Jay-Z recently did what he rarely does: speak out in reference to all of the Illuminati chatter going on in the streets and on the web. In an interview he did with Sky Magazine (Delta Air) he responds to the haters who accuse him of being apart of a secret society: “I may sound a little arrogant but I just think people can’t handle when somebody is successful. Something has gotta be wrong; you gotta be down with some higher power. And I guess when someone else is successful it makes you feel like maybe you’re a failure. So it can’t be you, it has to be some other force.” Here’s my take on Jay’s “controversial” statement that has the web and the streets talking yet again:

The more you spend hating the less you spend hustling.

As Jay-Z stated preemptively, some people are likely to take his words as arrogance. But if you know the principles of success and have learned the lessons of failure, then Jay’s statement will strike you as profound. When you hate on someone else’s hustle it adversely impacts you more than it does the person who is the recipient of your hate. Though hating has certainly gone on long before the Internet, the web has really given the anonymous person a platform to hate, hate, hate….in the blogs, forums, Twitter, Facebook, etc., on anyone who is doing their thang in life. If you invest so much energy hating how are you going to have enough strength, skill and stamina to hustle, hustle, hustle in your own life?

It seems that in this era, too many of us no longer seek inspiration, but validation of our cynicism. Spending time and energy trying to discredit the next man’s (or woman’s) success does not increase the probability of your success. Another person’s success or failure doesn’t determine your fate. Many of us hate so much that it’s as if we’re praying for the next man’s downfall. Why is that? His setbacks WILL NOT move you forward.

Now, let’s be clear: criticism has value but constant hate will only leave you bankrupt figuratively and even literally.

Though Jay-Z’s statement in Sky magazine reflects his personal perspective on haters, he’s actually making a much broader point about success vs. failure that relates to us all. You don’t have to be in Jay-Z’s position to experience hate from the haters- you may be successful in your own right and have relatives, friends, foes or strangers practically making it their life’s mission to discredit your accomplishments. The roots of their resentment of your success are their own failures. If their experiences aren’t equal or greater than yours, than somehow, someway, your growth and progress is fraudulent.

Of course, we know that’s completely ridiculous!

I wrote in a previous post that the root cause of Jay-Z hate is the immortality of both Biggie and Pac. But really, it’s much deeper than that, hating on great success didn’t start and won’t end with Jay-Z. Whether you’re a rap superstar/entertainment mogul or just an everyday person hustling above and beyond everyone around you, your success will always be criticized and scrutinized. I do think Jay-Z is in a unique position however. Most black males (in fact, most people-period.) will never get close to reaching his level of success. Those who have never related to him are dismissive of his success while many of even his most loyal fans may feel little to no connection with him now that he has become so successful. He’s in another whole stratosphere and some folks think bashing his success brings him down to earth- to their level of mediocrity.

Jay-Z may have talked explicitly about the Illuminati allegations in Sky Magazine but he has addressed the core issue- the relationship between one’s successes vs. another’s failures, countless number of times throughout his musical career. I’ve written extensively about this in my book. But for now, let me give you two examples:

Over 15 years ago, Jay-Z told us that we Can’t Knock the Hustle. It’s far deeper than a catch phrase. Can’t knock the hustle reflects a mindset that is intended to keep YOU focus on YOU.

Quick story: When I was in high school, I used to read classic street books about the pimp game by legendary authors, Donald Goines and Iceberg Slim. During this time, I got in a conversation with one of my uncles (who is a straight up professional) about pimps and after he finished bashing the pimp game, I told him, “Hey, you can knock the hustle.” Needless to say, he was somewhat stunned by my statement. Our conversation turned into an argument. I explained to him that I was not condoning the pimp game, but I wasn’t living “the Life” and refused to judge the the next man’s hustle. My self-righteousness does not equate to my success.

Now, that story is somewhat extreme because the pimp game is obviously not widely played or accepted by the broader society, but the point is, don’t dwell on knocking another person’s hustle, just focus on yours.

Second example: When Kanye West’s So Appalled came out, all the buzz seemed to be on Jay-Z’s verse because some of his lyrics appeared to be a diss to Hammer. When I first heard the song, the lines in reference to Hammer (which I believe were less of a diss to Hammer and more of a word of caution to us all) were barely on my ears’ radar because I was too focused on these gems:

Dark Knight feeling
Die and be a hero
Or live long enough to see yourself become a villain
I went from the favorite, to the most hated
But would you rather be- underpaid or overrated?
Moral victories is for minor league coaches
And ‘Ye already told you, “We Major”, you cockroaches.

These lyrics from So Appalled have a connection with the statement Jay-Z made in the Sky magazine article.

Let’s take a look at these insightful lyrics line by line:

Dark Knight feeling
Die and be a hero
Or live long enough to see yourself become a villain

As long as you’re not too successful, people will love and celebrate you. When Jay speaks of dying, it can be taken literally or metaphorically. Successful people become heroes in a sense, as long they can still be “touched” by those inspired by their accomplishments. But once you reach that next level, and now you can no longer be “touched”, you live long enough to see yourself become a villain. This is the gift and the curse of success.

I went from the favorite, to the most hated
But would you rather be-underpaid or overrated?

One moment-people cheer you on, and in the next moment- all you hear are boos! Take sports for example: We love a team when they play hard and win a championship but once that team dominates the league and become a dynasty, we root for them to lose!

Jay’s next point is on-point: The purpose of your hustle is not to receive praise but to make progress. Think about it: Would you rather be overrated at your job-or underpaid? When your focus is on your hustle, you’re not really concerned whether your performance is considered overrated, as long as you reap what you sow and get what you’re worth!

Moral victories is for minor league coaches
And ‘Ye already told you, “We Major”, you cockroaches.

Jay-Z drops a pretty clever baseball analogy here, but his insight outshines his wit. When you’re in the pursuit of success, you can’t settle for moral victories. Close doesn’t cut it. As part of the title of my book states, “good is not enough”. You don’t hustle to be good, you hustle to be great. In the game of life don’t play for moral victories, PLAY TO WIN.

While his song lyrics are a plentiful source of food for thought, Jay-Z continues to drop gems in his interviews. His conversations in the media have nothing to do with Illuminati and everything to do with illuminating the path to greatness.

Stop. Watch. Read. Listen.

No, seriously….The G.O.A.T. debate, regardless of the subject, brings out passion from everyone involved. But in no other arena do emotions run higher than in Hip-Hop. Whether the subject is “What is the greatest album of all time?”, “Who is the greatest producer of all time” or the most heated- “Who is the greatest MC of all time?”, the debate on the streets and on the web gets red hot. I once made a comment to someone on Facebook that I don’t like getting into the G.O.A.T. debate because at some point, “the guns come out”-or at least somebody wants to fight! In fact, I have personally seen this happen back in the day during the infamous Jay-Z vs. Nas beef.

You rarely hear the G.O.A.T. debate when the subject is the rap song. It’s understandable. With thousands and thousands of songs recorded since rap’s beginning in the late 70’s, how can we possibly come to a consensus on the top 10 greatest rap songs much less the greatest single one? Any fan’s list of greatest rap songs is totally different based his age/era, his region, his preferred style, and his favorite MC. There’s absolutely no way anyone can declare one rap song as the greatest of all time, right?

Wrong.

Can I Live is the greatest rap song of all time.

To understand how I could possibly make such a bold statement, allow me to put the claim in context.

I stated that a fan’s G.O.A.T. list depends on his age/era, region, preferred style or subgenre and favorite MC. Well, here’s my stats:

Age/Era:

I’m in my 30’s-I just had my 34th birthday on 1.26.11. Jay-Z’s debut album, Reasonable Doubt, (where Can I Live appears) was released in 1996-my era. I was 19 years old when the album came out. Can I Live is my favorite song on Reasonable Doubt (Dead Presidents II being a close second). People in their 30’s may not agree with my rap song G.O.A.T. pick, but because they grew up in my era, they certainly understand where I’m coming from. My choice for greatest rap song is driven by nostalgia. If you’re in your teens or 20’s, you’re likely to see Jay-Z as an “old ass” rapper (as Lil Wayne would say) and your experience with his music is more Empire State of Mind than Can I Live.

Region:

I grew up on the east coast in the DMV area (DC-Maryland-Virginia). Though the DC area is the “where go-go music lives”, we’ve always been heavily influenced by New York Hip-Hop. Our region was one of the first areas to hear the new joints coming out of the Tri-State area before it reached others parts of the country.

In Where I’m From, Jay-Z says, “I’m from where niggas pull your card-and argue all day about, “Who’s the best MC- Biggie, Jay-Z or Nas?” If you ask most Hip-Hop heads from the east coast that are 30 and over who is their favorite MC, they’re likely to name one of these three MCs or someone else from the five boroughs that makeup the Big Apple.

It may be a little different now with the younger generation out here, but when I was coming up, it was pretty much a consensus in this part of the country that the best MCs were from the east coast, and the cream of the crop, the best of the best-came out of New York. Of course, Jay-Z reps “Planet Brooklyn”.

A former co-worker of mine is from Texas and he can’t stand Biggie, Jay-Z or Nas! He thinks most MCs from the east coast are wack! Keep in mind, we’re around the same age, but because he’s from the south, he identifies more with Southern MCs. He and I had a debate one day about MCs and he spent a hour ranting and raving about the greatness of some MC from Texas-I can’t even remember the rapper’s name, I thought my boy was crazy! When he told me he thought Jay-Z was wack, I almost had a heart attack! (Lol) Of course, someone from the east coast can love southern MCs (Scarface is one of my favorites) and a fan from the south can embrace east coat MCs, but fans generally prefer MCs who rep their region.

The truth is I have an east coast bias. I don’t deny it, in fact, I embrace it, just like my former co-worker from Texas embraces his southern bias-as you should embrace your bias because that’s apart of your identity.

Preferred Style:

I love all kinds of Hip-Hop but I’m a big fan of criminality rap ( artists like Biggie, Nas, Raekwon, Ghostface, etc.) when it’s used brilliantly to make insightful statements and observations about life and ambition as Jay-Z does on Can I Live. I get into this issue a little further down into this piece, but, for example, if you prefer the social/political subgenre over all others in rap music, the greatest rap song of all time through your perspective is most likely to be social/political such as Fight the Power by Public Enemy.

My Favorite MC:

I’m a long-time Jay-Z fan since the beginning of his career. He’s my favorite MC-hands down, therefore, that definitely plays a factor in my choice of greatest rap song of all time. If I’m going to pick one song, how can I not choose my favorite song by my favorite artist? Stating that the greatest song of all time is by my favorite artist is admittedly narcissistic. My opinion becomes fact. It’s hard to be objective when you have a horse in the race, sort to speak. I bet you’re the same way even if you won’t admit it.

If you’re ever in a G.O.A.T. debate with someone, keep in mind that the position they take is likely based on their age/era, region, preferred style and whoever are their favorite MCs.

Now, with that said, allow me to share with you why I believe Can I Live “murders” all other rap songs and is the best ever recorded:

In my book, I Will Not Lose! The blueprint for greatness when good is not enough (that is inspired by the song lyrics of Jay-Z), I write extensively on how Jay-Z’s lyrics about his life’s experiences have a connection to the experiences that we all have-his most insightful rhymes are words of wisdom and can serve as inspiration in our own personal lives.

In my opinion, the best rap songs are NOT social/political because ideology more often divides (or confuses) than unites. The best rap songs are NOT dance records because they move butts not ideas; lyrically they tend to lack skill and substance. The best rap songs are certainly NOT love ballads because most MCs seem almost incapable of expressing themselves honestly about romance and relationships. The best rap songs are NOT “gangsta tales” because they’re unrealistic and few can actually relate to scenarios that you only see in movies. These songs are pure entertainment- that’s it.

The best rap songs ARE the ones about undeterred personal ambition; songs that tell a compelling and balanced story of success and struggle, joy and pain, courage and fear.

No song tells that personal story that we can all relate to, better than Can I Live.

The “ambition song” connects with us and enables us to connect to each other regardless of our backgrounds.

Songs about personal ambition have a connection to listeners that are more vital and of greater importance than political views, dancing at the clubs, snuggling up with your boo or pretending like you’re Al Pacino playing the role of Tony Montana in the film Scarface.

Can I Live brilliantly tells a story that is inspirational and cautionary. The song is not merely about a hustler’s experiences in the illegal drug trade; it’s about a man’s relentless pursuit of success in order to fulfill his lofty ambitions. Be clear: Jay-Z rhymes about the in-and-outs of the drug game BUT in his words are principles about overcoming struggle and achieving success-that are universal.

Throughout my book, I take songs (over 90 of them) from Jay-Z’s catalog and go into detail, line by line, revealing how his words about his hustle can inspire and impact YOUR hustle. Let me take some of Jay’s most poignant lyrics from Can I Live and share with you how they critically relate to your life’s experiences:

Highlights from the 1st verse:

While I’m watchin every nigga watchin me closely
My shit is butter, for the bread they wanna toast me

In life, you better watch those who watch you-and I’m not just talking about your enemies. When you’re working hard-and smart, and having success, people see this and they’re not always in a celebratory mood. It doesn’t mean they want to do you physical harm, but you must be aware of people’s perceptions of your success. People can intentionally and unintentionally undermine your success. You must understand motive behind the words and actions of others-and adjust; managing and controlling conflict accordingly.

I keep my head, both of them where they supposed to be
Hoes’ll get you sidetracked then clap from closed feet
I don’t sleep!…

You have to stay focused on your hustle. Don’t allow yourself to be “sidetracked”, easily distracted by physical temptation or anything else that will keep you off your grind. You can get “clapped from closed feet” (both in the physical and philosophical sense) anytime you’re around certain people in a certain environment that’s counterproductive to your goals and ambitions. And of course this goes for both men and women.

When it comes to the hustle, any hustle: You can’t sleep!

At the time it never bothered me,
At the bar, gettin my thug on properly
My squad and me
Lack of respect for authority
Laughin hard
, happy to be escaping poverty
However brief…

Once you get caught up in your success, you can lose perspective, especially if you come from a humble background. Your success will have you feeling like you’re invincible without fully realizing the potential roadblocks ahead in your life’s journey. It may seem as if you have “escaped” your afflictions but the truth is life is a continuous grind and full of highs and lows. If you don’t stay on top of your game, your success may be brief…

I know this game got valleys and peaks
Expectation for dips
For precipitation
We stack chips, hardly

Life itself is a game of “valleys and peaks”, ups-and-downs. You hope for the best but you should expect the worst. In your life you should always have an “expectation for dips” and in light of the expectation, you MUST be prepared for setbacks and failures. The genius in these lines is when Jay-Z uses the word “precipitation”. He’s stating that one day you can be on top and then fall-fast, abruptly and without warning, so you better be prepared. His wordplay is extremely clever here, but more importantly, very profound. This is one of the best lines I’ve ever heard. Period.

Lock my body can’t trap my mind
Easily, explain why we adapt to crime

I’ve always felt that with this one line Jay-Z pretty much summed up the criminal mentality, when a hustler is in “the game” strictly for profit. Jay tells us that being physically constrained doesn’t “trap” his mind from “moving” and being free-to conceive and plan new ways to get paid and become successful. But this same process doesn’t just apply to the illegal drug game and incarceration.

When you have the right mindset your physical environment won’t keep you from accomplishing your goals and realizing your dreams (living in a crime ridden and poverty stricken ‘hood but still determined to go to college or start your own business, for example). Your mind is your most powerful asset, not your body, and you can use the power of your mind to overcome any situation.

I’d rather die enormous
Than live dormant
That’s how we on it!

Every fan loves this line because it clearly resonates with how most of us feel when it comes to our personal lives. I was just a year out of high school when Can I Live came out and when I heard this line it struck a nerve in me instantly because these words were how I felt back then (and still do).

Hustling is a game of high risk/high reward. Many of us will take great risk and make what would be imaginable sacrifices in the eyes of most, in order to live enormous. Of course, the way you live is often the way you die.

Still, most of us prefer to play things “safe” but just because you’re living doesn’t mean that you’re alive. I don’t know about you, but I rather die knowing that I hustled hard and lived life to the fullest than to carry on without purpose, making little to no progress.

Don’t be fooled, my game is mental

The above line reveals the crucial “secret” to Jay-Z’s success. You can’t have true swagger without having true substance and this comes from personal development of the mind. Regardless of your hustle, you have to utilize your mind. You lead with your mind, not your physical. This line implies the advantage of having a strong intellect and mental toughness during the pursuit of success.

Let’s move on to highlight lyrics from the second verse:

My mind is infested
With sick thoughts that circle, like a Lexus
If driven wrong, it’s sure to hurt you

This is a rather cryptic line and like many of Jay’s lyrics, it can be interpreted in several ways, but from my perspective, this line ties back to the “Don’t be fooled, my game is mental” line in the first verse.

We all can have “sick” thoughts going through our heads at some point. It’s not really as sinister as it sounds. In the quest for success, certain shady thoughts and ideas may enter your mind. But if you act on these thoughts and ideas (“if driven wrong”), you‘re “sure” to face tough consequences. Basically, you can get yourself in trouble when you let your mind roam recklessly. Then, you’ll end up making crucial decisions in haste that can tragically change the course of your life.

When it boils to steam, it comes to it
We all fiends, gotta do it
Even righteous minds goes through this

I feel like these lines reflect one’s mindset and that insatiable hunger for success. People can be “victims” of their own ambition regardless of who they are. To be a “fiend” in this context is to be someone addicted to the pursuit of success, determined to achieve it at any cost. The mind can be constructive but it can also be corruptive. Ambition can compromise morals. I grew up in the church- believe me: “Even righteous minds goes through this.”

True this
The streets school us
To spend our money foolish
Bond with jewelers
And watch for intruders

Jay-Z states that the “streets” provides a negative influence on how he and his crew spend money. “True this”, but the fact is society as a whole influences us all when it comes to financial matters and materialism. Many of us are “bonding” with the “merchants of excess” (such as jewelers) in order to keep up with the Joneses. In a way this line exposes the hypocrisy within society (preaching “substance” while practicing “swagger”) that affects us all, regardless of race or class, criminal or saint.

I stepped it up another level
Meditated like a Buddhist

Some of the most attentive listeners may miss the true point of this line, at least as it relates to you and I. In this verse, Jay rhymes about the dangers of success; the results of an ambitious yet reckless mindset. To prevent himself from being a victim of his own ambition, he “stepped it up another level”. He had to give much deeper thought to his hustle-and act decisively, in order to avoid the traps that so many others succumb to.

To meditate means “to think or reflect in a calm and deliberate manner”. You see where I’m going here? You may be ambitious, but if your mindset is reckless and unstable you’re defeating the purpose of your hustle. It’s hard for any true hustler, regardless of his hustle, to meditate because a hustler has trained himself to move fast, both in mind and body. This line actually tells hustlers to slow down a bit, because a steady, focused and refined mind can take any hustle to the next level.

Recruited lieutenants with ludicrous…

Who do you surround yourself with? Are the people in your circle truly down for success? The “lieutenants” Jay refers to in Can I Live are his partners in the drug game. But you have lieutenants in your life when it comes to your ‘hood, your career, your business, etc. Distance yourself from those who are unable to match the intensity of your ambition. Seek out relationships with those who share your will to make an impact-who can bring something of value to the table in terms of expertise and experience in the pursuit of a common goal: success.

And this goes for the significant other in your life as well!

Dreams of getting cream, let’s do this
It gets te-di-ous
So I keep one eye one like C-B-S

We all have dreams of being wildly successful in life but most of us aren’t ready, willing and able to deal with the “tedious” pursuit that is a MUST in order to make great things happen.

And, oh yeah, a true hustler never sleeps! He “keeps one eye open” not just on the lookout for trouble- he also does this so that he never misses an opportunity!

We just took a look at lyrics from one of Jay-Z’s classic songs and applied his words about the drug game to any hustle in the game of life. This is what I do in detail, song after song in I Will Not Lose!.

On Can I Live, Jay-Z shows swagger and substance. The song inspires yet warns us of the dangers we may face because of our ambition. The song takes the experiences of one of the most “despised” figures of society-the drug dealer- and reveals how his ambition closely resembles ours.

Right from the very beginning of the song, before he starts rhyming, Jay-Z talks about “hustling out of a sense of hopelessness”. He doesn’t sound too “hopeless”, he sounds determined. At that point the listener can sense that he’s about to hear something truly special. Jay sounds inspired on Can I Live. You can hear the hunger in his voice back then. Maybe you were just a kid when Can I Live came out, or maybe you weren’t even born yet. But if you’re truly ambitious, you can relate to the song’s swagger and its message, which is just as relevant today as it was in ’96. Hunger to succeed is timeless.

Lastly, Jay’s flow and the musical track for the song should be noted- the sample of Isaac Haye’s “Look of Love” is pure soul yet jazz-like. Jay’s flow-the rhyme & rhythm, tone and cadences-in his vocals, perfectly fit the track. Its soulful sound and lyrics about the intense pursuit of success in the midst of constant struggle, makes Can I Live the musical embodiment of the black experience in America, but its timeless tale about undeterred ambition inspires and connects all points of the globe.

It’s the greatest rap song the world has ever heard.

#GOATrapsong

I wish everyone a Happy New Year! I know everyone is making New Year resolutions such as to lose weight, stop smoking, etc. I have specific goals that I want to accomplish this year, such as releasing my self-help ebook inspired by Jay’s lyrics, but all of my New Year’s resolutions can be summed up in two words: chase ambition. Above all and everything, I just want to hustle hard this year (and every year thereafter) and make things happen. I don’t want to spend too much time talking about ambition because that is time and energy being taken away from chasing that ambition.

I was with my wife’s family on New Year’s Day and we had a little seafood fest right at her mother’s house. The food was good and the conversation was even better. I really enjoyed the conversations we all had with my wife’s younger cousin, who is a sophomore engineering major at Virginia Tech. He’s a smart kid but he still has swagger. I’m about 13 years older than him but he’s really the product of the influence of my generation- he watched and listened to guys in my age group who passionately chased ambition when he was just a kid. We were old enough to be the voices of authority to his impressionable ears but young enough to still have “cool credibility” with him and his friends.

My wife’s cousin is well on his way to doing some really special things in his life in the future. But what I admire about him is how full of life he is right now. When he talks, you can hear confidence, intelligence and ambition in his voice. You can see the hunger and thirst for success in his eyes. You can feel the energy of his hustle. The truth is: this is his era. This is his moment in time; he’s just a couple of years out of high school and a couple of years into young adulthood. These years are the best time of his life and you can tell from the moment he walks into the room.

People have asked me why do I think Jay-Z’s music has resonated with me so much. Well, I think my wife’s cousin’s lively conversations explain the connection. I was around the same age he is now (19 years old) when Jay-Z’s debut album, Reasonable Doubt came out. That album had the greatest impact on me than any album before or since its release. Why? I think it’s because that album was about chasing ambition, which is exactly what I was doing when it was released when I was 19 years old in the summer of ’96.

I was the most ambitious from the mid 90’s through the early 00’s (18-25 years old). It was during this period that I had so many goals and thought I had so much time to accomplish them. I was confident and convinced that I would be rich before I turned 25! It didn’t happen, but I was the most optimistic about happiness and success during this time period and my friends all seemed to be the same way. While I was chasing ambition in my late teens and early 20’s, Jay-Z was making his mark in the rap game and his music was a big part of the soundtrack of my life.

Think back to when you were in your late teens through your early 20’s: what music by which artists was prevalent in the soundtrack of your life? If you’re in your late teens or early 20’s now, who and what are you currently listening to on a day-to-day basis? Do these artists and their music have the voice of ambition and can you relate to that voice?

I think music plays a very significant role in your life especially during certain periods. If you listen to music with a purpose, as I do, it sets the tone during moments throughout your life’s journey.

Here’s my theory of why that 7-year period, between ages 18-25 is the best time of your life. It’s during this period that you are the most confident in the midst of your naiveté. It’s also the time when most people have the most fun in their lives. Before this period, you enjoy life but with the confinements of parental prison, I mean, supervision (smile). After this period, you enjoy life somewhat restrained by the realities of commitment and responsibility (getting married, having and caring for children, dealing with debt, etc.).

Don’t get me wrong; you can enjoy life before you’re 18 and after 25 and life can be (and most likely will be) a struggle between the ages of 18 and 25. But personal ambition is the greatest asset of young adulthood and vice versa.

When I think back to that 7-year period of my life, chasing ambition was the central theme of my life’s “movie” and Jay-Z’s music made up much of its score. In his lyrics, Jay has said that he is “the voice of the young people” and “mouthpiece for hustlers”. Jay’s music reflected my mindset and described my level of hustle during this period of ambition and innocence in my life. (I think it’s worth noting that Jay released two albums widely considered to be classics during my “7-year period of great ambition”, Reasonable Doubt and The Blueprint).

Now that I’m 33, if Reasonable Doubt came out today in 2011, I don’t think I would hear it the same as I did back when it was released in 1996 when I was 19. I’m still confident and I’m still ambitious, but my mindset is more cautious than daring. My hustle still “moves” but sometimes I feel like I’ve “lost a step”. My uncle laughs at this because he tells me that I’m way too young to feel so old (he’s 50). He’s right, but when your failures outweigh your successes, before long you’re no longer asking, “Can I Live?” (My favorite record from Jay’s Reasonable Doubt album), instead you start wondering “When Do I Die?” (Of course I’m being facetious).

My wife’s cousin’s conversation on New Year’s Day reminded me of the ones I had with whomever would listen to me when I was his age. I found out-as he will, that the things you want to do (regardless of how smart and ambitious you are) are much easier said than done. But how can you not respect his mind and his hustle? (To be clear, he is much more focused than I was when I was his age) Frankly, too many people his age are all swagger with a dull intellect and a lackadaisical hustle. So it’s always refreshing to see younger hustlers not just talk a good game but also show and prove that they are what they say they’re worth.

In 2011, I’m chasing ambition as if it’s 1996 and Reasonable Doubt just came out. But because I’m older, wiser and more experienced-in my early 30’s, I believe that I can properly channel my ambition and turn it into strong, solid and sustainable success in ways that I was unable to do in my early 20’s.

As we start this New Year, I would like to encourage you to chase ambition regardless of your age. If you’re older than 25, renew that hunger for success and use your knowledge and experience to give your ambition a greater chance of coming to fruition. If you’re living that 7-year period right now, this is your time, BUT you won’t shine if you don’t grind.

On the second verse of “Can I Live” Jay-Z rhymes about taking his game in the drug trade to “another level”. The lyric also reveals the “tedious” nature of becoming successful and sustaining your success in the criminal underworld. In whatever you do, you must “step it up another level”. Don’t settle. I think a big part of becoming successful is knowing when to take things up a notch in terms of your hustle. Some of us get comfortable with our situation and that’s not all bad but when you’re uncomfortable with the position you’re in, you’re motivated to accomplish more. You have to be willing, ready and able to push yourself to go further than you ever imagined you could go.

If you give your hustle greater effort, you increase the chances of accomplishing your goals. We often get so frustrated when we get the same poor-to-average results over and over again.

Let’s take a student’s study habits in school for example: The difference between a student getting an “A” or a “B” in his course is the amount of effort, time and dedication to studying. If he takes just a little more time each night to study he’s likely to see an improvement in his grades. Often times we may be firmly on the right track but we just need to give it a little more effort in order to maximize our full potential.

I stepped it up another level
Meditated like a Buddhist
Recruited lieutenants with ludicrous
Dreams of getting cream
Let’s do this
It gets te-di-ous
So I keep one eye open like
C-B-S

“Can I Live”

I think it’s interesting that Jay stated that he “meditated like a Buddhist” when hustling in the drug game. He reflected deeply on how he went about taking care of his business on the streets. When we fail to reflect on our situation we’re not giving ourselves a fair chance to change it. I find myself meditating all of the time these days, thinking very deeply about various aspects of my life. The act clears my mind and creates an environment within my mind that’s conducive to coming up with solutions to my problems.

I can imagine how tedious drug dealing is for hustlers who have to always be on alert, watching the product, the money, the law, “friends” and “foes”. But life in the “square world” requires similar inspection and introspection. The “grind”, the activity that creates success is not always “sexy”, “glamorous”. That’s why it’s called a “grind”, the road to success is bumpy, it’s like riding through the grimiest streets of Compton before you get to Rodeo Drive.

In life, step up your game and take it to the next level so that you can achieve the success you want. The road to success is a tedious grind and reaching your destination requires deep reflection and a greater intensity of action.

I truly believe that there’s a spiritual component to success. What do I mean? Success has as much to do with things you can’t control as it does with things that you do have the power to control. Speaking of power, do you believe in a higher power and the role it plays in your life? Your success and overall purpose of your life is greater than what you can conceive. You can accomplish things in your life that stretch beyond the depths of your imagination. But there are things that will happen in your life that you can’t explain and won’t understand. You do have the power to make things happen in your life but you can’t always control when, where or how it happens and you won’t always understand why it happens.

Murder is a tough thing to digest
It’s a slow process
And I ain’t got nothing but time
I had near brushes, not to mention three shots
Close range, never touched me,
Divine intervention

“Dead Presidents II”

What is divine intervention?

Divine intervention: a miracle caused by God’s active involvement in the human world (source: Wikipedia)

On “Dead Presidents II”, Jay-Z rhymes about the role divine intervention played when he was shot at three times, at close range but wasn’t hit. Divine intervention was responsible for his survival in that incident.

This lyric has always struck me to have deeper meaning than what’s on the surface.

Murder is not the only tough thing to digest. I submit to you that struggle is a tough thing to digest. Failure is a tough thing to digest. You can’t compare personal struggle to how one feels when they lose a loved one to murder, but your struggles have an emotional impact on your life. Like dealing with a loved one’s murder, overcoming grief from the struggles in your life is a slow process. Frankly, there are certain things that will happen in your life that you will never get over completely.

But you “ain’t got nothing but time”.

As we move forward in our lives, time heals wounds and gives us more opportunities to right the wrongs. Time also gives us perspective on our past. As life goes on, and that’s inevitable, we become stronger and develop a higher tolerance to deal with the pain of past experiences.

You can’t explain it and you can’t predict it, but divine intervention is likely to play a role throughout various periods in your life. Based on the scenario Jay describes in “Dead Presidents II”, he should have been shot but he wasn’t. He could have been hurt badly or even killed. Was it a miracle? Was it luck? Did the shooter just have horrible aim?

Jay wasn’t in control of the situation. There was a higher power that was calling the shots (no pun intended). Divine intervention can put you in a great situation and get you out of a bad situation. The role it can play in your pursuit of success should not be understated, taken for granted or completely dismissed.

You shouldn’t rely solely on divine intervention to determine the outcome of your life. Don’t make reckless decisions counting on divine intervention to bail you out. And if you do nothing in life than expect nothing to happen- divine intervention won’t reward laziness.

Some of the most successful people in the world will gladly admit that certain things happened throughout their life’s journeys were completely out of their control and could not be explained. They owe a great deal of their greatness to a greater power than themselves.

Do you take life seriously? I know people who are too nonchalant about life. There’s seriousness to life that some of us don’t want to deal with. We feel that we can laugh, eat, sleep, drink or sex our way through life without consequence. A person’s failure to take life seriously originates in their mindset. Your frame of mind has great influence on how you see life and how you live life. Life is a gamble. We take risks every day. Every day is another opportunity to succeed or fail. We should all live life with enthusiasm and seek pure enjoyment, but lest not forget that “life is real”, we have to get things done and we can’t afford to lose. The stakes are just too high.

Chilly with enough bail money to free a Big Willie
High stakes, I got more at stake than Philly

On “Can’t Knock the Hustle”, Jay-Z rhymes about the high stakes in the drug game but life itself is a game of high stakes. People involved in criminal activity take big risks and the stakes are high because the outcome of their activity could be prison or death. But what about the outcome of our activities? Jay’s lyric gives us insight on the importance of being prepared to handle difficult situations in our own lives.

We all must come to the realization of our circumstances. Our lives are not played out in a video game. In real life we make real choices that have real consequences. It sounds simple but we all know that it’s more complicated. We often don’t consider seriously enough the consequences of our acts.

I enjoy my life. I like to have fun, to laugh and joke with friends. I party. I drink. I hate being in the crib on a Friday or Saturday night. Be clear: I’m far from the “life of the party” but I like to go out and be around people. With all that said, I’m a low-key guy in many respects. I’m never the loudest guy in the room (unless I’ve had wayyy too much to drink). I’m a fairly serious guy. I’m not and have never been on the block selling dope, but I live life with the same philosophy of hustlers on the streets:

“I got more at stake than Philly”

The way I see it, I can’t afford to slack. I can’t afford to stall. I can’t afford to underperform. I’m the kind of guy that’s harder on myself than anybody else could ever be on me. I demand more from myself than what I’ve accomplished in my life so far. I might be a little too hard on myself but I think it’s better to hold your own feet to the fire than to live your life having little or no expectations.

As far as I’m concerned, with my life, just like that of a street hustler, prison is always a possibility…and so is an early death. It doesn’t sound very optimistic, does it? I’m optimistic but I’m also realistic because the choices I make in the future could lead to any number of outcomes- good, bad or ugly. I never assume that I’m immune to any kind of circumstance YET I put my mind to work and take actions to prevent being placed in certain circumstances.

Having the frame of mind of someone who has a lot to lose can give you the resolve to keep what you have and give you the inner strength to gain even more.

Don’t expect to reach your full potential playing it safe…

“No Risk. No Reward.”

Because of society’s competitive nature and our own struggles with self-doubt, it’s difficult to gain success without taking risks and anytime you take risks the stakes are raised. What some of us don’t realize is that there’s a lot at stake when we DON’T take risks. When you don’t take life seriously, when you don’t apply yourself, when you don’t study, read, think critically and listen to those more knowledgeable and more experienced than you- you risk the very real likelihood of failure.

Jay-Z’s lyric is about being able to manage risks in the high stakes game of drug dealing but the principle can be applied to the risks we take in our everyday lives. Don’t be afraid to take “smart” risks but be fully aware of what’s at stake and be prepared to handle the outcome of the choices you make and the actions you take.

I have experienced a great amount of stress in my life. Can you relate? I think it goes without saying that we all will go through stress throughout different periods in our lives. Stress often develops from struggle. Struggle is just as much a part of life as is success. Stress can come from things we’re going through but much of stress lingers on in our lives from the things that we have gone through in the past. Though life goes on, the things we go through have a lasting impact on our minds and even our physical condition. The despair that we feel from past struggles and mistakes can keep us from moving forward. On “Regrets” Jay-Z shares with us how to overcome a dim past in order to see a bright future.

“This is the number one rule for your set
In order to survive, gotta learn to live with regrets
On the, rise to the top, many drop, don’t forget
In order to survive, gotta learn to live with regrets”

“Regrets”
Jay-Z

It’s quite fitting that “Regrets” is the last song on Jay-Z’s classic Reasonable Doubt album. The album is THE best album to date that delves deep into the mind of the street hustler. “Regrets” is a record about how the experiences hustlers go through in the street can often leave a permanent stain on their psyche. The song is quite revealing into the mindset of a hustler. I actually think “Regrets” is “required” listening for anyone who discounts Jay’s insightfulness.

Of course, learning to live with regrets is a “skill” that we all must acquire in order to be happy and successful. If you become a prisoner of your past, you can’t be free in your future. You can’t move forward in life if you can get past your past.

“How can I ease the stress and learn to live with these regrets?”

Understand this: You will make mistakes in life. The mistakes you make will sometimes lead to failure. Having the strength- first mental and then physical, to move on from difficult times in your past is essential in life.

Learning how to live with regrets has been a personal thing for me. I’ve made many mistakes in life. I’ve failed far more often than I have succeeded. For example, my writing career has yet to take off in the way that I believed it would ever since I was a kid. I’ve always wanted to be an entrepreneur and I have yet to achieve many of my goals in business. But part of what keeps me engaged in the pursuit of success is my failures.

I have many regrets in life and as I continue to live my life, I will have more regrets. But I won’t allow my regrets to hold me back. I’m determined to right the wrongs in my life- as you should.

Learning to live with regrets is always a work-in-progress. It’s not the easiest thing to do, that’s for sure. In football, quarterbacks have to be able to “forget” about their last bad pass and keep playing to lead their teams to victory. The most successful people in life have the ability to put past missteps in back of their minds and their present moves to the front.

We don’t only live with the regrets of our own words and actions, we also live with the regrets from the words of actions of others. People make bad choices and bad choices often have tough consequences. Bad choices can lead to anything from death, incarceration, bankruptcy or divorce! Other peoples’ choices have an impact on your life everyday but their choices shouldn’t keep you from “moving on” and living your life the best way you can.

Part of winning the mental game is being able to manage and overcome pain from the past. Jay-Z is right: “On the rise to the top” those around you will “drop” failing to succeed and you’ll face difficult challenges brought on by your own bad choices and misjudgments.

You should reflect on the past but the past is not something you can change. What you can change is your present, which can have you heading in the right direction toward a rewarding future. You can’t fully seize the moment and grab opportunities in your life if you can’t let go, having a tight an uncompromising hold on your past and being besieged by regrets.

There are several striking similarities between jazz music and Hip-Hop music. I know many jazz writers and hardcore fans of jazz will strongly disagree- and that’s probably an understatement. I don’t think we can completely discount or ignore the parallels between jazz and Hip-Hop, musically and culturally. I’m not going to go in-depth in regards to the Hip-Hop and jazz debate because that discussion is worthy of a book that I am unprepared and frankly, unqualified (at least at this time) to write. But, in my opinion, jazz aficionados, brace yourselves: the rap collaboration mirrors a jazz jam session.

I have respect and appreciation for jazz music but I wouldn’t call myself a fan because I didn’t grow up listening to it and I don’t listen to it all that much today. I didn’t hear it in my house growing up. My uncles were more R&B/Soul fans (such as the Jacksons) when I was a kid and my mother and grandparents loved gospel music (such as Shirley Cesar and the Clark Sisters). Still, I’m familiar with some of the jazz greats: John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Charlie Byrd, Lionel Hampton, Thelonious Monk, Dizzy Gillespie, Max Roach and Wynton Marsalis to name a few.

I enjoy studying cultural history and jazz is a staple of African-American culture and American culture as a whole. As a writer, one of the things that always struck me about jazz music is the passion of the genre’s writers. If you walk into a bookstore and go to the music/arts section, you’ll see many books on jazz. Jazz criticism is an art form, an industry, a cultural phenomenon in itself and it fascinates me. For years I’ve read and studied jazz writers and writings- reviews, columns, features, profiles, interviews and biographies.

Hip-Hop can be as great as jazz music because both genres have played a significant role in shaping American culture. Someone like the noted jazz writer and columnist, Stanley Crouch, who has been a vocal critic of Hip-Hop music, would probably start trembling in total disbelief if he read that statement! But I truly believe it.

There are many differences between jazz and Hip-Hop but I think the biggest difference between jazz and Hip-Hop are not the artists but the writers.

Jazz writers write about the genre with a high level of intellect, passion and dedication. These writers uplift jazz as fine art and can thoroughly articulate its greatness. You have to understand the difficulty in writing about jazz. While there have certainly been great jazz singers such as Billie Holiday, Etta James and Bessie Smith, the core of jazz is instrumentation. It seems incredibly challenging to analyze and review instrumentation. It would be like me taking an entire Kanye West album and giving an in-depth analysis only on the album’s production; the samples, drum beats, interpolation, etc. It’s not easy.

Yet, jazz writers become masters at putting the instrumentation of the music into words that have an everlasting impact on its listeners.

I don’t want to get too much into my “what’s wrong with Hip-Hop journalism and criticism” rant because I realize that you want to know what song I think is the best rap collabo of all time, but let me say this: I think we as Hip-Hop writers need to step our game up.

At one time, back in the mid-late 90’s, I wanted to be in the Hip-Hop writing game, maybe getting a gig with The Source, The Vibe or XXL. But I never seriously pursued a career in Hip-Hop journalism because, number one, I became distracted by other endeavors (meaning: get rich quick schemes! I gotta keep it real Lol), and, two, I didn’t think Hip-Hop media took the culture and its music genre, or themselves very seriously. I still don’t.

Don’t get me wrong, I grew up religiously reading mags like The Source, The Vibe and XXL. There are some great writers covering Hip-Hop in in print and online. I just think we all need to keep pushing our culture, its music and ourselves to be great.

Jazz music has been elevated as an artform and it is widely and highly regarded as a great element of American culture because of the great talents of its artists, the sophistication and passion of its audience and the devotion and intellect of its writers.

Jazz came from the same place (the streets) that Hip-Hop came from. Its core fan base in its formative years was the youth. Some of jazz’s most prominent writers happen to be white males but if we check the mastheads and bylines within the Hip-Hop writing game, we’ll discover that many non-Black and non-Latino writers are covering Hip-Hop in prominent positions and roles.

The diversity of the coverage of Hip-Hop is great. The responsibility is on all of us to challenge and ultimately elevate the game.

The artists are doing their thing and the fans are supporting them but we as writers must understand that we play a very pivotal role in the elevation of Hip-Hop music and culture and instead of participating in silly things such as fanning the flames, instigating or even playing a role in the manufacturing of the latest beef of the week between rap artists. We’ll do the culture greater justice if we elevate the greatness of its artists, icons and the generation of leaders and followers who live it.

Now, we off that.

There’s a book I read a few years ago:

Trading Twelves: The Selected Letters of Ralph Ellison and Albert Murray

The late great Ralph Ellison (author of the classic, “Invisible Man”) and renowned literary/jazz critic, Albert Murray (co-founder with Wynton Marsalis of Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York) were very good friends who shared a passion for jazz (as well as other artistic expressions such as painting, photography and literature).

Trading Twelves is a collection of their written correspondence to each other over the course of 11 years between 1949-1960. The title of the book refers to a jam session in jazz when two musicians use their respective instruments to exchange 12 bars of music. Both musicians go back-and-forth improvising. It’s a musical conversation.

Ellison and Murray’s written correspondences mirrors this improvised musical exchange in jazz.

And the greatest rap collaboration ever recorded clearly mirrors trading twelve’s in jazz music:

“Brooklyn’s Finest”
Jay-Z featuring the Notorious B.I.G.
Reasonable Doubt

I know most have heard this song before, so it’s not like I’m introducing it to you for the first time (even though, maybe some of yal haven’t heard it) but consider what I’ve been writing in this post about jazz music (specifically “trading twelves”) and listen to this record.

The purpose of The Book of Hov is to shed light on how profound Jay-Z’s lyrics are. Jay and Biggie’s lyrics are both profound on Brooklyn’s Finest not because we can apply the lyrics to our lives- the lyrical performance itself is what’s inspiring. The chemistry on the record is incredible. It’s the closet thing I think we as Hip-Hop fans have heard to the trading twelve’s dynamic in jazz music.

The meaning of trading twelve’s in jazz music sounds a lot like a rap freestyle session, doesn’t it? Of course, we’ve heard those before, many, many times. One could argue that any rap collabo is similar to this improvised session in jazz but with MCs trading sixteen bars instead of twelve.

This trade-off of rhymes is a tradition in Hip-Hop music and was used more often back in the day than it is now or even when Big and Jay recorded “Brooklyn’s Finest in the mid 90’s.

I have written about music being like a conversation. Jazz music brilliantly demonstrates this through instrumentation and rap music brilliantly demonstrates this through spoken rhyme.

Consider this excerpt from the book “Shining Trumpets” by jazz writer Rudi Blesh:

“Listen to blues and real jazz not for the familiar harmonized music but for a conversation of people, all talking about the same thing, with statements and answers, questions, comments, exclamations, interjections, even asides, humorous or tragic, but all pertinent and to the point.”

This statement could very well be used to describe the rap collaboration epitomized by Jay and Biggie’s “Brooklyn Finest”. Jay and Biggie’s performance on “Brooklyn’s Finest” is jazz-like.

Jay and Biggie trade 4’s on each verse. They keep each verse flowing, trading bars seamlessly like sprinters in a relay race. “Brooklyn’s Finest” is the quintessence of pure poetry in motion.

Man, I tell you, I would have loved to seen these two great MCs perform this song live!

Next up: The most insightful “Intro” I’ve ever heard.

I believe that the mentor/protégé relationship is one of the most important bonds in the personal growth and development process of an individual. The lack of this important relationship, within the black American community for example, I believe is having a devastating impact on the lives of the youth, ESPECIALLY that of young black American boys. A mentor can be a parent, an older sibling, a teacher, a businessperson, a minister, etc. But a mentor often ends up being anyone who receives certain level of respect and admiration and gains influence over someone else who is in need of guidance. When there’s a lack of “positive” role models in a young kid’s life, often times the mentors end up being the Dope Boyz.

“I got this shortie on my block always clocking my rocks
He likes the style and profile I think he wanna mock
He likes the way I walk
He sees my money talking
To honeys hawking
I’m the hottest nigga in New York and
I see his hunger pains
I know his blood boils
He wanna, run with me, I know this kid’ll be loyal
I watched him make a few ends, to cop his little sneakers and gear
Then it’s just enough for re-up again
I see myself in his eyes, I moved from Levi’s
to Guess to Versace, now it’s diamonds like Liberace
That’s just the natural cycle
Nobody wanna be like Michael
Where I’m from, just them niggaz who bounce from a gun
We out here trying to make hard white into cold green
I can help shortie blow out like Afro-Sheen
Plus I can relive my days of youth, which is gone
That little nigga’s peeps, it’s time to put him on”

“Coming of Age”
Reasonable Doubt
Jay-Z

“When I grew up there was no lawyers or doctors in my neighborhood. I saw the Dope Boyz. So that’s what I emulated.”
Jay-Z interview with Billboard

Before we dive into the lyrics, let me share a personal story with you (it’s relevant to the lyrics and my analysis).

Up until the age of about 14, my single mother raised me. I was just 2 years old when my father rolled out, abandoning his responsibility to play a pivotal role in my childhood. I saw my father only a handful of times when I was a kid and had pretty much lost contact with him completely by the time I was around 9 years old.

This is a painful circumstance that is typical instead of rare in the black community so I’m sure that many of you can relate.

My uncles (my mother’s brothers) were smart, successful men on the up-and-up and my grandfather was the strong, generous, hard working and respected patriarch of the family. My mother got married again to a decent, caring religious man who had a son of his own yet still treated me as if I was his son and we all lived together in the DC metro area.

So, while I share with many other young, black males the painful experience of growing up without my father in my life, unlike many of them, I did have strong, positive male figures in my life and I didn’t grow up in a crime-ridden, rough-and-tough neighborhood even though we all thought we were hard nevertheless.

With that said, I still longed for a relationship with my father and at various points in my adolescence I flat-out rejected the guidance of my uncles, grandfather, stepfather and just about anyone else… except one guy.

When I was a freshman in high school, I met an older cat, I’ll call him “Blue” for the sake of this story. He was in his early 30’s at the time. He was an “OG”, a street-smart guy that knew how to handle himself. He lived in the same low-key suburban neighborhood where I lived, but he was from the streets. He was supposed to be in “settle down” mode with his fam but he was still ripping and running. The ladies loved Blue and the fellas respected him.

I was fond of Blue and he took a liking to me. I started hanging with him (and his friends) every day after school. While me and my friends in high school were trying to build “street cred”, he and his peoples already had it.

From the age of 14-19, Blue was a mentor in my life.

Blue and I would talk for hours every day about all kinds of things. Blue had intellect but he wasn’t all that book smart, he knew the streets and he would often take me with him when he went to the real ‘hood. I would watch, look and listen whenever I was with Blue. I hadn’t experienced a lot at that point in my life but I was very observant when hanging out with Blue.

I saw some things that I didn’t need to be seeing, things that youngins from the ‘hood that Blue and I were hanging out in (and ‘hoods all over the U.S. and the world) unfortunately see every day and night.

Blue “taught” me and showed me things that had an impact on me but let me be clear: Blue had issues… real problems that took their toll on him, problems that he couldn’t overcome, problems that eventually landed him in prison, where he is today.

The relationship I had with Blue actually made me appreciate more the relationships I had with my uncles, stepfather, and grandfather (I sought out and had more respect for various points of view of life), but it also increased my desire to see my father again and develop a relationship with him.

In my last post, I wrote about how I hear rhymes as conversations and how I relate these conversations to circumstances in my own life. I can relate to a song like “Coming of Age” due to my relationship with old school cats like Blue.

I’m sure many of you have had relationships in your own lives like the one I had with Blue.

What impact did the relationship have on you?

FYI: I lost contact with Blue for over 10 years and when I finally found him, he was in prison. I’ve gone to visit him a few times and we correspond with each other though not as frequently as we should.

I made amends with my father when I was 19 (ironically, around the same time “Reasonable Doubt” came out) and though we have had some rough patches in our relationship since then, I feel fairly good about the bond we now have.

Ok, let’s jump into these lyrics:

(By the way, those in a mentoring role in someone’s life should pay equal attention to the lyrics in this verse)

I got this shortie on my block always clocking my rocks
He likes the style and profile I think he wanna mock

Jay is a hustler in the drug game doing his thing and notices a young shortie (Bleek) watching how he moves in his hustle. Bleek admires how Jay carries himself and wants to emulate him.

My relationship with Blue started kind of like this. See, the one thing about me is that I’m a very observant person. The streets are watching me but I’m watching the streets with purpose and focus.

I began kicking it with Blue the first day I met him but I watched him as closely as I listened to his words. He gave me more game in how he carried himself (how he interacted with other cats, the ladies) than what he actually told me through our conversations.

Observe those who have “that something”, that you can use in your life. Some people have “it”. It goes way beyond walk, talk, clothes, cars, etc. It’s easy to get caught up in the persona of an individual, but don’t let your eyes fool you. Observation is not just about sight, it’s also a mental exercise. You have to be able to accurately process in your mind what you are truly seeing.

It’s very difficult to have this kind of enlightenment when you’re young. There’s a part of me today that regrets some of the experiences I had from hanging out with Blue. But there’s another part of me that believes that in some ways meeting Blue saved my life.

Everyone talks about having street cred and being street smart. It’s somewhat overemphasized in rap music but I will say that some of the best lessons can be learned by watching how an OG watches the streets he runs.

I observed how Blue observed his surroundings.

One of the greatest skills to “mock” is the skill of observation.

The scenario in the criminal underworld that Jay describes in the beginning lines of “Coming of Age” can be applied to mentor/protégé relationships in the worlds of academia, religion, community, politics and business.

But the most important place where this scenario NEEDS to play out is in the household.

“We be the only big boys that the big boys watch”

“The Best of Both Worlds”
The Best of Both Worlds
Jay-Z

Let’s keep flowing…

He likes the way I walk
He sees my money talking
To honeys hawking
I’m the hottest nigga in New York and

Ever seen somebody’s money talking?

Again, observation is the key activity in these lines. Bleek’s character in this story sees how the ladies respond to the opulence of Jay’s character and he wants that for himself.

The attention from the opposite sex often serves as motivation to be seen and heard. You might expect me to discredit that, but, actually, I don’t see anything necessarily wrong with that. That’s fine.

Of course, there are other motivations that I personally feel are more important, such as the need for self-fulfillment, but, too many of us don’t seem to be motivated by ANYTHING so if your motivation to succeed is primarily driven by the desire to get the attention of the opposite sex, then so be it. It’s a start (although trivial one) in your personal development and growth process.

That which motivates you might be misdirected (you’ll find that out soon anyway) but as you grow and mature as a person hopefully you’ll embrace a greater perspective on the things that are better served as your motivation.

Money talks: money can buy cooperation; having money makes one influential

Your success has a greater and broader purpose beyond attracting the opposite sex. I mean, let me keep it real, it’s always nice to be “admired” by the honeys. But success has the ability to influence much more than female (or male, if you’re a woman reading this) admirers. And your success can have the kind of impact and create the kind of change that ultimately will mean a hell of a lot more to you than female/male adulation.

Trust me, it’s true. Lol.

Let’s continue…

I see his hunger pains
I know his blood boils
He wanna, run with me, I know this kid’ll be loyal

I really like this part. Check out the genius: I like the way Jay describes Bleek’s drive to succeed. We know that when someone is “hungry” they’re motivated and determined to obtain whatever they want, which in this case is success.

Jay acknowledges that Bleek has a strong desire, a craving for success. But Jay goes further when he uses the term, “hunger pain”.

Hunger pain: a feeling of distress, suffering, or agony.

Basically, Jay states that he knows that Bleek has a strong desire to succeed and he can “see” the distress, suffering and agony that Bleek is going through over not having yet accomplished the success that he so badly wants.

Jay, in the mentoring role, is using the skill of observation.

But Jay’s far from finished…

Jay knows (likely from personal experience) that the distress, suffering and agony (hunger pains) Bleek is going through enrages him (blood boils).

Through observation, Jay “sees” Bleek’s strong desire, pain, agony and anger.

Once someone’s “blood” starts “boiling”, a mentor, someone who can give much needed guidance, is a MUST-HAVE in that person’s life because anger can be channeled into focus and purpose… or it can lead to a train wreck.

A mentor can play a role on keeping the “train” (one’s strong desire) on track.

Jay tells us that he knows that Bleek wants to be apart of his hustle and he knows that Bleek will be loyal to him.

How does he know this?

Well, he doesn’t know for certain that Bleek will be loyal but he makes this claim based on his observation of Bleek’s strong desire and his own experiences in the game. In other words, he sees a lot himself in Bleek (he actually states this later in the verse).

Ok, let’s keep going…

I watched him make a few ends
To cop his little sneakers and gear
Then it’s just enough for re-up again

Jay states that he has observed Bleek’s hustle and has come to the conclusion that Bleek is basically hustling backwards. Bleek makes money in the streets but blows his profits on clothes and sneakers with only his original principle or investment left to purchase more product.

This far too common occurrence in the drug game happens in legitimate business, doesn’t it? It also applies to how we manage our household finances, doesn’t it?

See, this story about a mentor/protégé relationship in the criminal underworld can give us insight on the need for guidance when it comes to issues such as financial management in our own lives.

Moving on…

I see myself in his eyes, I moved from Levi’s
to Guess to Versace, now it’s diamonds like Liberace

Here’s where “untrained ears” get off-focus. This line is not about looking good in the hottest fashions. Jay uses the “social-status ladder” of fashion labels to describe his progression in the pursuit of success.

Next lines…

That’s just the natural cycle
Nobody wanna be like Michael
Where I’m from, just them niggaz who bounce from a gun

It’s quite telling how Jay states that the progression, starting at the bottom and rising to the top of the drug trade, is “just the natural cycle” where he’s from. It goes back to what I have written about in the past, how the drug trade is often the most “vibrant” “industry” in the ‘hood and offers young ambitious cats like Jay and Bleek opportunities to succeed.

Here are the last lines…

We out here trying to make hard white into cold green
I can help shortie blow out like Afro-Sheen
Plus I can relive my days of youth, which is gone
That little nigga’s peeps, it’s time to put him on”

These lines simply describe the process of distributing the product (crack cocaine) and turning that product into profits (cold green). Jay states that as a mentor he can give Bleek guidance and help him succeed in the drug game.

Jay concludes the verse stating that mentoring Bleek gives him an opportunity to “relive” the days of his youth. This desire is part of what drives mentors. They remember when they were “hungry” and went through “hunger pains”. They remember when their blood boiled and how someone kept their “train” on the right track instead of wrecking.

Successful people take an interest in those who have the talent and drive to succeed.

Giving guidance and being a source of inspiration makes mentors feel just as good about themselves as it makes them feel good about the progress of their protégés.

Listen to the entire song… with a “trained ear”. Check out Bleek’s verse and the third verse where Jay & Bleek have a back-and-forth conversation about the ins-and-outs of the drug game.

Jay’s first verse reveals the power of focused observation in the mentor/protégé relationship. As I stated earlier, this verse gives those in a mentoring role as much insight as it does for the ambitious but inexperienced who are in search of guidance.

As I’ve stated before, I think Reasonable Doubt is Jay’s best album. Two of my favorite songs on that album are “Dead Presidents II” and “Can I Live”. This lyric is classic Jay. His use of metaphor and overall wordplay in this rhyme is genius. It’s also a really deep lyric that we can effectively apply to our lives. The story behind the lyric: Jay and his crew are living the high life from their success in the drug game. They came from poverty but have made their escape from it…for now. Jay states that they know that there are ups and downs in the drug game. He and his crew put away money in anticipation of abrupt setbacks.

Here’s are the lyrics from verse 1 on “Can I Live?”

At the time it never bothered me, at the bar
Gettin my thug on properly, my squad and me
Lack of respect for authority, laughin hard
Happy to be escapin poverty, however brief
I know this game got valleys and peaks
Expectation for dips
For precipitation, we stack chips, hardly

“Can I Live”
Dead Presidents

Jay-Z shows complete mastery of rhyme and wit:

“Valleys and peaks” = ups and downs
“Expectation for dips” = anticipating setbacks
“For precipitation” = A sharp and abrupt fall; decline

I think Jay shows youth defiance in this lyric (“lack of respect for authority”) but he also displays a certain level of insight and maturity when he rhymes on how he’s aware of how the drug game has “valleys and peaks” and because of this he and his crew hustle in the pursuit of the best but are well-prepared for the worst.

Now this is a mindset that we all can definitely use in our own lives.

We all will experience ups and downs in life. It’s vital that we anticipate the “dips” that will no doubt happen in our lives. The “dips” (setbacks) that can occur in our lives often happen suddenly without warning but if we realize this we can prepare ourselves.

In this lyric, the “dips” Jay rhymes about is of a financial nature. We don’t have to be in the drug game to adopt this mindset. We should prepare ourselves financially for setbacks that could come in the form or lay-offs, unemployment, bad investments, heavy debt, foreclosure, etc. In a rhyme about his life in the drug game, Jay has given us sound financial advice.

This lyric tells us that especially during good times we must always anticipate the bad times and be fully equipped and prepared to successfully ride out the storms that are likely to occur at various times throughout our lives.