Tamika Mallory weighs in after Jay-Z questions the Target boycott in freestyle
Activist Tamika Mallory calls out Jay-Z’s stance on the Target boycott backlash: “His platform is so big… it has the
Activist Tamika Mallory calls out Jay-Z’s stance on the Target boycott backlash: “His platform is so big… it has the ability to influence people’s thinking.”
Since March 2025, the Target boycott has become one of the most unifying and polarizing moments on social media, especially among Black communities. As some people supported the efforts to boycott Target after its decision to roll back its DEI initiatives in compliance with the Trump administration’s directives, others were far more skeptical of the growing movement. Recently, Jay-Z reignited discourse surrounding the Target boycott when he released a special anniversary copy of his first album, “Reasonable Doubt,” with the retailer.
After receiving backlash on social media, the rapper addressed the discourse in a freestyle during the opening night of his 3-night residency at Yankee Stadium.
“They say I sold out,” Jay-Z rapped before quickly flipping the criticism into a boast. “Yeah, I did sell out. Three nights. I sold Yankee Stadium the hell out…You shop at Amazon, or you boycott? You post on Instagram, that’s Meta boy stop it. You know Google owns YouTube. You pickin and choosing the politicking as usual.”
This week, activist Tamika Mallory, one of the many leaders behind the boycott addressed HOV’s freestyle on her on her “TMI podcast.”
“This is not exactly what he said, but I assumed that this is what he meant, that you’re upset with me or challenging me, because my albums are being sold in Target, and yet, you’re using Meta, you’re using Amazon, like, are you also boycotting those people? Because if not, it’s, it’s like, it’s hypocrisy to some extent,” she said. “ one of the things that I found to be the biggest sort of argument, if you will, when I talk about all the other people who have done, who have had partnerships with Target and people who’ve worked with them throughout this process, Black folks that have continued working with them and or have new partnerships; they’re like, ‘oh, it’s not the same level. It’s not the same level. Those people are at this level, and Jay Z is at the top of the food chain, so it makes it different.’”
“ And I guess I’m trying to hear that, but I don’t all the way accept it because for us, the people who were holding the responsibility of the boycott every day, every time we saw anybody, including a lady with a red bag walking down the street, it’s like, ‘God, dang, Why?’ We would always discuss it like, ‘damn, are we making progress?’”
Ultimately, the boycott proved to be successful as multiple reports of Target’s stock numbers and traffic numbers decreasing surfaced. So, when she heard Jay-Z’s perspective, she was less outraged and more so motivated to educate.
“There has been a consistent struggle of opinion, and thought, and feelings. That we’re used to. And so we don’t shy away from it,” she said of the differing perspectives. “
“When I hear Jay make that statement, why not Meta and why not this one in Amazon and all of that? It doesn’t just stick with him for me. Like, I don’t hear that and then say, oh, I can’t believe Jay Z said that. You know why?”
She continued, “ [because] when I hear him say it, it’s reminiscent of people in the comment section, of arguments that we had in the movement, things that have been off the table, that nobody has known about, and what makes it, to the people’s point, what makes it need to be addressed in this moment is that his platform is so big that when he says it, it goes so far, it has the ability to influence people’s thinking, and therefore, you have to educate.”
Share
What's Your Reaction?
Like
0
Dislike
0
Love
0
Funny
0
Angry
0
Sad
0
Wow
0
