Jay-Z's Rocawear Shirt Capitalizes on Occupy Wall Street, No Proceeds Donated
Jay-Z decided to capitalize on the “Occupy Wall Street” movement by creating a T-shirt line that will not donate any profits to the national protest movement.
The shirts were created under the rapper’s Rocawear label. It features the words “Occupy All Streets” with the “w” crossed out in red. A red “s” was also placed at the end of the word “street.” Thus, the new design makes the T-shirt read: “Occupy All Streets.”
A representative for the Rocawear clothing line admitted the shirts were inspired by the movement that began in the streets of New York City.
"The ‘Occupy All Streets' T-shirt was created in support of the 'Occupy Wall Street' movement," said the representative to Business Insider. "Rocawear strongly encourages all forms of constructive expression, whether it be artistic, political or social."
Despite the inspiration behind the clothing, the representative said Jay-Z’s company did not make any plans to donate money to the Occupy Wall Street cause.
"Occupy All Streets is our way of reminding people that there is change to be made everywhere, not just on Wall Street," the representative said. "At this time we have not made an official commitment to monetarily support the movement."
Still, Russell Simmons seemed impressed with the shirts after seeing Jay-Z wear one while performing at Madison Square Garden on his “Watch the Throne” tour.
"Jay-Z just took #OccupyWallStreet to a whole new level,” tweeted Simmons. “Wowowowowowoow."
However, many people took to Twitter to express concerns with the rapper and music mogul possibly taking advantage of the movement.
"Jay-Z is selling T-shirts inspired by Occupy Wall Street,” one person tweeted. “All proceeds go to occupy Jay-Z's wallet."
Another person questioned the celebrity's intentions and tweeted: “Is Jay-Z trying to make money off Occupy Wall St?"
However, Simmons maintained that he was proud of the rapper for bringing attention to the cause.
"I'm happy with Jay-Z showing support for #occupywallstreet,” Simmons tweeted. “Lots of kids are learning about #ows."
