"Still a Moor": Jay-Z's "The Story of OJ" v.s. Aaron "the Moor"

"Light nigga, dark nigga, faux nigga, real nigga

Rich nigga, poor nigga, house nigga, field nigga

Still nigga, still nigga"

Are the opening lines in Jay-Z's song "The Story of OJ." The tune is a telling anecdote on the constructions of "blackness" in white society; a tale that such a construction is inescapable. Your status, the gradation of your skin tone, your facial features mean nothing in the face of your race—you may be rich, you may be light-skinned, you may have white features, but if you have black-blood there is no escaping how white society sees you. There is no escaping your blackness, no escaping all the disadvantage, disrespect, and hatred that comes with it (there is a caveat to this which is discussed later).

Jay-Z's way of grappling with this reality reminded me of Aaron and the way he is treated throughout the play: he is referred to as the "Moor," not by his name.

"Pardon me, sir; it was a black ill-favor'd fly, like to the empress' Moor; therefore I kill'd him."

Aaron is only ever seen in the context of his race—in the context of his "blackness." The white characters in Titus refuse to see Aaron; they only see a Moor. Like Jay-Z implies in "The Story of OJ", this refusal to see black people as people, this attempt to only acknowledge them in the confines of their black skin, is an active effort to dehumanize and erase the relevance of said person. It is purposely diminishing. Aaron will always be a Moor in the eyes of his white counterparts, and therefore never truly human.

But what I love about Aaron is his refusal to feel ashamed for being black, and I mention this because the weight of "The Story of OJ" rests in elements of shame:

"O.J. like, "I'm not black, I'm O.J." ...okay"

In this line alone, Jay-Z tackles the reality of wealth and fame and how one's race can become irrelevant in the face of it; there is also a sense of shame implied, with O.J. not wanting to affiliate himself with "blackness" presumably because of its negative connotation in white society. I also see this quote as O.J.'s effort to function outside of constructions of blackness—he does not want to be defined by his blackness but be defined by who he is a person. However, I think the point Jay-Z is trying to make is that when black people get to a certain economic status, there is an active attempt to erase their blackness and appeal to white standards and norms—a journey to "whiteness." Hence why Jay-Z makes the sarcastic "...okay" remark at the end. In this sense, Aaron and O.J. are opposite ends of the spectrum; although the white characters in Titus try their best to degrade and belittle Aaron, make him feel ashamed and disgusted for his black skin, he refuses to adhere/accept their standards, and instead immerses himself in (his form) of black pride:

"Coal-black is better than another hue,

In that it scorns to bear another hue;

For all the water in the ocean

Can never turn the swan's black legs to white,

Although she lave them hourly in the flood."

The fact that a 21st century song, written by a black rapper, is incredibly relevant to 16th century black character, shows how little we have come and how far we have left to go. It also says a lot about Shakespeare himself, and how he fits into this narrative. Was Aaron, and by extension Shakespeare, ahead of his time? I doubt it. Aaron is white fear personified. I firmly believe Shakespeare's true sentiments resided with the white characters in the play, and Shakespeare only made Aaron proud as means to further demonize him—for good blacks are not proud of their blackness, they are ashamed and try everything in their power to be white, and only then are they praised. Considering Shakespeare's racist track record, I see Aaron as more of a warning to white audiences, a warning of how dangerous "militant" black people can be; black people who function outside of societal constructions and white standards while maintaining black identity are threatening, which is why Aaron had to be vilified.