"The Story of O.J." is a song by American rapper
Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one of ...
from his thirteenth studio album ''
4:44''. It was produced by Jay-Z and
No I.D.
Ernest Dion Wilson (born June 23, 1971), professionally known as No I.D. (formerly Immenslope), is an American hip hop and R&B producer from Chicago, Illinois. Wilson is also a disc jockey (DJ), music arranger and former rapper, having releas ...
Following the release of the album, the song charted in a couple of regions, entering and peaking at number 23 on the US
''Billboard'' Hot 100, as well as charting at number 88 on the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
. It received three nominations at the
60th Annual Grammy Awards
The 60th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on January 28, 2018. The CBS network broadcast the show live from Madison Square Garden in New York City. The show was moved to January to avoid coinciding with the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongc ...
:
Record of the Year
The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without reg ...
,
Best Rap Song
The Grammy Award for Best Rap Song is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality songs in the rap music genre. Honors in several ...
, and
Best Music Video
The Grammy Award for Best Music Video is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to performers, directors, and producers of quality short form music videos. Hon ...
. The song features samples from
Nina Simone
Eunice Kathleen Waymon (February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003), known professionally as Nina Simone (), was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blues, ...
's song "
Four Women". The song's instrumental was used by American rapper
Pusha T
Terrence LeVarr Thornton (born May 13, 1977), better known by his stage name Pusha T, is an American rapper, songwriter and record executive. He rose to prominence as one-half of the hip hop duo Clipse, which was mainly active from 1994 to 20 ...
in his 2018
diss track
A diss track, diss record or diss song (diss – abbr. from ''disrespect'') is a song whose primary purpose is to verbally attack someone else, usually another artist. Diss tracks are often the result of an existing, escalating feud between the ...
against Canadian rapper and singer
Drake
Drake may refer to:
Animals
* A male duck
People and fictional characters
* Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name
* Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* ...
. American rapper
YoungBoy Never Broke Again
Kentrell DeSean Gaulden (born October 20, 1999), known professionally as YoungBoy Never Broke Again (also known as NBA YoungBoy or simply YoungBoy), is an American rapper. Between 2015 and 2017, he released eight independent mixtapes and steadi ...
also remixed the song in 2020.
Music video
The music video for "The Story of O.J." premiered on July 5, 2017 on Jay-Z's
Vevo
Vevo ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized as VEVO until 2013) is an American multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available as an app on selected smart TVs, di ...
account on
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
. It was directed by Jay-Z and
Mark Romanek
Mark Romanek (; born September 18, 1959) is an American filmmaker whose directing work includes feature films, television, music videos and commercials. Romanek wrote and directed the 2002 film ''One Hour Photo'' and directed the 2010 film '' Neve ...
.
The video uses a style similar to the
Censored Eleven
The Censored Eleven is a group of '' Looney Tunes'' and '' Merrie Melodies'' cartoons originally produced and released by Warner Bros. that were withheld from syndication in the United States by United Artists (UA) since 1968. UA owned the dis ...
cartoons, depicting several well-known
stereotypes associated with African Americans. Among other things, the video touches on African American culture, various roles within the black community, and how the black community is affected by money.
O. J. Simpson
Orenthal James Simpson (born July 9, 1947), nicknamed "Juice", is an American former football running back, actor, and broadcaster who played for the Buffalo Bills and San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League. Once a popular figure ...
(the song's namesake) is featured saying the line, "I'm not black, I'm O.J.," a reference to the idea that wealth, notoriety, and fame can transcend race. The video was ranked the best music video of 2017 by ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
''.
Controversy on ''Jewish people'' lyric
One of the song's lyrics ''"You wanna know what's more important than throwin' away money at a strip club? Credit. You ever wonder why Jewish people own all the property in America? This how they did it"'' caused backlash as many have called it antisemitic to suggest Jews own all the property in America and they did it by "credit."'
Hadley Freeman
Hadley Clare Freeman (born 15 May 1978) is an American British journalist based in London. She writes for ''The Sunday Times'', having previously written for ''The Guardian''.
Early life
Freeman was born in New York City to a Jewish family. ...
penned an article in ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' stating that the song "repeats a
racist trope about Jewish people" and that "it can’t just be laughed off as a compliment."
Guy Oseary
Guy Harley Oseary ( he, גיא עוזרי; born October 3, 1972) is an Israeli-American talent manager and writer. His clients include Madonna, U2 and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Biography
Guy Oseary was born on October 3, 1972, in Jerusale ...
, an Israeli-American talent manager and producer
Russell Simmons
Russell Wendell Simmons (born October 4, 1957) is an American entrepreneur, writer and record executive. He co-founded the hip-hop label Def Jam Recordings, and created the clothing fashion lines Phat Farm, Argyleculture, and Tantris. Simmons' ...
defended Jay-Z, with Oseary argued the lyric was a "way to showcase a community of people that are thought to have made wise business decisions."
An
Anti-Defamation League
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), formerly known as the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, is an international Jewish non-governmental organization based in the United States specializing in civil rights law. It was founded in late Septe ...
representative told
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
that they do not believe Jay-Z’s intent was to promote
antisemitism
Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism.
Antis ...
but that they were "concerned that this lyric could feed into preconceived notions about Jews and
alleged Jewish ‘control’ of the banks and finance.”
Jay Z said on the Rap Radar podcast referring to the imagery in the video in relation to the controversial lyric "It’s hard for me to take that serious, because I exaggerated every black image in the world.”... “Of course I know Jewish people don’t own all the property in the world. I mean, I own things! It was an exaggeration"...“In the context of the song, I’m trying say, you guys did it right!”
Awards
Personnel
* Steve Wyreman – guitar, bass,
celeste
Celeste may refer to:
Geography
* Mount Celeste, unofficial name of a mountain on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada
* Celeste, Texas, a rural city in North Texas
** Celeste High School, public high school located in the city of Celeste, ...
,
CS-80, electric piano
*
Gimel "Young Guru" Keaton – recording
*
Jimmy Douglass
Jimmy Douglass, also known as "The Senator", is an American recording engineer and record producer. His career has spanned more than four decades.
Career
In the early 1970s at Atlantic Records studios in New York City, he started his studio ca ...
– mixing
* Dave Kutch – mastering
Charts
Weekly charts
Certifications
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Story of O.J.
2017 songs
Cultural depictions of O. J. Simpson
Jay-Z songs
Songs written by Jay-Z
Songs written by No I.D.
Song recordings produced by No I.D.
Songs written by Nina Simone
Songs against racism and xenophobia
Music videos directed by Mark Romanek
Animated music videos