(ThyBlackMan.com) Maria Lloyd recently wrote an article in which it was claimed that the rapper Jay-Z was rejected by a career counselor at Harvard University as an appropriate business role model. I am not sure of the exact circumstances of the student’s allegation, and I am not sure if other Harvard faculty agreed. All I know is that a young woman said that she admired Jay-Z for what he’s achieved in the business world, and she was shot down faster than an unidentified single engine plane flying over the White House. In other words, she was told to find a more suitable business role model.
When I read the article, it made me sad and a little bit disgusted. I don’t like Jay-Z very much, to be honest. Although he is nothing short of a lyrical genius, I am deeply concerned about any man who earns over $60 million dollars in a year and only gives $6,000 to charity. I had to agree with Harry Belafonte when he said that today’s leading black artists, namely Jay-Z and Beyonce, are ignoring their social responsibility by refusing to fight
But in Rapper Jay-Z’s defense, I must say that any business school professor who doesn’t believe that students can learn from him is DEAD WRONG.
I’ve taught in various business schools over the last 19 years. One of the most interesting things about teaching in a school of business is that you quickly find that most business school professors don’t know how to go out and actually make money. Sure, they’re experts at producing highly-complicated research papers that no one is ever going to read. But when asked to go into the real world to show that they can do the things they’re teaching students to do, most of them fail the test.
Another thing that most business school faculty don’t understand is struggle. They have no idea what it’s like to be a black man, living in a housing project, surrounded by violence, joblessness and inadequate educational systems. Most of the faculty at Harvard University or any other business school would not have been able to start where Rapper Jay-Z began and make it to adulthood as a healthy individual who wasn’t either dead or in jail.
Jay-Z (whose real name is Sean Carter) admits that he started off as a crack dealer. But this makes him no worse than many of the other original gangsters who bullied their way to the top, especially around the turn of the century. It is well-known that the Kennedy family built its original wealth by engaging in as much illegal activity as Sean Carter. This doesn’t include the massive wealth accumulated by white America for oppressing minorities and keeping them out of the economic system.
What makes Rapper Jay-Z special as a businessman is his ability to “flip” his wealth into the massive fortune that he has today. He and his wife Beyonce have done a masterful job of managing their careers, making wise investments and avoiding many of the mistakes being made by other people in the music industry. Rapper Jay-Z is not just a rapper, he’s an actual owner of valuable assets that will take good care of Blue Ivy Carter’s (his daughter) grandchildren. So, while we can certainly critique Jay-Z for not giving a damn about anyone but himself, we must give him credit for his tremendous economic success.
I certainly hope that the faculty at Harvard are not elitist enough to ignore the impact that a man like Rapper Jay-Z has had on the business community. The student was allegedly shunned back in 2005, which seems to be eons ago. But one unmistakable fact is that whether you love him or hate him (I personally feel he has fallen short of his potential), Jay-Z is a force in the business community and he didn’t get that way by being stupid.
Perhaps the black students at Harvard can learn from Rapper Jay-Z’s swag, take it to the next level and mix it with a bit of social responsibility. That’s how we can use the power of money to do something truly great. In fact, Oprah is already doing it.
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View Comments
@ Dr. Boyce Watkins
Jayz gave 1 million to Hurricane Katrina victims. Im pretty sure he gives more than 6,000 a year. Even if he doesn't, Jayz is trying to build an empire for future family generations down the line such as thousands of white families have done through time. I wouldn't give tons of money to charity either. Take care of your family first. Damn black people is always critical of other black people of every little thing. How about start with not being critical about other black people to help our black community???? Jayz uplifts many black people in the struggle with his words in his music more than Harry Belafonte can ever imagine. Jayz tells about this struggle but also preaches to go and better yourself. That will go further than any donation Mr. Belafonte, Jayz or you(Dr. Watkins) could ever make!!!
@ Paul
Black people stick together just as much as any other race. I'm tired of black people saying black people don't stick together!!! Of course other races complain about their leaders.
Wow!!!!! He came from inner city garbage. It takes a great business mind to come out of that and reach his level of business success. Who is this counselor that merely works as an employee at Harvard to say JayZ is not worthy??? Most Harvard graduates go to work at other firms as employees. The most successful and richest entreprenuers built businesses without college diplomas. Not to mention other entreprenuers such as myself that have built decent income(six figures)that take care of their family everyday from their businesses. I didnt graduate high school I might add. That counselor is just another person brainwashed by the educational system. In my opinion Jayz is a greater business man than Bill Gates and Warren Buffett because of where he had to come from. Bill and Warren both came from great backgrounds. Warren and Bill respect Jayz as a great businessman so is this bum counselor to say Jay is not worthy!!!!!
Jay-Z is not perfect and who is on this planet? I know that he gave a lot of money to Haiti. I believe that our people speak too much but don't put their ideas into actions like Asians for instance. It is time that we stop to always rely on messiahs to save us. Do you hear Asians complain about their leaders? They don't have time for this. We need to operate in groups like them and the Jews. It is time to wake up and smell the coffee. The group is really what counts!!!
Excellent article of Jay Z. I can relate to this article very intimately. I noticed early on while attending Rutgers's University School of Business, many professors live in their own minds of hypothesis and research and have rarely produced actual capital in their respective fields of study.
I have an associate of mine getting his MBA and another getting his Phd, and both strive hard to convince me either they know more or are productive and I humbly say how can you convince me when I make 250 an hour and between 4k to 7k a week (conservatively) .. rightttttt.
Hustlers or business men are not bread in the halls of Harvard or Penn State, they are born that way period.