JAY-Z files a trademark to protect his Jaybo blithe grapheme from "The Story Of O.J." video and it makes perfect sense.

Last week news surfaced that his 4:44 album inspired a book well-nigh finance and now this calendar week the rapper filed a trademark to protect the beloved character Jaybo from one of the singles on the project where he raps about money and finance, "The Story Of O.J." TMZ reported on Monday that JAY-Z filed the trademark under his company Due south. Carter Enterprises.

The Jaybo graphic symbol was inspired by the famous Sambo character from the 1899 children's book, The Story of Little Black Sambo. The character is oft characterized as racist due to his depiction and JAY-Z's single also has a racial tone. There is as well some resemblance to the grapheme Dumbo from the 1941 moving picture which also sparked condemnation of racism.

"The Story of O.J." is the first video to be released from the album and it received raved reviews among rap critics. There are already some talks that JAY-Z is planning to release some merchandise featuring the Jaybo character like mugs and T-Shirts, or perhaps he could be featured in some upcoming music videos. During a contempo interview with iHeartRadio, Hov spoke nigh the meaning backside the single, saying it was but a song about "we every bit a culture, having a plan, how nosotros're gonna push this frontward. We all make money, and then nosotros all lose money, every bit artists peculiarly."