JAY Z got everyone from Colin Kaepernick to Tomi Lahren going when a video of him, Beyonce and Blue Ivy sitting while Demi Lovato sung the national anthem during the Super Bowl hit the web.

Hov was asked during a talk at Columbia University today if he was "trying to convey a signal" by  sitting through the "Star-Spangled Banner

"It actually wasn't. Sorry," he said, dispelling the notion it was any kind of protest.

Instead, JAY said he was sitting because he was concentrating on his craft.

"We get there and we immediately jump into artist mode," he said. "Now, I'm just really looking at the show. The mics start. Was it too low to start?"

He also laughed at the notion that his eight-year-old daughter could play it cool enough to protest like that and added that there was no need for a showy protest when he would be "making the biggest loudest protest of all" by partnering with the NFL for a halftime show with a diverse slate of artists.