Jay-Z hopes to break into the NY sports gaming business, social justice

Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter pulled out all the stops to celebrate the 18th anniversary of his famous New York club and lounge, The 40/40 Club, Saturday (28 AUGUST 2021).

"It's big for us, very exciting. It's very important because typically in these things, there's no sort of diversity, there's no one that represents the city," explained the rap icon. "So all those things make it a really exciting opportunity."

After guests such as Megan Thee Stallion, Swizz Beats and Meek Mill posed for photos, Jay-Z also talked about working with his wife Beyonce. They recently appeared in a Tiffany & Co. ad entitled "About Love" featuring a painting never shown before in public by famed painter artist Jean-Michel Basquiat's called "Equals Pi." Beyonce also wore the Tiffany Diamond in the photos, which marked the couple's first time appearing in an ad together.

"She's super detail-oriented, obviously, as you can see from her work," said Beyonce's husband. "She's an incredibly hard worker, super talented, very inspiring."

However, it hasn't been all diamond and smiles: critics has been upset, stating that the 128.54-carat yellow diamond which was mined in South Africa in 1877 is a blood diamond. Beyonce is the first Black woman—and only the fourth person ever—to wear the jewel.

The rap mogul, who's extremely vocal on social justice issues and has a partnership with the NFL to amplify the league's social justice effort, also discussed corporations who pledged to support Black and Brown initiatives in the wake of protests following the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer but have not followed through on their commitments.

"A lot of times, people say things because it's the topic of now and they don't want to get themself in a PR disaster. Our company, you know, Roc Nation, is 53 percent diverse, 51 percent female. We don't have a diversity department—it's just who we are. So, you got to get people in the room that live and breathe it," said Jay-Z. "You have to get the people from the culture in those rooms."