Rapper Jay-Z’s Roc Nation entertainment company and the NFL have teamed up to produce the “Inspire Change” clothing line and associated music showcase to push “social progress,” according to reports.
The first concert from the collaboration will take place on September 5 in Chicago just ahead of the NFL’s first pre-season game of the 2019 season, the league’s 100th, according to Bleacher Report.
The concert taking place before the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers game will feature Meek Mill, singer Meghan Trainor and rapper Rapsody.
Proceeds from the clothing line will go to fund programs that center on “economic empowerment, police and community relations, and criminal justice reform,” the NFL claimed.
Jay-Z says singers from a variety of genres will create new music for a “Songs of the Season” campaign as part of the NFL deal. The new songs will debut ahead of games throughout the season.
The apparel line will debut later on during the NFL season.
Jay-Z caught a lot of criticism for his big NFL deal after spending all of 2018 arguing that the NFL was working against the interests of social justice by refusing to sign former player Colin Kaepernick and national anthem protester to a team. However, the rapper inked a deal with the NFL despite Kaepernick being left on the sidelines and without a team.
Some said Jay-Z’s about face with his NFL deal was a “betrayal” of the very people and issues the rapper was so loud about supporting only a year ago.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.
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