TK's Take

TK's Take Talk radio show on Artist First Radio Network Host is Terrence Kyrell Hodge aka The Original TKO
Sp

Jay Z is a sellout.I didn't want to admit that. He's my favorite rapper, and I expected more from him.I gave him a pass ...
18/07/2026

Jay Z is a sellout.

I didn't want to admit that. He's my favorite rapper, and I expected more from him.

I gave him a pass when he partnered with the NFL and hit us with, "We're past kneeling." No, we're not. The NFL literally removed "End Racism" from the end zone when Donald Trump attended the Super Bowl. Apparently we're past kneeling... but not past folding.

We'll come back to Colin Kaepernick in a minute.

I had no idea Jay Z had an exclusive deal with Target to re-release Reasonable Doubt for its 30th anniversary. (By the way, thanks for reminding me I'm old enough to remember when it first dropped.)
It's a white vinyl collector's edition with artwork, and I'm struggling to see who really benefits from this deal besides Target. A company currently being boycotted by many consumers after rolling back its DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) initiatives suddenly gets one of the biggest Black icons in the world to help bring Black shoppers back through the doors. What a coincidence.

That's strike two.

Let's talk about "We're past kneeling."
The NFL used Jay Z as the public relations blanket to cover up how they railroaded Colin Kaepernick. Kaep wasn't protesting the flag. He was protesting the repeated killings and beatings of Black people at the hands of police. He originally sat during the national anthem, then asked a military veteran what would be the most respectful way to protest. The veteran suggested taking a knee.

Then came Agent Orange.

Owners closed ranks, Kaepernick was blackballed, and the NFL eventually settled with him. Yes, he took the money. That's called compensation when someone wrongfully costs you your career. He'll never recover the earning potential he lost during his prime playing years.

And while Jay Z was building another billion, Kaepernick was helping fund an independent autopsy for the family of 18 year old Nolan Wells after his death in Mississippi.

One man's investment portfolio. Another man's principles.

To be fair, Jay Z deserves credit for helping elevate the Super Bowl halftime show. We've gotten some incredible performances because of his involvement.

But spectacular halftime shows don't erase symbolic actions. If the league is willing to quietly remove "End Racism" from the field because a president who publicly criticized Kaepernick is in attendance, then maybe we were never "past kneeling" to begin with.

Now Target wants those Black dollars back.

Who do they call?

The Jigga Bat Signal lights up.

Jay Z could have partnered with virtually any retailer on Earth. Instead, he chose one that many Black consumers and allies are intentionally avoiding. That's a choice. Billionaires rarely make accidental choices.

Speaking of billionaires...

Nobody accidentally stumbles into that tax bracket. Somewhere along the way, somebody got squeezed, underpaid, or exploited. That's just how the math usually works.

I'm still a fan of Jay Z's music. That part hasn't changed.

But he won't be getting any more of my money.

The final straw? Seeing what he's charging for T-shirts.

I own a T-shirt business. I know what it costs to produce a quality shirt. Let's just say those profit margins are healthier than most people's blood pressure.

In this economy?

Hard pass.

Jay Z is still one of the greatest rappers of all time.

But greatness and accountability can exist in the same sentence.

And for me...

Jay Z is a sellout.



17/05/2026

Watching Donald J. Trump explain that the wealthiest nation in recorded human history somehow cannot afford daycare should be studied by economists, sociologists, and perhaps exorcists. Apparently universal childcare is an impossible fantasy, but trillion-dollar defense budgets keep sliding through Congress like butter on a hot biscuit.

We are told there is no money for healthcare, SNAP, or Medicaid because sacrifice is necessary during wartime... the same war we were assured would not become our problem. Curious how austerity always arrives wearing work boots and carrying eviction notices for poor people, while tax cuts for billionaires float down from heaven like rose petals at a royal wedding.

At this point they are not even pretending to improve life for ordinary Americans. The mask slipped, hit the floor, and filed for unemployment.

“Molly, you in danger girl.” 🎬




12/03/2026

There was a terrorist attack at a synagogue in Michigan today. Thankfully, the attacker was neutralized. I abhor violence in any form. The murder of civilians is never justified, no matter who commits it or what flag they wave.
But as Martin Luther King Jr. once said, riots do not appear out of thin air. Violence grows in soil that has been salted with humiliation, displacement, and grief.

How can anyone expect a child not to grow up harboring rage when his city is bombed and his family is buried beneath the rubble?
For Palestinians, statehood has been denied for generations while Israel enjoys unwavering protection from the United States. In roughly seventy years, Israel has transformed its historical trauma into a system of domination over another people. The victims of history do not get a permanent moral exemption to become the authors of someone else’s suffering.

The uncomfortable truth is that Israel increasingly behaves not like a victim, but like a regional power enforcing its will through military force. Diplomacy once offered another path. Under Barack Obama, the United States negotiated the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with Iran. International inspectors repeatedly confirmed that Iran was complying with the agreement. Then Donald J. Trump tore it up after pressure from Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies.

Why would Iran ever trust the United States to honor another agreement after watching one be discarded for domestic politics?
Meanwhile Netanyahu himself faces corruption charges at home. War has a strange way of freezing political accountability. Leaders under investigation suddenly become wartime commanders. National unity replaces scrutiny.Call it coincidence if you like. Some of us are less charitable.

Power has a way of revealing character. In the hands of honorable people it protects. In the hands of the dishonorable it devours.
I have sympathy for ordinary Iranians and Palestinians alike. I am not a supporter of terrorism, state-sponsored or otherwise. Killing civilians is barbaric whether the weapon is a su***de vest or a fighter jet.

But if we are honest, the United States understands the psychology of revenge better than most nations. After the September 11 attacks, America launched the Iraq War on claims that later proved false. Rage drove policy. Fear fueled it.
So how can we condemn Palestinians or Iranians for feeling the same human impulse toward vengeance when their homes are destroyed and their dead pile up?
Israel continues to insist on the language of victimhood while exercising the power of an aggressor. And when powerful nations refuse to acknowledge that contradiction, the cycle of violence continues grinding forward like a machine that has forgotten how to stop.

Violence should be condemned everywhere. But honesty should exist everywhere too. And the honest truth is this: Peace cannot grow where one side holds all the power and still insists it is the victim.

I don't know what kind of man Zach Bryan is. I don't like country music. (So much so that I only listened to Beyoncé's c...
15/10/2025

I don't know what kind of man Zach Bryan is. I don't like country music. (So much so that I only listened to Beyoncé's country album once and I did not like it.) I've listened to 🎵I Love This Country 🎵because MAGA is losing their s**t because he sang "mean things" about ICE and the trauma being inflicted on children (Aren't all children innocent?) I love this country (sometimes) too. I'm embarrassed by how little we seem to care about human beings. They're not just targeting the Latino community and no American is safe. I can hear those hateful bastards now, "They're stealing our jobs!" Then why are ALL the industries that use the labor of the undocumented ALL suffering?

Since money is all these degenerates care about, how does this grab you? ICE raids are hurting our economy. Tourism is in America is down 27%. European countries are advising them not to travel to the United States. Ask Vegas how it feels. How's Florida doing? It's disgusting, and I can't allow someone who thinks what's happening to innocent children is OK to be associated with me.

The last thing is the most important component against these people. They're okay with you as long as you agree with ALL of their bulls**t. MAGA demands you love Cheeto Daddy, hate all immigrants (who aren't white) but they'll allow you to debase yourself and your community to be near them, but never one of them (see the Hodge twins) They are built on hatred and division. They call themselves Christians and don't really know what that means.

I don't know what kind of man Zach Bryan is, but he's not in support of mass deportation and ICE running around like the 21st-century edition of the Gestapo. Suddenly MAGA has a problem with Zach Bryan. Because, You're not allowed to think for yourself. You're not allowed to disagree with Cheeto Daddy. You are not allowed to have compassion for your neighbor (there's that whole Christian thing being broken there.) You're the bully and yet you cry like the biggest "Baby Huey" (google it)
It's embarrassing.

I don't know what kind of man Zach Bryan is but I just bought my first country song. I don't like country music and I don't like this song., but I want Zach Bryan to know that he has support as his racist Klan fans dump him, he can gain a bunch of new ones. Any man who sings about this travesty in an honest light is okay with me. Bravo, Zach Bryan. and if you don't like it

Address

155 Chiswick High Road
London
W4 1

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when TK's Take posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category