Jay-Z’s “Run This Town” and the Occult Connections

Aug 27th, 2009 | By Vigilant | Category: Vigilant Reports

Jay-Z’s latest video called “Run This Town” (featuring Rihanna and Kanye West) contains occult symbolism relating

to secret societies. It has been long rumored that Jay-Z is part of some sort of occult order (probably Freemasonry)

due to the hints slipped in his songs and his imagery. ”Run This Town” certainly adds fuel to the fire. We’ll look at the

symbolism in this song and in his clothing line, Rocawear.

I’m pretty sure Jay-Z does it on purpose and that he appreciates the attention it gets him. He has been steadily

displaying occult symbolism in his songs, videos and in the designs of his Rocawear clothing line. The Brooklyn

rapper has lately been associating himself through telling hints to Freemasonry, Illuminati and other orders. Is he now

initiated in one of those Brotherhoods and eager to show it off? Why does he appear in other videos containing occult

meanings (see Rihanna’s “Umbrella” or Beyonce’s “Crazy in Love”)?

The video to “Run This Town” was directed by Anthony Mandler, who also did Rihanna’s “Disturbia” video. In another

of my articles, I explain how this video is a metaphor for evil possession. The least we can say is that Mandler

certainly knows how to insert dark symbolism into a video.

“Do What Thou Wilt”

Before we get into the video, a couple of things need to be explained in order to understand Jay-Z’s mindset and

where he gets his ideas from. The symbols that will be discussed in this article can’t be coincidences or a collection of

random items. Jay-Z draws his inspiration from specific sources and associates with like-minded people (director

Anthony Mandler) to integrate those ideas. A telling example can be found in the second trailer video for “Run This

Town”. We see Jay-Z explaining the concept of the video while wearing a black hoodie bearing the saying “Do What

Thou Wilt”.

Aleister Crowley: Reformer of the O.T.O. whose motto was “Do what Thou Wilt”. He also

enjoyed being called ”The wickedest man in the world”.

“Do What Thou Wilt” is the official dictum of the Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.) and of its reformer, occultist Aleister

Crowley. The O.T.O. is a hermetic order modeled after Freemasonry and German Illuminism and teaches its initiates

the secrets of the Mysteries, gnosticism, sex magick, Kaballah and other occult sciences. Contrarily to

Freemasonry, the O.T.O. is however based on the “Law of Thelema” which main precept is “Do What Thou Wilt be

the whole of the Law“. Although this saying was interpreted in different ways, most agree that it refers to the dismissal

of conventional moral and ethical rules in order to find one’s “True Will”. In other words, the usual guidelines by which

good and evil are determined have to be blurred and forgotten to obtain the true path to illumination. Crowley explains

this notion rather clearly here:

“There are no “standards of Right”. Ethics is balderdash. Each Star must go on its own orbit. To hell with “moral

principle”; there is no such thing”

-Crowley, Aleister. The Old and New Commentaries to Liber AL, II,28.

Although not officially considered “satanic”, the O.T.O. does fully embrace the Luciferian doctrine (see Crowley’s

poem “Hymn to Lucifer) and its high level members are referred to as “Most Illuminated and Most Puissant

Baphomet”. Baphomet is of course the horned androgynous idol of Western Occultism.

Poster in honor of Crowley. Notice “Do What Thou Wilt” and Baphomet

Is Jay-Z part of the O.T.O. or does he just like that shirt? Don’t know. We will however see that he is very educated

in the field of occult symbolism and that he enjoys hinting people that he associates with the Brotherhood. Here’s the

video.

“Run This Town” Analysis

So this is the video at face value: Jay-Z, Rihanna and Kanye West are performing in front of an angry mob, which is

apparently out to overthrow the current order of things and thus “Run This Town”. The aesthetics of the video are

reminiscent of movements led by rebel factions in third world African or Latino countries . When one listens closely to

the lyrics however, something seems to be ”off”. Jay-Z and Kanye are mainly rapping about how rich and famous

they are and are describing bourgeoisie luxuries such as Maison Martin Margiela clothes, bottles of Riesling and

Maybach cars. This isn’t exactly the type of speech Che Guevara would give. Despite the looks, the artists aren’t

quite revolutionary, they can even be considered pro-establishment. Is this a political rebellion or could it be

philosophical/spiritual? The visuals of the video hint a second, occult meaning to the song.

At the beginning of the video, a man hands a lit torch to Rihanna who holds it up in the air. This symbolic gesture

sums up perfectly the concept of the video.

Rihanna handed a lit torch

Anybody vaguely familiar with occultism can easily associate the symbol of the lit torch held high to Lucifer a.k.a. the

Light Bearer. Most occult orders secretly acknowledge Lucifer as being the savior of humanity, the fallen angel who

liberated men from the oppression of the biblical God (Jehovah, Yahweh). These orders (the main one being

Freemasonry) have been working for centuries towards the overthrow of the rule of organized religions to usher in a

new age or a “New Order”. At the philosophical center of this order: the Luciferian Doctrine, where men are free to

become gods by their own means. The Torch of Illumination is the ultimate symbol of this philosophy and can be

found in many instances (see Statue of Liberty, a gift from French Freemasons). The goal of the Illuminist has been

put in plain in simple words: they are dedicated to the “coming forth of the conquering light“. “Run This Town”

visually represents this aim in a clear way for the initiates yet concealed for the profane.

Consequently, the video contains a second level of interpretation: “Run This Town” is an announcement of the

coming of a New World Order, lead by secret (Luciferian) societies. Rihanna’s ominous intro explains how it is going

down.

Feeling it coming in the air,

hear the screams from everywhere,

I’m addicted to thrill,

Its a dangerous love affair,

Can’t be scared when it goes down,

got a problem tell me now,

Only thing that’s on my mind is who gon run this town tonight,

who gon run this town tonite

Guess Rihanna can’t make this clearer for you

Rihanna’s lyrics are announcing an imminent change that might terrify or enrage some people (“hear the screams

from everywhere“). The torches hint to a new spiritual and philosophical era where Lucifer is king. She is “addicted to

the thrill” of being on the dark side and she knows that dealing with it is a “dangerous love affair“. But regardless of all

of this, it all comes down to control, hence “Only thing that’s on my mind is who gon run this town tonight“.

Then Jay-Z comes along and announces the coming of “Roc Nation” (Roc being a diminutive of Rocafella, the name

of his record label, which is based on the elite family Rockefeller).

We are, yeah, I said it, we are

This is Roc Nation, pledge your allegiance

Get y’all fatigues on, all black everything

Black cards, black cars, all black everything

And our girls are blackbirds, riding with they Dillingers

I get more in-depth if you boys really real enough

This is La Familia, I’ll explain later

But for now, let me get back to this paper

I’m a couple bands down and I’m tryna get back

I gave Doug a grip, I lost a flip for five stacks

Yeah, I’m talking five comma six zeroes dot zero ?

Back to running circles ’round niggas, now we squared up

Jay-Z is asking you to “Pledge your allegiance” to the new ruler and to wear black everything to honor him. Jay’s

lyrics contain hints to Freemasonry who are hidden in the double meaning of some lines. “I gave Doug a grip” means

he gave Doug a stack of money but the double meaning to that line would refer to the Masons’ secret handshakes

which are called “grips”. And who is Doug? Might be Doug Morris. The last line of his first verse is “Back to running

circles’ round niggas, now we squared up“. Aside from its obvious meaning, it also refers to the important Masonic

concept of “squaring the circle”, which is way too deep to explain here (“I get more in-depth if you boys really real

enough“). In the second verse, Jay-Z says ”It’s the return of thee god“, which refers to the Luciferian belief of men

being gods. This term is often used in NY slang and originates from the fact that many rappers were Five-

Percenters, a philosophy based on the belief that all men are gods. Further in the song Jay-Z says: “I’m in Maison,

ugh, Martin Margiela” which is a upper-end fashion store. English speaking people usually pronounce the

french word ”maison” to sound like ”mayzaun”. Jay-Z however says it to sound like “mason” as in “Freemason”. There

is an obvious double-meaning here meant to catch the ear of the listener. He basically says “I’m in Mason” to make

people say “huh did he really say that?” as “I’m a Freemason” but he then continues by saying “ugh, Martin Margiela“.

The little pause after he says those words accentuate the effect. Then Rihanna comes back with the chorus.

Life’s a game but it’s not fair

I break the rules so I don’t care

So I keep doing my own thing

Walking tall against the rain

Victory’s within the mile

Almost there, don’t give up now

Only thing that’s on my mind

Is who gon’ run this town tonight

She says that the game of life is corrupted but she still succeeds because she “breaks the rules”. In other words, she

ignores the boundaries between good and evil to achieve her goals. This might remind you of the saying “Do What

Thou Wilt” of the Ordo Templi Orientis described above. Those lines refer to her as a person and also to the Order as

a whole, who is prepared to commit the most horrible acts to reach its goals. “Victory’s within the mile” means that the

realization of the New World Order is at its final stages and that the Illuminati-sponsored revolution is about to

happen.

Rihanna throwing Rocafella sign which is the left eye inside a triangle

So “Run This Town” contains obvious hints leading towards Luciferian philosophy and occult orders. The fire of

Lucifer’s torch esoterically represents divine knowledge and wisdom brought to men. Fire in this video is however a

destructive force. What type of knowledge are we giving these rebellious people, who represent the masses of fans?

Jay-Z and Occult Symbolism

Jay-Z’s clothing line “Rocawear” has incorporated obvious occult symbols in its designs. Some are so blatantly

Masonic that he probably couldn’t get away with it if he wasn’t effectively implicated with them. In interviews, Jay-Z

has said to be actively involved in the choices of designs of his clothing line. Here are some examples:

All-Seeing Eye in Triangle

"Masters of the Craft" is a 100% Masonic saying and the All-Seeing Eye of the Great Architect depicted here is

directly taken from Masonic works. Notice also the secret handshake depicted in a circle.

The logo above is designed to look like the Eye of Horus below.

Kanye wearing a shirt with the head of Baphomet

Prodigy’s Crusade

Rapper Prodigy from the mythical group Mobb Deep has occasionally denounced Jay-Z’s affiliation with the Illuminati

in the last years. Here’s an URB article on the subject.

Prodigy’s ain’t down with that crap

Like he does in his monthly blog on Vibe.com, the incarcerated Prodigy recently spewed more of his conspiracy

theories via a handwritten letter to URB. This time, he reveals the moment his eyes were opened to the sham he calls

“the government, religions, politics, the Federal Reserve, and I.R.S.” According to P, in 1996, after reading a book by

Dr. Malichi Z. York titled Leviathan 666, he was moved so much, he cried, and that was his “moment of clarity.”

“I was crying for all of humanity, but mostly for my black people ’cause I then realized it was all a sham,” Prodigy

writes in his letter to URB. “The government, religions, politics, the Federal Reserve, the I.R.S., and everything that

we believe and live by is a joke.” Even worse, the rapper says that many popular rappers are aware of these society

secrets, but choose not to speak on it for fear of not being accepted by corporate America. One, in particular, is Jay-

Z.

Occult Secrets of Jay Z, Kanye & Nas

“J.Z. knows the truth, but he chose sides with evil in order to be accepted in the corporate world. J.Z. conceals the

truth from the black community and the world, and promotes the lifestyle of the beast instead,” he wrote. Prodigy says

that Jay grew up grew up in Dr. York’s “Nuwabian” community in Brooklyn as a kid, and is “aware” of these evils —

rogue government, elitists running the country, etc.

Because of Jay’z refusal to speak on the topics Prodigy has been doing so since his incarceration, he will make it a

point to wage war against him.

“J.Z is a God damn lie. I have so much fire in my heart that I will relentlessly attack J.Z, Illuminati, and any-every

other evil that exists until my lights are put out,” P writes. “This negativity I speak of is an actual living entity that uses

us as food. We must sever ties with it in order to see things for what they really are. This negative energy is created

and harnessed by the Illuminati secret government and they will make you spread this energy without you even

knowing it. But people like J.Z. are very well aware. He was schooled by Dr. York,” he continued.

Real talk.

To Conclude

So, the least we can say is that Jay-Z has “affinities” with occultism and secret societies. “Run This Town” only adds

to the suspicions surrounding him due to the symbolism and philosophy displayed in the video. In light of those facts,

some questions arise: has Jay-Z sided with the elite to succeed in the corporate world? Is he used to promote NWO

agenda? Or is this an act to fuel rumors and to add a little “mystique” around his persona? Maybe it’s all of the above.

Maybe he’s doing this to get people like me writing and to generate buzz around his latest album. If this article has

promoted Jay-Z, so be it. At least people will know what the the hell they’re saluting when they’re throwing up that

Roc sign.