I hope everyone had a happy on “King Day” Monday. In my humble opinion, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is the greatest American who ever lived and the civil rights era was the greatest period in American history. As I watched all of the MLK coverage on television yesterday, I thought about how far America has come- yet, how far we have to go. As a black man, King’s dream has had a great impact on my life. But at 33, I’m a couple of generations past the civil rights movement, and sometimes I question whether we have really fulfilled King’s dream. My generation have accomplished a lot in areas of education, housing, politics, business, etc. because of those who struggled during and before the civil rights movement. But we also face very unique struggles of our own.
I have always seen Hip-Hop culture as being a unifying force for the youth generation. The culture has a powerful platform though it’s not always used in the most substantive way. When Hip-Hop music is at its best, it contextualizes the mentality and actions of the streets; which is the heartbeat of the culture and a barometer of the overall well being of the current generation. In other words, Hip-Hop music speaks for the youth and tells us what’s really going on and why.
We always have to move forward but to understand where we’re going; oftentimes we have to take a look back…
“It’s ’87 state of mind that I’m in
In my prime, so for that time, I’m Rakim
If it wasn’t for the crime that I was in
But I wouldn’t be the guy whose rhymes it is that I’m in
No pain, no profit,
“ P”, I repeat if you show me where the pot is
Cherry M3′s with the top back
Red and green G’s all on my hat
North beach leathers, matching Gucci sweater
Gucci sneaks on to keep my outfit together
Whatever, hundred for the diamond chain
Can’t you tell that I came from the dope game?
Blame Reagan for making me into a monster
Blame Oliver North and Iran-Contra
I ran contraband that they sponsored
Before this rhymin stuff we was in concert”
“Blue Magic”
In his memoir, Decoded, Jay-Z talks in-depth about how the “climate of the 80’s” and the environment in which he grew up in within that climate, (Marcy housing projects, Brooklyn, New York) had an impact on the direction of his life when he was in his teens and early 20’s. Many young black, brown, and yes-white, males and females, got involved in the dangerous crack cocaine game in the 80’s into the 90’s. Jay-Z was one of these people.
In the above lyric excerpt from “Blue Magic”, Jay-Z rhymes about his “‘87 state of mind”. This line is in reference to the legendary MC, Rakim, and his classic “Paid in Full” album with Eric B., but it also reflects what Shawn Carter (Jay) was involved in during that time-drug dealing. I was just 10 years old in ’87 and I didn’t run the streets of Brooklyn, I lived in a fairly quiet suburb of D.C. (Alexandria, VA) during that time. But even as a kid, I remember this ambitious and yet tragic time. The streets of D.C. were a war zone back then. Hustlers, like Rayful Edmond in the late 80’s, built very profitable criminal enterprises from the burgeoning crack cocaine trade that took place in inner cities all over the country.
Jay-Z came out of this era and everything from his music to his swagger reflects that.
What we sometimes do is neglect to put the “Crack 80’s” in context. Jay-Z and many from his era were not just a product of their ‘hood environment, which was flooded with crack cocaine, their ambitiousness was also a product of the hustling done on Wall Street and the impact Reaganomics (which refers to the economic policies of then President Ronald Reagan) had on the entire country.
Calling that period of time the “Crack 80’s” only tells half of the story. It was the “Reaganomics-Crack 80’s”.
Can’t you tell that I came from the dope game?
Blame Reagan for making me into a monster
Blame Oliver North and Iran-Contra
I ran contraband that they sponsored
Before this rhymin stuff we was in concert
The streets’ affinity for gangster flicks is widely known. The ’83 film, Scarface, starring Al Pacino, about a Cuban criminal refugee who rises to the top of the criminal underworld in Miami and becomes a powerful, ruthless and wealthy drug kingpin until he’s murdered, is a ‘hood favorite to this day. That film (and many others like it) spoke to the “‘hood dreams” of those who were living nightmares in poverty-stricken and crime-ridden ghettos all across the U.S.
“Criminality rap”, which took over Hip-Hop in the mid 90’s is really a product of the “Reaganomics-Crack 80’s” (which spilled over into the 90’s). This subgenre of rap music is just another powerful medium in which to tell the stories of money, power and respect within the criminal underworld. These stories have been told in cinema through films such as Scarface. The major difference between criminality rap and films such as Scarface, is that the directors, producers and characters within the music are mostly black. Jay is a leading artist within the criminality rap genre.
Most music in the criminality rap genre is clearly influenced by gangster/mafia films like Scarface, The Godfather trilogy, Good Fellas, etc. You can hear the influence of these films in Jay’s music as well. But the vibe in Jay’s music gives off more than just ‘hood dreams. His music takes hustler’s ambition, and with that, criminality rap, beyond the street corner.
People have asked me why I think Jay-Z’s lyrics connect with those who never ran the streets. “Why”, they ask, does lyrics about drug dealing in the 80′s inspire so many from completely different walks of life?
Well, let’s go back to the same year Jay referenced in “Blue Magic”; when he was involved in the drug game as a teen, the same year Eric B. and Rakim released “Paid in Full”…
The year was 1987.
In ’87, four years after the release of Scarface, another film came out that reflected the sign of the times back then as accurately as any gangster flick did.
The movie was “Wall Street”.
Starring Michael Douglas and Charlie Sheen, the film is about Bud Fox, a young, ambitious stockbroker (Sheen) who gets involved with his “hero”, Gordon Gekko (Douglas), a greedy corporate raider that is all about getting paid-big time.
“Greed, for a lack of better word, is good”
-Gordon Gekko
The “Wall Street” movie epitomized the relentless pursuit of success and excess in the 80’s. The mindset of “getting-paid-at-any-cost” was adopted in the 80’s by those from all walks of life, from yuppies on Wall Street to teenage street hustlers like Jay-Z. I’m willing to bet that “Wall Street” had as much influence on Jay-Z as “Scarface” did.
Of course, life experience makes a greater impression on you than any movie could. Films like Scarface and Wall Street, told, through cinema, what was actually happening in real-life during that time. Jay-Z a.k.a. Shawn Carter, was as influenced by the hustle and bustle of Wall Street as he was by the crack cocaine trade on the streets of Brooklyn.
“The more successful, the more stressful
The more and more I transform into Gordon Gekko”
“Operation Corporate Takeover”
This duality; that had so much of an impact on Jay-Z’s life, explains how his influence stretches beyond the streets and into the suburbs. This is why a drug dealer (with goals to “get out of the game”) and an investment banker can both connect to Jay’s music, and by doing so, connect to each other.
For example, what makes “Can I Live” from the Reasonable Doubt album so powerful is that anyone with high ambition can relate to the song. Jay-Z is not the only MC who is a product of his environment-both inside and outside his ‘hood. But his music reflects the universal desire of success and ambition in ways that we rarely hear in Hip-Hop and in other genres for that matter.
I talked about Dr. King and the civil rights movement in the beginning of this piece and how my generation has been greatly impacted by the battles fought and won for freedom and equality. Well, all of the rights and opportunities that King and others fought for were in some ways undermined in the Reganomics-Crack 80’s.
Still, out of that era, came many smart, talented and successful scholars, athletes, artists, professionals, politicians, entrepreneurs, and yes, street hustlers. While in many ways the 80’s exemplified greed and excess, the era produced a “talented tenth” who achieved a variety of accomplishments that changed society forever, from “making over” corporate America, building Hip-Hop culture into a global phenomenon to revolutionizing American politics that culminated in the election of Barack Obama, the first black president of the United States.
Yes, President Obama came out of that era.
And so did Jay-Z.
They just took different routes.
Jay-Z is in a very unique position these days. He’s done his thing in Hip-Hop, but he “don’t run rap no more” he “run the map” (lyric from “What We Talkin’ About-Blueprint 3 album). Far from an idle boast, the statement really speaks to his influence that stretches well beyond the streets and Hip-Hop culture. The “tree” of his power and influence has grown and now reaches Wall Street and Main Street, the inner city and the suburbs, the States and abroad. But the seed was planted back when he was a hustler in the “Reganomics-Crack 80’s.
When Jay-Z and Kanye West released their new single, “H.A.M.”, you couldn’t help but notice all of the hoopla. The web and the streets were talking about everything in regards to the song, from the single’s artwork to the experimental-like beat. But the loudest chatter was about Jay’s verse…
“Is he dissing Lil’ Wayne and Baby?”
“What does he mean when he said this?”
“What does he mean when he said that?”
A new Jay-Z lyric receives more attention than President Obama’s State of the Union address will probably generate next week! (The State of the Union is on January 25, 2011. Watch it! Of course I’m exaggerating the Jay-Z lyric point. We certainly should be paying more attention to Obama’s speech about the state of the country than a Jay-Z verse)
When we’re listening to Jay-Z, we’re listening to the evolution of a street hustler that uses the gift of words to connect to all of us who chase ambition. In my book, “I Will Not Lose”, I write how Jay’s lyrics about his life’s experiences have a lot in common with the experiences of the ordinary person with extraordinary expectations. In the upcoming week or so I’m going to share ways in which some of Jay’s lyrics have connected to my personal thoughts and experiences.
Jay is one of the few MCs in which I give as much stock in what he says as I give in terms of what he does. Why? Because what he says (in his lyrics) often accurately reflects what he did, does, or is about to do. The “hot” lines that Jay delivers may serve as mere entertainment for the masses, but it’s profound food-for-thought for this generation’s talented tenth.
I don’t think that Jay-Z is “just” a rap artist or “just” a businessman. Nor would I ever suggest that he has nearly as much power or influence as President Obama, or would I even suggest that his life story is as great of a source of inspiration as the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Let’s not be ridiculous. But I do believe that he’s a powerful voice because through his music he has the unique ability to frame the picture of ambition in a way that is universally understood. In this picture of ambition, regardless of the different features of our backgrounds-we all can see ourselves.
Today is your boy’s birthday and the greatest gift I can give myself is the gift of progress. I always say that my life is a work-in-progress. After working on my book for the past 6 months, I must say that it feels good to be done. Of course, I’m far from done; the “real” work now begins to promote the book. But anytime you conceive an idea, plan it out, put into action and complete it-you’ve made progress. I wouldn’t be completely honest if I told you that “I Will Not Lose!” is just for you; writing the book has been therapeutic for me. I have every intention for the book to contribute as much to my own personal development as I hope it does to yours.
