Jay Z’s TIDAL Releases ’17’, a Short Film to Fight Social Injustice

The rapper, entrepreneur, and father is expecting twins with his Grammy award-winning wife, Beyoncé. But, Jay-Z is focusing on building his music streaming business and fighting social injustices with his music app, Tidal.

Tidal has partnered with social justice group, Sankofa.org, to premiere 17, a 17-minute short film inspired by people who became victims of police and racial violence. The video includes music from hit recording artists including Ty Dolla $ign, Raphael Saadiq, Mali Music and Elijah Blake.

Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz wrote and directed the musical short film. The video centers around a 17-year-old named Jacobi Nelson as he experiences racism and police violence.

To mark the release of the short film, Sankofa.org and Tidal have launched a social media campaign called #IAM17. The social media campaign is being used to encourage others to share their stories of experiences they had at 17.

In a press release by Tidal, 17 is an introduction to Sankofa’s upcoming debut compilation album. The organization was launched by singer Harry Belafonte four years ago to connect artists and leaders to work together to fight injustice and human rights issues.

The exclusive Tidal content open to TIDAL members and non-members. A portion of all funds raised from the 17 short film will be used to support Sanokfa.org’s social justice grassroots partners who are “working and organizing on the front lines for progressive social change.”

Jay-Z’s Tidal deal with Sprint

This news comes after Sprint purchased 33% of Jay Z’s Tidal last January. As a result, Sprint will make TIDAL available to Sprint’s 45 million costumers and will provide exclusive content to Sprint costumers. In a statement, Jay-Z commented on the Sprint partnership by saying, “Sprint shares our view of revolutionizing the creative industry to allow artists to connect directly with their fans and reach their fullest, shared potential.”