Is Jay Z More Socially Conscious Than You Think?

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During an appearance on Oprah Winfrey’s Master Class series, Jay Z recently gave his opinion on how Hip-Hop music and culture has helped shape racial relations in America.

photo: WENN

It’s not the first time Hov and Oprah have teamed up, but it may be one of the most timely in light of recent events. This comes on the heels of Jay helping orchestrate dozens of “I Can’t Breathe” shirts for NBA players. All of which begs the question: is Jay Z more socially conscious than you think? Check out the following examples and see if Jay is indeed “Che Guevara with bling on.”

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Photo: Twitter/@melissaderossa

Jay Z played a hand in making sure LeBron James and NBA players from the Brooklyn Nets had access to “I Can’t Breathe” shirts to coordinate with the Eric Garner protests in New York City.

Whether he’s brushing the dirt off his shoulders at a correspondent’s dinner or politicking in twitpics, President Obama has been a recipient of Jay Z’s support since 2008.

photo: WENN

In the wake of Sean Bell being killed by four NYPD officers, Jay Z placed Bell’s widow, Nicole Paultre-Bell, in a Rocawear ad to raise awareness.

photo: WENN

Jay also established a trust for Sean Bell’s children.

photo: WENN

Along with Redman, DMX, and the rest of the participants on the Hard Knock Life Tour, Jay Z donated the proceeds from their Denver, Colorado show to families of those lost to the shooting at Columbine High School in 1999.

photo: WENN

With some help from the United Nations and MTV, Jay Z helped bring clean water wells to Angola and South Africa. The efforts were filmed as part of MTV’s 2006 documentary, Diary of Jay-Z: Water for Life.

He’s never claimed to be a formal member of the Five-Percent Nation, but Jay Z has brought a certain amount of awareness to the organization since he was rapping with Jaz on “The Originators.” For what it’s worth, Minister Louis Farrakhan, Brand Nubian’s Lord Jamar, and Jay Electronica are all cool with him rocking the signature chain.

photo: WENN

Sean Combs and Jay combined to pony up a million in donations for BET and Red Cross’s SOS Saving Ourselves: Help For Haiti benefit in 2010.

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‘Hov can get deep when he wants to, as he proved on “Open Letter,” by rhyming, “You getting too much bread, they try to jam you / Boy from the hood but got White House clearance / Sorry y’all, I don’t agree with y’all parents / Politicians never did s**t for me / Except lie to me, distort history…”

Mr. Carter has never given the most thorough explanation of his fascination with Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara, but he scored some awareness points for rocking a Guevara shirt in his 2001 MTV Unplugged special and the infamous “Che Guevara with bling on” reference.

photo: WENN

At a time when legislators are still trying to arrest rappers and use their lyrics as evidence, Jay Z put his inside of a book with the stated goal of finally making mainstream America respect Hip-Hop as art.

photo: WENN

In 2005, when tsunamis struck the coastlines of Southeast Asia and East Africa, Jay Z joined Justin Timberlake, No Doubt, Linkin Park, Blink 182, and the Black Eyed Peas to play tsunami benefits in California.

Guess who New York Governor Cuomo holla’d at about the suspect justice system?

photo: WENN

Thanks to Oprah Winfrey, millions of suburban housewives saw Jay Z say, “Hip-Hop has done more for racial relations than most cultural icons.” At a time when the country is incredibly divided, it’s doubtful anyone else would’ve conveyed that message to Oprah’s audience.