(ThyBlackMan.com)
“Now I got tattoos on my body
Psycho b*tches in my lobby
I got haters in the paper
Photo shoots with paparazzi
Can’t even take my daughter for a walk
See ‘em by the corner store
I feel like I’m cornered off
Enough is enough
I’m calling this off”
– “Holy Grail”
The rapper Jay-Z is, to say the least, a complex, intelligent and incredibly talented human being. He has achieved more in hip-hop than nearly any artist in history, including the great Tupac Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G. So, in terms of musical achievement, it might be time to declare him the winner of the hip-hop Game of Thrones.
But as we concede the title, perhaps we should reflect on exactly what defines a man’s legacy. If Jay Z were to consider the greatest athletes of all time, he
should remember when Sports Illustrated named Muhammad Ali the most extraordinary athlete of the 20th century. Michael Jordan was second, but the competition wasn’t even close. Jordan’s chance of defeating Ali was about as great as the odds of Miley Cyrus being invited to hold a twerk competition at TD Jakes’ Megafest.
Ali wasn’t the easy choice because he dominated the ring more than Jordan dominated the court, and it wasn’t because Ali was more talented than Jordan. It was because Ali, unlike Jordan, had reached the Holy Grail of celebrity achievement: The ability to give to something greater than himself.
Muhammad Ali decided at an early age that his success didn’t belong to him alone. He shared his greatness with millions of children, born and unborn, throughout the world. He shined as a beacon of hope for those who felt str?ngled by the grip of Jim Crow racism. He made black people feel something that they’d never felt before: Strong, bold, empowered and unafraid to stand up to all oppressors, foreign and domestic. He saw no gap between celebrities and ordinary men. He knew that by bringing out the greatness in others, he was also elevating himself.
Ali multiplied his spirit by being more than just a boxer, and now he will truly live forever.
Rapper Jay Z has that same opportunity. The key to being the greatest rapper alive is to be more than just a rapper. Tupac was special to people who’d never heard him spit a single verse. He spoke to the struggles of black men in every situation, including the forgotten men locked in American penitentiaries. He told struggling single mothers to “Keep your head up.” His song “Thugz Mansion” touched my heart because it connected my mind to a place where my deceased older brother could go, where black men are free, strong, prosperous and unencumbered by a system that is designed to k**l us.
As Rapper Jay Z and other hip-hop artists deal with the trappings of fame and fortune, one must realize that all of these distractions can fill your bank account but empty your soul. You may get to the day where the hole in your heart isn’t filled by going to one more party, building one more mansion, taking another hit of weed, making one more record or buying one more Bentley. Deion Sanders figured this out when he was suicidal years ago.
Eventually, you end up searching for something more. This is what psychologists call, “Self-actualization,” or “the realization or fulfillment of one’s talents and potentialities.” Actualizing yourself is the key to immortality. It’s the way to leave your mark on the world in such a way that you are loved, remembered and celebrated long after you’ve left this earth.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.”
You’ll soon find that God put you on this earth, Jay-Z, not to tell people to “watch the throne,” but to instead, build a throne big enough to hold you and all the thousands of other little black boys and girls born in the Marcy housing projects.
When Russell Simmons and I wrote our letter to President Obama asking for an end to mass incarceration, Justin Bieber’s tweet of our letter did more for our cause than nearly anything we’d done to that point. While I appreciate what Justin, Brad Pitt and other white celebrities did for our cause, we cannot live in a world where white celebrities care more about our children than we do. The black community is seeking leaders, but the truth is that millions of our children are already being led by celebrities: They tell them how to dress, how to talk, and even play a role in shaping the culture around them. Media and marketing are powerful, and celebrities hold the keys to minds, black, white and otherwise.
Dr. King also said, “In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”
Using this power in the right way is the true Holy Grail, and as Jamie Foxx so eloquently described, an opportunity for celebrities of this generation to leave their mark on the world. Black people are suffering due to our commitment to inactivity, and it is up to our “friends” in high places to do better.
Staff Writer; Dr. Boyce Watkins
Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition. For more information, please visit http://BoyceWatkins.com.