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Jay Z Calls The War On Drugs An 'Epic Fail' In NY Times Op-Ed Video
By
Ben Yakas
Published Sep 15, 2016
Modified Sep 15, 2016
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Sep 15, 2016
Modified Sep 15, 2016
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Jay Z has never been shy about his experiences dealing drugs early on in his career, and he's put his own knowledge of the subject to use once again in a wonderfully-illustrated visual history of the war on drugs for a special NY Times op-ed. We're especially glad that Jay Z is not pulling a Mark Kozelek and declaring war on critically acclaimed bands from Philadelphia.
"Young men like me who hustled became the sole villain and drug addicts lacked moral fortitude," Jay Z says in the video, which was illustrated by Molly Crabapple. "In the 1990s, incarceration rates in the U.S. blew up. Today, we imprison more people than any other country in the world—China, Russia, Iran, Cuba—all countries we consider autocratic and oppressive."
Jay Z goes on to discuss mandatory minimum sentences that disproportionately affect the lives of minorities, the racism embedded in drug law enforcement, and the recent problems with legalization efforts around the country. "Venture capitalists migrate to these states to open multi-billion dollar operations, but former felons can't open a dispensary," Jay Z says. "Lots of times those felonies were drug charges caught by poor people, who sold drugs for a living but are now prohibited from participating in one of the fastest-growing economies."
Watch the video below.
Tagged
jay-z
ny times
opinions
sean carter
the war on drugs (not the band though)
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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