When the Brooklyn Nets unveiled in April their black-and-white logo, which was approved by part owner Jay-Z, it drew a wide range of reactions. Particularly, from New York Post sports columnist Phil Mushnick who felt Jay was “urbanizing” the basketball team.

The logo with its royal crest is simplistic by design, according to Hov. “I wanted to make it really classic and strong; a throwback to Brooklyn and what we’re about,” Jay-Z tells MTV News about the image. “It’s real gritty and we’re not about flash — well, sometimes. Just the roots of Brooklyn as this very bold, strong, simple logo.”

We are surprised that MTV didn’t ask Jay about Mushnick’s response to the logo, and his inflammatory column about him and his basketball team. In it, the writer suggested that the other team owners take the urbanizing to the extreme. “Why the Brooklyn Nets when they can be the New York N—ers? The cheerleaders could be the Brooklyn B—-es or H–s. Team logo? A 9 mm with hollow-tip shell casings strewn beneath. Wanna be Jay-Z hip? Then go all the way!” he wrote in his column.

We can only assume that like his anthemic hit ‘Dirt Off Your Shoulders,’ Hov simply brush those opinions off his shoulders and kept it moving.

In the end, Jay-Z’s inspiration for the logo came from the vintage New York transit system signage of yesteryear. “It was really a take off the old subway signs, if you look at the old subway signs they were in black and white,” he says. “It was that strong, beautiful, iconic black and white. I wanted to pick something that would stand the test of time and be here forever.”

Watch Jay-Z Explain The Nets Logo

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