When news first broke last week that Rocawear was releasing their “Occupy All Streets” line of t-shirts I was skeptical to say the least. As most of us know, Rocawear was at one time Jay-Z’s insanely popular clothing line- so popular that for a few years Jay found more success with fashion than he did with music. It was impossible to go anywhere without seeing the company’s trademark flame emblazoned across the front of t-shirts, sweaters and bomber jackets worn by everybody from toddlers to grandmothers. But times change and as Hip Hop’s collective taste shifted, Rocawear was no longer perceived as being a leader in fashion and was quietly sent away to die in the dark corners of TJ Maxx discount clothing stores. Jay, being the smart businessman that he is, saw Rocawear’s run coming to an end and sold the company, keeping a sizable share for himself and staying on as the face of the failing label, which was more than likely the only way he could offload the clothing line since any prospective buyers would need his image in order to drive sales.

So when I first saw Rocawear’s “Occupy” t-shirts I was confused as to what the motivation was behind it. Were they throwing themselves behind the “Occupy Wall Street” movement? And if so, why? Surely Jay could see the danger in aligning himself with a loosely knit organization hell bent on ending the very system he now represents. One false move and the backlash would be monumental. Was Jay even aware that Rocawear was taking such a bold step in insinuating that they might support the “99%”? My first thought was, “fuck no”. Here’s how I imagined it all went down:

*Jay lying on the couch watching SportsCenter, the phone rings*

Jay: Hello?

Rocawear Rep: Hey Jay, it’s Daniel here at Rocawear.

Jay: Who?

Rocawear Rep: Daniel at Rocawear? The clothing company you started and still own a piece of?

*Jay takes bite of his grilled cheese sandwich*

Jay: Right, right. Listen Daniel I’m really busy right now. Can we touch base at a later date?

Rocawear Rep: Sure. But before you hang up I was wondering if you saw the email I sent regarding the “Occupy” tees.

*unopened email from Rocawear sits in Jay’s spam folder*

Jay: Yeah it looks great. Run with it.

Rocawear Rep: Excellent. Thanks for your time Jay.

*Jay hangs up phone, it oddly sounds like a money machine*

And thus the “Occupy All Streets” shirt was born. Rocawear would resurrect their relevance and ride this new global movement all the way back to mainstream dominance. Once again, the world would piss their money away on $50 t-shirts that cost less than $2 to manufacture and we could all rest knowing that yet another corporation would live on to charge an outrageous amount of money for low quality clothing imported from China. Thanks to some quick thinking, young marketing execs, Rocawear now had a wide-open lane and were about to make their triumphant return to the cutting edge. Who knows, they might even meet Jay-Z someday.

But then the plan backfired almost immediately. As Nathan outlined in last week’s “Fails Of The Week”, Rocawear said they had absolutely no intention of donating any of the proceeds from the sales of the “Occupy” t-shirts to the movement itself. Nope, they just made up some bullshit story about how they “strongly encourage all forms of constructive expression, whether it be artistic, political or social” and thought that the public would buy it. The problem was; we didn’t.

I myself laughed when I heard the above quote. Really guys? Are you that fucking desperate? Your best move would have been to not say anything at all and just have your spokesperson stand there while shrugging and winking at the cameras. Maybe then a few of the naive morons you believe us all to be would have bought into your ridiculous attempt to cash in on the “Occupy” phenomenon and pay their $22 entrance fee to the most ironic business strategy ever conceived. Instead you did the dumbest thing you could’ve possibly done; you distanced the company from the group you were so blatantly ripping off in a feeble attempt to broaden the appeal of your gimmick, which in turn alienated the only people who may have been slightly interested in purchasing your product. In laymen’s terms; you got greedy.

I knew right away heads were gonna roll at Rocawear’s head office. Jay was gonna burst through the doors and show those out of touch corporate dickheads why “old ladies are still saying what he coulda been”. Half that building would be fired and the other half would spend the next week in overdrive doing damage control. There is no way that Jay would’ve knowingly ever approved such a risky sales tactic which could possibly blow up in his face and have a lasting affect on his public persona. I mean, this is the guy that sits next to Warren Buffet on magazine covers then hops in his Maybach and drives over the Brooklyn Bridge to get a quarter water and say “what up” to his people. This guy is so fucking on the ball that the ball feels like it’s on him. There’s no possibility of Jay ever making such a massive error in judgment.

Well, actually he did. Just a few days after the “Occupy” t-shirt made it’s debut Jay was photographed with Russell Simmons while wearing it; which means not only did he give it the green light, he was in full support of it.

The issue that I’ve taken with the situation has very little to do with the “Occupy All Streets” t-shirt. Was it a horrendously awful idea? Yes. But what I see here is the end of my admiration for him as an artist. What originally made me a fan of his were the commonalities that we shared in our stories. I looked at Jay as a superhero, somebody who beat incredible odds and achieved the impossible. When I listened to his music I could hear pieces of my own legacy pouring out through the speakers and drawing a path towards a brighter future. He was the true architect; his songs mapped out a blueprint to success and were a testament to the belief in oneself.

I guess that’s why I, and a lot of other people, are extremely critical of him. To us he’s an icon. He defines what it means to be “self made”. And so we criticize because it hurts to lose our most respected spokesperson. The Jay-Z I idolized as a younger man disappeared after The Blueprint. Sure, he pops up every now and then (The Black Album, American Gangster) but more often than not it seems like he’s too busy pandering to corporate America to remember what got him there in the first place. I only listened to Watch The Throne once all the way through, and quite honestly, that’s one more time than was necessary. Perhaps it’s just that I’m a grown man now, but I don’t wanna hear about how much better Jay and Kanye have it, nor do I care. I don’t blame Jay for being disconnected; the guy’s almost a billionaire for fuck sakes. If he were to go back to the old subject matter it wouldn’t be believable. I don’t knock him for talking about what’s real to him; I’m just frustrated because I can’t relate to it.

Maybe the “Occupy All Streets” t-shirt was Jay’s way of saying “I see you.” Maybe he wanted to reach out but felt the same frustration due to his inability to share a genuine camaraderie with the other “99%” of the population. Whatever the case may be, Jay would’ve done a lot more for himself and others by heading down to Zuccotti Park and holding a press conference to show everybody struggling to pay the bills that he hasn’t forgotten. He didn’t have to get political or even stand in solidarity with the movement, he could’ve just read that boring Rocawear press release and not try to sell that stupid t-shirt.

Or maybe he could’ve just hung out like Kanye did. But only not with a million fucking chains on (we saw you Yeezy).

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