*Jay-Z has become Hip-Hop’s EF Hutton: Whatever he raps about in his music, people wear it, drink it, drive it and subscribe to it. When he talks people listen. He’s been known to declare if he doesn’t have ownership in it he won’t promote it through his music. His ownership includes or has included clothing lines, beverage companies, luxury car brands, telecom companies, pro sports teams, sports agencies, music labels and entertainment venues. It’s how he’s built his net worth to an estimated $750 million.
So the chance that Jay-Z would become a victim of a corrupt criminal justice system and find himself without adequate legal representation is slim to none. He’s got money. He has built alliances. And that equates to power. Apparently Jay-Z from Hollywood by way of Tribeca forgot he used to be Shawn Carter from Marcy Projects.
Jay-Z told rapper Meek Mill not to attend the prison reform summit last week at the White House because it would hurt his image. Yet the only thing that has hurt Mill’s image is going back on his word. Last month, just hours out of prison Mill promised to speak on behalf of the millions of (mostly black and brown) people who have been falsely accused, unjustly imprisoned and are at the mercy of people who care more about puppies than they do about saving black and brown men! Jay-Z is quick to rap about the underrepresented, the same people Mills said he would crusade on behalf of. But instead he’s out on bail fresh out of jail California dreaming working on his next CD. How quick they forget from whence they came!
When I first heard about Mill getting sentenced to prison for a probation violation I didn’t know the background on his story. I assumed he was guilty and that he got what he deserved. But after a U.S. Supreme Court order got him released and I took the time to research what transpired in his ten year old case I understood why so many people were speaking up on his behalf. Now it’s time for Meek to pay it forward and speak up for others in his same predicament.
Meek claims he wants to use his platform to advocate for prison reform. The best way to do that would have been to have a conversation with politicians in a position to change those laws during the prison reform summit last week.
Okay, so maybe the summit was just another photo opportunity. But if you don’t show up you never know what might have been accomplished. When we fail to show up, play the game and be present and accounted for, we lose and all those who are counting on us lose too.
If all a rapper does is speak truth to power through their music it’s like a pastor who just preaches from the pulpit on Sunday mornings and never takes the message outside the church. Old white men – the ones who make the rules the rest of us have to live by – rarely if ever listen to rap music. If you want your message to be heard and understood by a different target market sometimes you have to wrap it in a different package.
Steffanie is a freelance journalist in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. Email her at [email protected] for questions, comments and speaking inquiries.
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