A little history lesson for those who don’t know: Fred Hampton Jr. is a son of a Black Panther leader, Fred Hampton who was killed in 1969 in a police/FBI raid in Chicago. The day of his murder landed on the same day when Jay-Z was born. Now what is all has to do with Fred Hampton’s son calling Jay a slave?
Well, in the song “Murder to Excellence” off “Watch The Throne” album, Jay-Z spits a following rhyme:
“I arrived the same day Fred Hampton died/Real ni**as just multiply.”
Fred Hampton Jr., however, is not feeling the reference and this is why.
“Fred Hampton didn’t die,” Hampton Jr. said. “He was assassinated. Saying Fred Hampton died is like the school teacher telling students that Christopher Columbus discovered America.” He later went on to refer to Jay-Z as Slave-Z, questioning his motives on the record.”
To me obviously Jay-Z was paying homage to black leaders on that song, maybe he could have chosen different wording, but I don’t see any problems with that song. Fred Hampton Jr. doesn’t think the same way. What are your thoughts?