Jay-Z Tells Haters He's On To The Next One, "People Can't Handle When Somebody Is Successful"

Jay believes his high profile achievements throw his critics off balance and force Illuminati devil worshipping rumors.

"It may sound arrogant," he says, "but I just think people can't handle when somebody is successful. Something has gotta be wrong: you gotta be down with some higher power. And I guess when someone else is successful, it makes you feel like maybe you're a failure. So it can't be you, it has to be some other force." (Sky)

Last year, Jay-Z and Swizz Beatz were cited for allegedly using Illuminati themes in their "On to the Next One" music video.

Remember when Vigilant Citizen proposed that Lady Gaga was a member of the Illuminati? Well, they're at it again, this time pointing to Jay-Z's video for "On to the Next One" as positive proof that the hip-hop star has a strong connection with secret societies. According to their report, the occult imagery contained in the clip includes Jay-Z making himself look holy by shining some flashing lights behind his head. Here's Vigilant Citizen to explain further: "The one who refers to himself as "HOV" or "Jay-Hova" (a reference to Jehovah, the proper name of God in Abrahamic religions) might be sending the message that he is a god in a LeVeyan satanism kind of way rather than the "black gods" of the Five-Percenters." (Prefix Mag)

Despite denials from Jay and Beatz, the music video's director Sam Brown also addressed the speculation.

"I'm aware of the stir the video has caused and what people are saying. I think when you're dealing in abstract imagery people are going to want to draw lines between things and make sense of it. However, I've always felt that the viewing public was, in general, extremely visually literate. They don't always want or need things to be spelt out for them. One of the great things about music videos are they can be enjoyed purely visually--it doesn't need to mean anything or make any sense. Conspiracy theory is another thing entirely, and seems to me to be about projecting pre-existing beliefs and desperately looking for things that confirm them. There is imagery in this video that is drawn from all over the place. None of it is owned by any one culture or belief system. You can connect anything if you try hard enough, and make it mean anything you want it to." (VIBE)

The term Illuminati refers to a belief in secret conspiracy.

In modern times it is also used to refer to a purported conspiratorial organization which acts as a shadowy "power behind the throne", allegedly controlling world affairs through present day governments and corporations, usually as a modern incarnation or continuation of the Bavarian Illuminati. In this context, the Illuminati are believed to be the masterminds behind events that will lead to the establishment of a New World Order. (Wikipedia)