Celebrity Gossip
Jay-Z causes controversy by wearing gaudy medallion of ‘Five Percent Nation’ group
- The Brooklyn-born rapper wore a medallion representing the Five Percent Nation at a Nets game last week
- One of the main tenets of the Nation of Islam offshoot is that white people are ‘weak and wicked’ and that black men hold the power of God
- When asked if the medallion holds any importance to him, Jay-Z said: ‘A little bit’
- Jay-Z was spotted wearing the nation’s symbol last year while giving radio interviews for his new album, Magna Carta Holy Grail
- A representative for the Five-Percenters said Jay-Z is not an active member and shouldn’t be wearing regalia unless he subscribes to their beliefs
Jay-Z raised eyebrows at the Barclay’s Center last week when he wore a medallion symbolizing the Five Percent Nation.
The Brooklyn-born rapper was sitting court-side at a Nets game on Tuesday with wife Beyonce when he was snapped wearing the controversial symbol.
One of the core tenants of the Five Percent Nation – an off-shoot of the Nation of Islam – is that white people are ‘wicked and inferior’ to black men.
When asked by a reporter whether the medallion is meaningful to him, Jay-Z shrugged and said ‘A little bit’.
This isn’t the first time that the rapper has been connected to the Five-Percenters.
He was photographed wearing another similar medallion while giving radio interviews for his album Magna Carta Holy Grail last summer.
And in ‘Heaven’ a track on that album, Jay-Z references the Five-Percenters acronym for Allah by rapping ‘Arm leg leg arm head’.
The Five Percent Nation was founded in 1963 by Clarence Smith, a former student of Malcolm X.
But Smith decided to split off from the Nation of Islam after disagreeing over the idea of God.
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