Jay Z Calls the War on Drugs an ‘Epic Fail’ in Scathing New York Times Video Op-ed

The war on drugs has been fought on American soil and beyond for nearly half a century with no end in sight, and has long been viewed by most as a massive blunder. One of its biggest opponents: Jay Z, whose drug-dealing past has become the stuff of legend. He’s now declared his own war on the war on drugs, narrating an animated video op-ed for the New York Times in which he calls Richard Nixon’s plan an “epic fail.”

(Jay-Z also wrote the video’s script.)

He traces the war’s history from his “coming of age” in 1986 all the way up to its present failings, dropping data throughout to support his argument that it’s a war systemically enforced to incarcerate young black men and make rich white people richer. “Young men like me who hustled became the sole villains,” he says. He also places blame on the justice system and media for perpetuating that myth. It’s a scathing indictment of the whole cycle that ends with Jay-Z demanding that America “rethink our policies and laws.”