In the midst of a nationwide boycott, Target is switching gears to appeal to hip hop and music lovers.

Rapper Jay-Z has announced a special collector’s edition re-release of his 1996 debut, “Reasonable Doubt” that will be sold at the retailer.

The joint partnership marks the album’s 30th anniversary, complete with white vinyl packaging and other collectibles.

Though the idea of a Black billionaire with money and access collaborating with a company actively under scrutiny for its DEI practices and unfulfilled pledges to marginalized communities.

In an exclusive interview with Atlanta Black Star, the organizers behind the Target boycott say it’s very much still going on despite Jay-Z’s appearing to discredit their work.

Target Boycott organizers question Rapper Jay-Z is under fire after partnership with Target amid a nationswide boycott (Photo by Timothy Nwachukwu/Getty Images)

Nekima Levy Armstrong is one of three Minnesota activists continuing to pressure Target over their $2.1 billion pledge to Black communities after George Floyd’s murder.

She fears people will disregard her and her colleagues’ efforts and return to Target stores to purchase the rapper’s album, which is also sold through his website. 

Armstrong believes this speaks to a bigger pattern that mirrors Jay-Z’s past controversial work with the NFL. 

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“I think he needs to explain himself. How did this even happen? Did you go to Target or did Target come to you?” said Armstron. “Did you not know that there is a boycott? Which I, unless you’re living under a rock, it’s hard for me to see that he didn’t know.”

In 2019, Jay-Z signed on to co-produce the Super Bowl halftime show and served as the live music entertainment strategist, a partnership spearheaded by his company and tied to a social justice initiative.

The Roc Nation CEO went from vocalizing his support for Colin Kaepernick’s kneeling during performances of the national anthem to later signing a deal with the same organization that never reopened the door for the former quarterback.

According to the boycott organizers, Target has lost more than $12 billion in company value since the boycott began in February 2025. 

The retailer has since experienced declining foot traffic, falling revenue, a CEO transition, reputational damage, a hiring freeze, and layoffs, which organizers view as proof that the boycott is having an impact.

Those effects have since been largely reversed by a rebound in the company’s stock price and market cap as the retailer reported stronger-than-expected earnings for the first quarter of 2026.

Armstrong argued the retailer built goodwill by promising to support Black consumers and businesses, only to later abandon those values through actions she says contradict its earlier commitments.

Jaylani Hussein, a second organizer of the Target boycott, scoffed at what he calls the company’s “last ditch effort” to save themselves from further decline.

He insisted that Target pulled in Jay-Z and made the annoucnement around Juneteen as a very “strategic” plot to make Black people shop with Target again.

“Target is doubling down on a failed strategy with Colin Kaepernick and bringing in Jay-Z. And I think it’s a great sign for everybody who’s been protesting and standing up against Target and boycotting Target,” Hussein said.

Target boycott co-founder Monique Cullars-Doty agreed that Jay-Z is being very strategic and not considering how this deal affects others..

“If Jay-Z is being strategic, it is being strategic to aid and support white supremacy and to work against people of color and black people,” said Cullars-Doty. “That’s what he is strategically doing.”

She paticularly took issue with Jay-Z defending his partnership.

“I’m not his boss,” said Jay-Z when asked if Kaepernick was involved in the deal. “I can’t just bring him into something. That’s for him to say.”

Kaepernick has not played the NFL since 2016, when he took a knee during the singing of the national anthem.

But he has continued with post-activisim work, while continuing to be locked out of the league.

At the time, Jay-Z said, “We all do different things. We all work differently for the same results. I don’t knock what he’s doing, and hopefully he doesn’t knock what I’m doing.”

“People sometimes don’t want to sacrifice what is necessary to make change because they want to have a good time. So they’ll exchange forward movement for convenience and a good time for a good beat, a good track, a good rap, rather than make the sacrifice and say, I’m not buying.

Despite attending a concert in Wisconsin, Cullars-Doty added, “I bet you I’ll never go to another one again.”

Organizers say the Target has yet to meet the four demands that would have the experience with Black people.

They say Target must improve the shopping experience for Black consumers by featuring more Black-owned brands, strengthening diversity hiring and promotion practices, and expanding supplier diversity initiatives.

EXCLUSIVE: Jay-Z’s Target Deal Has Boycott Organizers Noticing a Pattern Years After His NFL Partnership Coincided with Colin Kaepernick’s Lockout