TIAA brings hip-hop artists together for sponsored track about retirement saving

“Brought to you by TIAA” is not a concept hip-hop fans might expect, but the company has sponsored a song about financial freedom, generational wealth and retirement savings that's performed by Pusha T, Wyclef Jean, Lola Brooke, Capella Grey and Flau’jae.

The track, “Paper Right,” was featured Thursday night on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, with some of the performers seated around table adorned with fresh fruit, mortar boards and stacks of cash. It is part of the financial services company’s Retire Inequality campaign, which focuses on the racial and gender wealth gaps in the US.

“Paper Right is about building a financial legacy for future generations and the reward and gratification this brings. The most important thing I hope people take away from the song and my partnership with TIAA is that saving earlier can set you and your family up for long-term success,” Wyclef Jean said in an announcement by the company. “As a father, when I look at my financial legacy and impact, I want to make sure my daughter is taken care of and has the tools needed to understand why saving early and preparing for the future is crucial.”

Proceeds from streams of the track that last longer than 30 seconds will benefit nonprofit First Generation Investors, which runs an investing literacy program for underserved high school students.

“This announcement has solidified TIAA as the leader in amplifying the fact that there is a horrific and growing gap in retirement savings and security among young people, particularly in the Black and brown community, which also influences the growing national wealth gap. Yet, the company and collective that will take the lead to drive measurable change around this crisis has yet to be determined,” said Ka’Neda Bullock, president of Master Plan Investment Group, an InvestmentNews 40 Under 40 award winner who has advocated for financial literacy.

“The song’s goal, to spark savings and investing conversations among young people and communities of color, is rooted in the right place as discussions around money in middle class and wealthy families begin at home, around the dinner table, when children receive money for chores or gifts, well before they enter into high school,” Bullock said in an email. “A partnership with elementary and middle schools will be critical if our nation truly desires to impact generational change as these communities play ‘catch up.’”

The song debuted just days after a Brookings Institution report showed that although wealth levels have improved widely since the Covid-19 pandemic, the gap in wealth between white and Black Americans has only increased. The median wealth level between 2019 and 2022 increased by about $52,000, but the wealth gap also went up by $50,000, bringing it to more than $240,000, according to the report, which analyzed data from the Federal Reserve's Survey of Consumer Finances.

Black households benefited from rising home equity levels but not from corporate or business equity, the report noted.

As of 2022, the median level of Black wealth in the US was about $45,000, compared with $285,000 among white households and $536,000 for Asian American households, the authors stated.

Across racial lines, 41% of workers between the ages of 24 and 35 do not contribute to employer-sponsored retirement plans, when that option is available, TIAA stated in its announcement Friday of the song partnership.

“Hip-hop has a long and storied history of shining a light on challenges disproportionately impacting Black Americans,” the announcement read. “TIAA’s #RetireInequality campaign has drawn attention to retirement and savings gaps experienced by Black Americans, including the fact that 54 percent of Black Americans do not have enough money saved to maintain their standard of living in retirement, contributing to America’s retirement crisis.”

Music media had a mix of reactions to the song, with some writers focusing on the corporate sponsorship.

A Rolling Stone article noted that the song “is kinda exactly what you’d expect from a don’t-call-it-a-jingle jingle for a financial giant focused on providing retirement services,” while Stereogum had a piece stating that “the whole thing feels deeply scammy, but it exists, and Pusha [T] is a part of it.”

Meanwhile, Vibe focused on the lyrics and The Tonight Show performance, pointing to Wyclef’s emphasis that it “is more than a mere celebratory party-starter, but served as an opportunity to promote financial literacy to his various generations of fans.” A post on Rap Radar noted that Wyclef “brings the ultimate flex and for a good cause.”