Pharrell Williams has partnered with Jay-Z to highlight the achievements of more than a dozen Black entrepreneurs in a powerful new song and video.
“Enterpreneur” pays tribute to celebrities like Issa Rae and rap star Tyler, The Creator as well as business people and regular folks like Nicholas Johnson, the first Black valedictorian at Princeton University.
“There will be no sunny days / If Black went away,” Williams sings.
The song repeats the words “Black man” more than 80 times and includes 15 seconds of silence for the late Nipsey Hussle.
It also samples a clip of the late Republican senator Arlen Specter telling a White man at a 2009 town hall: “If you want to be let out of here, you’re welcome to go.” (Williams previously sampled Specter at the same event on Ariana Grande's 2018 track "The Light Is Coming" ft. Nicki Minaj and on 2017's "Lemon" by N.E.R.D. and Rihanna.)
In his verse, Jay-Z raps: “Uh, lies told to you, through YouTubes and Hulus / Shows with no hues that look like you do / Black Twitter, what's that? / When Jack gets paid, do you? / For every one Gucci, support two FUBUs.”
Watch the video for “Entrepreneur” below: