The Story of O.J. Lyrics

Lyric discussion by secondtooth 

Cover art for The Story of O.J. lyrics by Jay-Z

It's about free market capitalism. A lot of it's hiding behind racial dynamics, but that's no justification. Check it:

I bought every V12 engine Wish I could take it back to the beginnin' I coulda bought a place in Dumbo before it was Dumbo For like 2 million That same building today is worth 25 million Guess how I'm feelin'? Dumbo

That's about the housing market. Property ownership is one of the main things that separates the haves from the have-nots.

You wanna know what's more important than throwin' away money at a strip club? Credit. You ever wonder why Jewish people own all the property in America? This how they did it

This is a somewhat benevolently antisemitic comment regarding the theory that jews are seedy merchant people, and thus "made it" in america under a capitalist system, espousing the idea that if you do what you need to do and "work hard" you can make it too. This, of course, is bullshit.

Financial freedom my only hope Fuck livin' rich and dyin' broke

Promoting the free market

I bought some artwork for 1 million 2 years later, that shit worth 2 million Few years later, that shit worth 8 million I can't wait to give this shit to my children

Inheritance is mainly what determines one's place in the class system.

Y'all think it's bougie, I'm like, it's fine But I'm tryin' to give you a million dollars worth of game for $9.99

Here, "bougie" is shorthand for "bourgeoisie", the oppressor class in Marxist theory, as opposed to the working "prole" or "proletariat". Jay Z is a card carrying bourgeois oppressor, and no, that shit isn't fine.

Song Meaning

@secondtooth Dude. You missed, or either don't get, half of what he's saying. Furthermore, he states that that many of the Jewish people in America built credit and wealth, so that they could own a large chunk of the real estate market. How is that anti-Semitic?

@allaboutthemusic547 @Terror44 Man, you guys can throw shade but it's all empty. Explain, like what are you even trying to say? I don't get what? That he's implying that riches and fame don't override one's master status, in this case "blackness"? Yeah, I get that, and disagree with it while still acknowledging intersectional theory. Master status override certainly exists, a good example of that would be Stephen Hawking and how his intellect tends to distract from his disability. If I had to guess, I'd say you guys have no clue what you're talking about. I'm talking upper-level sociology and Marxist...

@secondtooth Ya that is a pretty negative view you have taken on the lyrics.

In my opinion is he praising the strength of personal finance, and the ability of personal savings to continually double in the free market (investing in the stock market). Which is accessible to almost all income ranges, except the very bottom. He is simply commenting that the Jewish people were wise to personal finance, investing their savings, growing their money (whether that be in businesses, or gold, or diamonds, or artwork, etc.) He is talking about building a legacy for his children, which...