics when it came to his outfit — a white T-shirt of The Beatles’ “Help!” with sleek Nike sneakers and a black cap.

Jay-Z made another dedication on “Numb/Encore”, his collaboration with rockers Linkin Park. He mourned the group’s singer Chester Bennington, who killed himself in July, calling him “a beautiful man”.

Former Beatles drummer Ringo Starr has very little left to prove.

Yet at 77, he’s about to release his 19th solo album, filled with nostalgia about a glorious past that he has often sought to distance himself from.

Starr teams up with former bandmate Paul McCartney in the album, entitled “Give More Love”.

Collaborations between the last two surviving members of the Beatles always generate media frenzy. This time was no different.

When Starr posted a picture on Twitter of the two of them working together back in February, the news quickly spread.

“When we’re together it’s good because we spent a lot of very intense time together, a lot of loving time together”, he told AFP at a London hotel.

“For me, he’s just an incredible human being, beside an incredible bass player”, he added.

The album features a blink and you’ll miss it moment referring to the “Fab Four”. In “Don’t Pass Me By”, Starr croons “I’d like to be under the sea” as the track slowly fades out.

“That’s a homage to one of my songs called ‘Octopus’s Garden’”, he explained about the 1969 song in the famous “Abbey Road” album.

“I thought it was an interesting thing to put those songs I’ve done before but with these young bands”, he said.

Starr has in the past tried to play down the Beatles, a band that only existed for eight years, but whose legacy has continually overshadowed the work they each produced post-split.

Born in 1940, Starr was only 29 years old when the Fab Four broke up and has therefore spent most of his career as a solo artist.

Nowadays, he seems to have made his peace with people forever wanting to know more about the Liverpudlian quartet.

Dressed in black jeans, bomber jacket and rockstar black sunglasses, he looks remarkably youthful as he walks around bumping elbows with people in greetings and making his now famous peace and love “V” sign.

A germophobe, he bumps elbows with people in greetings to avoid shaking hands.

The reminiscing in “Give More Love” goes further still than his time in history’s top-selling pop group.

“Electricity” references the Liverpool of his youth, and his Rory and the Hurricanes’ bandmate Johnny Guitar.

“He played so great. I have great memories of his playing to this day and that was a long time ago”, said Starr, who now spends most of his time in Beverly Hills in the United States.

Having celebrated his 77th birthday in July, Starr could reasonably hang up the drum sticks.

Instead, he’ll be doing eight shows in October at a Las vegas casino followed by a short US tour.

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