“I think I’m Big Meech, Larry Hoover
Getting’ work, hallelujah
One Nation, under God
Real n***s getting money from the f***** start”

- ‘B.M.F.’ by Rick Ross featuring Styles P.

When listening to the hot new Rick Ross album, Teflon Don, and in particular, the chorus to ‘B.M.F.’ something very important came to mind which I have attempted for years to make known – through writings at BlackElectorate.com, radio interviews and in my appearance in the QD III produced, Letter To The President DVD.

It is this: for at least two decades a group of scholars, police chiefs, and military analysts and historians have been meeting - in private and public settings – to study, discuss, and make plans regarding what they have seen as the next big military problem the United States faces: the relationship between Hip-Hop and street gangs and the potential for street gangs to evolve into paramilitary organizations capable of threatening national security.

Their thoughts have been published in professional U.S. military journals and affiliated ones, including Police Chief, the official publication of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, Inc. and Parameters the US Army War College quarterly.

Over the last ten years the relationship between police departments, the Armed forces, intelligence agencies and those who perform covert operations has become closer than ever in this regard. In some respects this relationship becomes visible in what are called joint task force groups.

The view these ‘task force’ groups hold of the relationship between Hip-Hop and street organizations (‘gangs’) is very similar to the view these groups hold of groups identified as terrorist organizations.

In the past I have compared this point of intersection between police chiefs, law enforcement and members of the national security community to the neoconservatives (“neocons”) who led us into the war in Iraq.

Many find this hard to believe or even a ‘conspiracy theory,’ but this reality – although not reported on the news – is easy to verify through researching the writings and documents of police and military organizations, congressional testimony, and materials released under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

Again, one of the main fears of those studying and planning in this area is that the gang member potentially represents a new kind of military threat, most similar to the terrorist and insurgent.

In an article, “Street Gangs – Future Paramilitary Groups?” by Robert J. Bunker, Ph.D., Adjunct Professor, National Securities Studies Program, California State University, San Berardino, published in the June 1996 edition of the Police Chief we read:

”Military scholars recognize that a new form of soldier, with no allegiance to the nation-state, is developing in much of the non-Western world. Major Ralph Peters, U.S. Army, who is responsible for evaluating emerging threats for the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence, terms this threat, “The New Warrior Class.” It is being taken seriously enough by the U.S. Army to be included in its perceptions of early 21st-century Army operations.

Drawing parallels between a city such as Beirut and some U.S. inner-city cores, where many gang members grew up, is not overly difficult. The threat of death or physical harm is significant for a young male growing up in both surroundings, and both fail to provide educational opportunities that can allow for the transformation of this segment of the population into productive and responsible citizens. Today’s pre-teenage inner-city children – termed the ‘super-predators’ by Dr. John J. Dilulio, Jr. of Princeton University – bear a striking resemblance to the child soldiers found in numerous private armies throughout the non-Western world.”

Where does Hip-Hop fit into all of this?

Well, while we’re dancing, partying, and ‘beefing,’ this group of scholars, officers, analysts, historians, governmental departments and intelligence agencies are studying and planning ways to place under surveillance, manage and define the relationship between Hip-Hop and street organizations.

One example is the testimony of Sergeant Ron Stallworth, Gang Intelligence Coordinator of the Utah Department of Public Safety Division of Investigations before the U.S. House of Representatives, Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Crime dated February 23, 1994 and June 17, 1997. In detailed fashion Mr. Stallworth dissects rap lyrics and explains how Hip-Hop spreads and popularizes ‘gang culture.’

But individuals like Sergeant Stallworth aren’t just analysts and observers. At times they actively suggest that Hip-Hop and its relationship to the ‘gang,’ makes it an enemy of the state.

In a civil lawsuit filed by the estate of slain Texas police officer Bill Davidson against Time Warner Inc., Tupac Amaru Shakur, and Interscope Records Officer Stallworth gave an affidavit, in March of 1994 wherein he states, “I have listened to the recording and reviewed the lyrics of 2Pacalypse Now by Tupac Amaru Shakur. Based upon the themes, the language, the metaphors, and the profanity employed in that recording, it is my opinion that 2Pacalypse Now is clearly directed to members of the inner-city environment which produces a substantial number of gang members, and that Shakur himself is firmly entrenched within that same environment. This conclusion is further supported by the ‘shout-outs’ of recognition that Shakur addresses to fellow gangsters and gangster rappers in such songs as ‘I Don’t Give a F***’ and ‘Words of Wisdom’ on the recording. The lyrics of 2Pacalypse Now convey the message that the legal establishment in America exists to oppress black men, and that the solution to this problem is to eliminate the means employed by the establishment to keep the black men down, i.e., to eliminate the law enforcement establishment and law enforcement officers. These lyrics describe and promote the killing of law enforcement officers by members of the gangster subculture. I have reviewed the basic facts surrounding the shooting of Officer William Davidson by Ronald Howard on April 11, 1992. I have also reviewed the basic factual information regarding Ronald Howard, his background and circumstances, as reflected in the transcript of his criminal trial and hearing on punishment. Based upon these facts, it is my opinion that the album 2Pacalypse Now may have served as a causal factor in the shooting of Officer Davidson by Ronald Howard.”

What do individuals like Professor Bunker and Officer Stallworth think of Rick Ross’ ’shout outs of recognition’ on “B.M.F.?”

****

“Get somebody from BMF to talk on this
Get this to a Blood, let a Crip walk on it”

- ‘D.O.A. [Death of Auto-Tune]’ by Jay-Z

In an article written years ago by Sergeant R.K. Miller we read a quote that he attributes to a leader of the White Power movement: “Music is one of the greatest propaganda tools around. You can influence more people with music than you can with a speech.”

Under the FBI’s Counter Intelligence Program (COINTELPRO), in an August 25, 1967 memo it is written that no political activist or individual with an ideology that was perceived as a threat to the establishment should have access to a ‘mass communication media.’

What is Hip-Hop, if not ‘mass communication media?’

One of the highest concerns of today’s national security apparatus is the role the rapper serves, in their view, as the spokesperson for the gang.

Why else has intelligence been gathered and compiled on rappers by agencies like the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and even the White House through the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP)? The letterhead on many of the documents of the infamous, “rap binder” maintained by the New York Police Department (NYPD) and shared with others like the Miami and Miami Beach Police departments, including the portion pertaining to Jay-Z, is that of The High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Program (http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/hidta/).

If you look at the surveillance of rap artists from the perspective of COINTELPRO and the current thinking in gang intelligence and military think tanks the words of Miami police Sgt. Rafael Tapanes, in a March 9, 2004 Miami Herald article that ”A lot if not most rappers belong to some sort of gang,” is more significant than one might initially think.

The amount of resources the federal government and some outside of it are devoting to depict Hip-Hop artists and their relationship to crime and street organizations as a threat to the establishment national security is staggering.

“They claim we’re threats to society
And now they’re calling on the government to try to make somebody quiet me
For the bulls*** they done to me
Gangster NIP, Spice One, and Tupac never gave a gun to me
So gangster rap ain’t done s*** for that
I’ve even seen White folks from River Oaks go get the gat
So why you tryin to kick some dust up?
America’s always been known for blaming us n****** for their f*** ups
And we were always considered evil
Now they’re trying to bust our only code of communicating with our people”

- “Hand Of The Dead Body” by Scarface featuring Ice Cube and Devin The Dude

The best example I could give is the joint task force effort against Scarface, James Prince, and Rap-A-Lot Records last decade.

Had I not personally attended the Congressional hearings regarding them, I would not have believed the extent of the effort myself. One of the most striking things revealed in the hearings was the extent to which the federal government had placed federal informants in not just Rap-A-Lot Records but throughout Houston’s 5th Ward section.

To this day, I am the only member of the Hip-Hop community willing to openly share what I witnessed that day.

Please read my BlackElectorate piece, “Rap COINTELPRO Part IV: Congress Holds Hearings On DEA Rap-A-Lot Investigation” from 2000, at: http://www.blackelectorate.com/articles.asp?ID=263

“B.M.F.” is more than a song in the minds of our worst enemies.

****

“My white lines go along way
Either up your nose, or through your vein
With nothing to gain except killing your brain”

-’White Lines’ by Grandmaster Flash

Last Friday, July 23, the popular music service Rhapsody, jointly owned by Real Networks and Viacom (even with an announced spinoff of Rhapsody in February of this year) in its Album Guide section, dated July 20, 2010, featured a prominent playlist categorization called, ‘Cocaine Rap.’ It was still the main headline feature on the morning of Tuesday, July 27th (”The As, Bs and Kilos of Coke Rap,” http://blog.rhapsody.com/2010/07/cokerap.html). It is a compilation of what it calls ten of the greatest albums revolving around the sale of drugs, gang culture, and violence from an inner city perspective. Under a picture with three Hip-Hop icons: Raekwon on the left, Rick Ross in the middle, and Young Jeezy on the right, an introduction from Mosi Reeves reads:

“Mafioso rap, crack rap, even gangsta rap: the coke rap subgenre has answered to many names in its infamously profitable history. It not only plays to our lowest common denominator — namely, our stereotyped notions of how urban black men live — but also our appetite for violent action movies and our empathy for the antiheroes that usually meet a bloody end in those flicks. In this world, the bad guy, not Tom Cruise, gets all the girls and the cash, and lives to tell the tale.

Anyone who pays close attention to hip-hop is familiar with coke rap. Artists like Raekwon and Scarface fuel intense yet favorable debates over their impressive rhyme styles and the moral quandaries their songs represent. Meanwhile, reformed drug dealers like 50 Cent, T.I. and Jay-Z dominate the charts. With the arrival of Teflon Don by Rick Ross, the Miami rapper that has earned increasing critical acclaim, it’s time to revisit 10 albums that exemplify how, to paraphrase the late dealer-turned-rap-kingpin Notorious B.I.G., ‘the rap game is just like the crack game.’”

Here are the ten albums featured by Rhapsody as best representing the ‘coke rap subgenre:’

Andre Nickatina: ‘Conversation With a Devil’

Cam’ron: ‘Purple Haze’

Clipse: ‘Hell Hath No Fury’

Ice Cube: ‘Death Certificate’

Jay-Z: ‘Reasonable Doubt’

Killer Mike: ‘I Pledge Allegiance To The Grind II’

Raekwon: ‘Only Built 4 Cuban Linx’

Rick Ross: ‘Port of Miami’

Scarface: ‘Greatest Hits’

T.I. : ‘Trap Muzik’

Honestly, the list made me feel uncomfortable. In a sense it was a wake-up call to me. Imagine, after all of these years, and with so many tracks made along those lines, ‘coke rap’ is actually a subgenre of rap music, that corporate America uses to classify and promote music downloads. To me, it shows what happens when the organic energy is stripped out of something by the commercial influence, and what happens when something that has its place in reality, is taken to an extreme or out of context.

From an artistic and social commentary point of view I actually do appreciate this kind of rap. I enjoy much of it and I think it does authentically represent a lifestyle. And you can’t front, tracks like ‘Dope Money’ by Styles P. and Jadakiss are simply hot as hell (smile).

But there is also something about the ‘coke rap subgenre’ that is not authentic. It is the commercialization of the worst part of our experience for the sake of profit and artistic expression and not the benefit of those who live that struggle and the community that produced the rap artist, and the subject matter which they rap about.

As my friend Obi Egbuna, US Correspondent for The Herald newspaper of Zimbabwe told me last week, Kwame Ture (formerly known as Stokely Carmichael) would tell artists that music did not belong to them, it belonged to the people.

Sure, we all get a kind of psychic income from seeing one of our own do well while telling our story – a story that no one else wants to tell. But when a rap artist styles themselves as a gangster and yet does not even do the minimum good that real gangsters (or the one they claim to be inspired by) have done in terms of giving back to the hood and building institutions and power in the community, then in the words of Just Blaze, we need something realer.

****

“In this case, who’s the loser?
Ran through enough coke for Castro to build schools in Cuba.”

- “We Gonna Make It” by Jadakiss featuring Styles P.

Will coke rap forever only be about rhetoric and romanticizing about drug dealing and gangster lifestyle without actually applying the lessons of that history, for the benefit of the people?

I don’t speak this as someone who doesn’t understand how hard it is for an artist to push consciousness to the masses when the marketplace appears to prefer only sex and violence. I have been in high-level discussions with artists and seen the real life tug-of-war between artists who are willing to leave coke rap behind and those who want to but are afraid that they will not just be seen as ‘corny,’ but also that they will be abandoning a real segment of their loyal base. Artists really are like political leaders with constituents who trust them to represent their reality and perspective.

In that sense I actually think the greatest coke rap album ever is Immobilarity by Raekwon. Unfortunately, the rap fan base didn’t appreciate what Rae was saying and the transition he was attempting to represent. All we wanted from Rae, it seems is ‘Only Built 4 Cuban Linx,’ over and over again. Some of us have reduced Raekwon in our minds to a ‘coke rap’ artist. We don’t want him to grow, it appears. But he’s much more than that - not only does he have the most unique flow possibly in rap history from an artistic perspective (see what I wrote in “Supply Births Demand: Ask Raekwon and E-40″ :http://allhiphop.com/stories/editorial/archive/2010/04/06/22160847.aspx) but he has tremendous leadership potential, on a community and global level.

The first person to enlighten me to this influence that Raekwon has, as a natural leader of men, was Method Man. I write about it humorously in Volume II of my book, The Entrepreneurial Secret (http://theEsecret.com/).

There were just some things I could not persuade others to do, unless I asked Raekwon to do them first. That’s leadership.

And if this power is applied right it counteracts the problem of the 85% that they believe ‘in the 10% on face value’ and are ‘easily led in the wrong direction, but hard to lead into the right direction.’

*****

Now, let’s circle back to ‘B.M.F.’ by Rick Ross.

The song - produced by Lex Luger - is an anthem. And the video: http://www.vevo.com/watch/rick-ross/bmf/USUV71001277 captures the energy of the cut very well. And what makes the song are two things – the chorus and the 16-note marching/banging sound at the beginning of the song that is sprinkled a couple more times on the track. The marching sound causes everyone to move in unison and gives the song a movement feel to it. My friends from Africa immediately recognize this about ‘B.M.F.’ And of course you gotta’ love it when a cat shouts out ‘broke n****s’ and ‘rich n***s’ in the same breath. Rick Ross is the first rapper to be both capitalist and socialist in the same verse. Although the preferred dress code is all Black with white ice, Rick Ross tries to make everyone feel welcome. A nice change from artists who take the elite materialistic point of view and disrespect and exclude the poor masses that buy their music.

But because of how I know the highest levels of government look at the relationship between Hip-Hop and street organizations and because my Hip-Hoppreneur ™ concept is based upon the merging of political, business and cultural power I take the shout outs on the song of Big Meech of the Black Mafia Family and Larry Hoover of the Gangster Disciples seriously. Because of my relationships with real live Bloods, Crips and Latin Kings who really don’t respect or appreciate flag-waving rappers who have no real connection to the lifestyle and the struggle, I take seriously the very real potential that this song has to do so much good. These members of street organizations who I work with aren’t interested in glorifying the negative and violent aspect of the culture and are working on things like cease-fires, peace treaties and building the communities they once destroyed.

Every real ‘gangster’ that we have known of significance never ruled by violence and illegal activity alone. They were master organizers, understood how to develop trust, and respected the need to teach and train the very young and poor. They did not do what they did by being flashy.

“Black drug dealer you have to wise up
And organize your business so that we can rise up
If you’re going to sell crack then don’t be a fool
Organize your money and open up a school
Drug dealer, understand historical fact
Every race got ahead from selling drugs except Black
We are under attack here’s another cold fact
In the 30s and 40s the drug dealer wasn’t Black
They were Jewish, Italian, Irish, Polish etc., etcetera
Now in the 90s their lives are a lot better
They will sell you a sweater
A pair of pants cold-hearted
But first selling drugs and killing people’s how they started.”

- ‘Drug Dealer,’ by Boogie Down Productions

So, I’m glad to hear Rick Ross shout out these two figures and I hope it will create a discussion over how and why Black and Latino (both original people) ‘gangs’ have never been able to make the same transition from legal to illegal activity (or manage both) that Polish, Jewish, Italian, and Irish gangsters, for instance have. I hope this song will lead us to appreciate why the Honorable Elijah Muhammad said and wrote in Message To The Blackman (http://store.finalcall.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=BK-MTBM)that Black people should take a page out of the beautiful example of the Japanese and Chinese people and how they provided welfare and employment opportunities to their own. I hope this song will inspire a dialogue deep enough for us to appreciate why Minister Farrakhan is currently asking Black people to study both sides of the history of Jewish economic power - the exploitative element and the mastery of economic cooperation and networking. See his open letter to Black leadership and entertainment figures: http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/Minister_Louis_Farrakhan_9/article_7152.shtml)

And I hope that whatever people think of Rick Ross and his image that we won’t lose sight of the fact that the greatest fear of those in power is that the gang will evolve its narrow and local militant character into a national movement and that the rapper will serve as the spokesperson of that movement. If he and other rappers are more interested in building power and communities than glorifying a flashy lifestyle, then a song like ‘B.M.F.’ and the ‘coke rap sub genre’ can be revolutionary and would have done more good than harm.

The key is to keep the discussion honest, rooted in history, relevant to the streets and the youth and about building more than destroying. And we can’t ever forget that a hidden hand is involved.

The thoughts of Samson from BET are an example of the tone and insight that can make these conversations productive.

Here is how Larry Hoover’s ‘evolution’ was seen by the powers that be. In an article written by Lieutenant Michael C. McCort, Phoenix Police Department, Arizona published in the June 1996 edition of Police Chief entitled, ‘The Evolution of Street Gangs: A Shift Toward Organized Crime’ we read:

“In 1994, Larry Hoover, the recognized founder of the BGDN and a convicted, imprisoned murderer, sought to change the gang’s image. From prison, he attempted to change the BGDN charter and rename the gang, “Better Growth and Development.” Confiscated excerpts from BGDN bylaws have proposed to advance the “GD Nation” through political, social and economic means. In these documents, members have been urged to use drug monies to purchase new businesses as a means to launder illegal profits.

Although Hoover was in prison for the execution-style murders of three individuals, there were attempts to portray him as a reformed community leader and social visionary. In 1993 the Chicago mayor, three city alderman (one of them an ex-police officer) and a state representative actively supported Hoover’s early release from prison. In 1994, two BGDN gang members ran for local office and came close to being elected. This activity is reminiscent of 1920s Chicago, when Al Capone sought an image of legitimacy by helping followers work their way into the political process through corruption of local politicians and judges.”

I hope that Rick Ross’ efforts to increase awareness of Larry Hoover will result in not only discussions of the above but a review of the history of such noted Chicago Black ‘gangsters’ Daniel McKee Jackson of the early 20th century.

What rapper is capable and willing to represent the righteous evolution that so many drug dealers, and those banging want to see? What Hip-Hop artist is going to have the courage to decide that while coke rap may be a subgenre that has artistic qualities and moves some units that what our people really need is not only an artist who tells stories and makes shout outs, but a leader who uses art, to build the community?

What would happen if the ten artists who Rhapsody lists as having made the greatest albums in ‘coke rap’ history: Ice Cube, Jay-Z, Killer Mike, Rick Ross, T.I., Raekwon, Andre Nickatina, Scarface, The Clipse, and Cam’ron settled any differences they had and came together in a private summit to plan community development (or at least an album that would use drug-dealing and gang lifestyle and culture to teach powerful lessons of economic development - lessons and principles of unity that other ethnic groups have mastered)?

Can the music generate ‘movement’ before the police, military, intelligence agencies and covert ops execute the urban warfare that they have planned for ‘the new warrior class’ that Robert J. Bunker describes and the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army fears?

Will this subgenre build up and protect the community or just ultimately serve as part of the justification for its invasion by task forces, the National Guard, and entire Army units?

Don’t get me wrong - I really do like Maybach music, but I love Movement music even more.

Only time will tell what the real legacy of ‘coke rap’ will be…

Cedric Muhammad is a business consultant, political strategist, and monetary economist. He’s a former GM of Wu-Tang Management and currently a Member of the African Union’s First Congress of African Economists. Cedric’s the Founder of the economic information service Africa PreBrief (http://africaprebrief.com/) and author of ‘The Entrepreneurial Secret’ (http://theEsecret.com/). He can be contacted via e-mail at: cedric(at)cmcap.com

This week we worry a bit over the weight that Kenya’s constitutional referendum is having on the Nairobi Stock Exchange. The intriguing mainstream ‘confession’ regarding how Western media prioritizes crisis coverage in Africa gets some attention. We offer a different perspective on a titanic struggle for the direction of world cocoa prices. We propose that South Africa may be entering a season of post-World Cup ‘Enron moments.’ In addition we are intrigued by a formidable alliance that may be forming between a leader from North Africa and one from the Southern region.

Finally, we offer applause for a progressive regulatory step taken by African nations in the enormous telecommunications sector.

It’s all in the current edition of Africa PreBrief. Subscribe today at:
http://www.africaprebrief.com/pages/subscribe-to-apb.php

I’m getting great feedback on my review of Moky Makura’s book, ‘Africa’s Greatest Entrepreneurs.’ Some who are not on my personal email list did not see the following which I sent out along with a link to the review (which is featured as this week’s Africa PreBrief blog):

As many of you know, if I had to choose between a political activist affiliated with a grant-receiving NGO; a CEO of a Fortune 500 company mining precious minerals; a macroeconomist who focuses on ‘the numbers’; a tribal chieftain; and a entrepreneur without seed capital to advise me on what steps need to be taken to produce sustainable African economic development it would be the latter two groups (the chief and the entrepreneur), both of whom receive scant attention from a Western media that either depicts Africa as a land of famine and conflict or romanticizes over its booming ‘growth rates’ (an increasingly accelerating phenomenon). I say neither socialism, capitalism, nor ‘general theory’ sheds more light than the perspective of kinship systems and the risk-taker. I dealt with this (and why ‘growth’ can be a misnomer) in my debut Africa PreBrief interview (http://africaprebrief.com/pages/posts/whatrsquos-next-for-african-economic-development-and-investment-q-a-with-cedric-muhammad-founder-africaprebrief-25.php).

http://www.africaprebrief.com/pages/posts/the-most-important-book-on-african-economic-development-28.php

As many of you know the 15th African Union Summit/17th session of the Executive Council of the African Union is meeting along with the Assembly of the AU in Kampala, Uganda.

Media coverage will vary, so include a review of the original and official documents of the gathering posted on the African Union’s official website at:

http://www.africa-union.org/root/au/index/index.htm

Cedric Muhammad
July 23, 2010

A few months back when 50 Cent expressed his interest in making dance music he received quite a bit of negative feedback and chatter from the hardcore rap fan base on blogs and websites with many even making mockery of him for having the thought. It was one of those moments where depending upon perspective and personal taste many formed an opinion and even made a judgment without taking the time to listen to what 50 intended – creatively and businesswise.

And it is only from those two points of view – business and artistic creativity – that one could appreciate the wisdom in what 50 was contemplating.

From a business perspective, as I have written in the past, 50 Cent is not as commercially popular as he was in the past, not because his music or rhymes have fallen off but because so much of his success is attributable to an intense interest in his personal story and a particular fan base that is aging. That kind of intensity and of course youth cannot be maintained over an entire decade. As older fans tuned out, not enough younger ones were produced.

It’s the natural ‘demographic death’ that almost every rapper experiences.

I don’t have time or space to revisit these concepts that I’ve written about before at AllHipHop.com but you can get a quick refresher by reviewing:

- “The 17 Year Old: The God Of Rap”

http://allhiphop.com/stories/editorial/archive/2010/03/24/22153820.aspx

- “The Business Of ‘Story’ (A Rapper’s Brand and Image)”

http://allhiphop.com/stories/editorial/archive/2010/01/12/22092307.aspx

- “The New Synth Pop: Ke$ha, Young Money and Justin Bieber Got This!”

http://allhiphop.com/stories/editorial/archive/2010/04/14/22169549.aspx

Accepting this I don’t think has been easy for 50 but I definitely think he has the kind of KOS (Knowledge of Self) that allows him to adapt to the changing circumstances of his career. The challenge for 50 is that he is such an image and ‘story’-oriented artist that if he’s not careful a turn to dance music (especially if that only means uptempo music) can cause his brand, image, and reputation to get out of alignment.

Although he thrives off of that rebel and upstart energy 50 Cent can never again be the #1 rap insurgent – the young kid emerging on the mixtape circuit willing to take on the establishment and say whatever he wants, violating political correctness (can he really make ‘Ghetto Qur’an’ and ‘How To Rob’ again?) He is the industry establishment, today.

So, like any great political leader he is no longer as concerned with his current demand and is looking for new voters (consumers), his emerging demand. He’s also dedicated himself to new markets in the form of a career in acting and film production.

So in a business context it is easy to see how he would view dance music – it’s an emerging market, and a lucrative one at that, capable of adding to the longevity of his music career.

Probably 9 out of 10 rap fans who criticized 50 for even thinking about dance and techno have little grasp of how large that market is internationally and how fast it is growing in the United States.

Sadly, but genuinely, most of us ‘fans’ don’t think past personality beefs in rap and who’s hot in our own neighborhood or region. But if we took the business point of view we’d see that the same place where Hip-Hop sales are dying – the United States (while in some formats growing internationally) is the same place that dance music is booming again.

From a July 2, 2010 article in The Financial Times, “The world’s biggest music market finds a new groove on the dance floor”:

The noise from the pumping electronic beats was deafening, but the 185,000 young people packed into the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum last weekend did not care. They were too busy dancing to tracks from some of the world’s best DJs, including Moby and Deadmau5, a Canadian house and techno producer who wears a giant mouse head when performing.

In Las Vegas the biggest resort hotels have begun signing DJs to lengthy contracts to attract regular crowds. “It’s a city that’s been built on residencies, whether it’s Frank Sinatra or Celine Dion,” says Mr Zimmerman.

****

But there is more to the story than just business.

Creatively, there is something currently missing from the ‘sound’ of Hip-Hop music that one finds in dance music and other genres.

Here is a critical point that 50 Cent made regarding the creative experimentation he initially took part in for his new album tentatively titled, ‘Black Magic’:

“Black Magic had a different style to it, a different vibe. I was playing with different song structures, music from different genres like rock music. The way rock music allows the energy to decrease and then comeback to high energy…I was getting music that had that kind of vibe to it. I did some things that were a little dance inspired, the tempo was higher. Just playing with a lot of things.”

When most people think of dance music they think of beats per minute and faster tempo, as 50 describes. But dance music also delivers what 50 attributes to rock music when he says, “The way rock music allows the energy to decrease and then comeback to high energy…I was getting music that had that kind of vibe to it.”

Very few Hip-Hop producers are able to build crescendo, which is another word, among others for what 50 is describing. That was one of the points I made in my last column, “In Search of The New Sound (‘Goose Bump Music’)” at:

http://allhiphop.com/stories/editorial/archive/2010/06/29/22281770.aspx

To me it is not the beats per minute or tempo that makes Dance, Trip-Hop, and House music powerful and able to do things that most Hip-Hop beats today don’t, it is the way that its sound has two qualities: spatial location (the ability to create an impression that sound is coming to the listener from a particular location) and reverberation (the ability to create a perception of how close, or far away we are from the source of a sound i.e. the difference between hearing music in a studio, echoing in a shower, heard in a nightclub, or experienced in a large concert hall.

Both of these qualities create emotion in the listener, including a sense of pain, joy, suspense, anticipation and excitement.
You can always find it in movie score music.

*****

Over the last few weeks, when I took a few columns off I’ve been listening to albums from certain artists not just for enjoyment but to notice certain qualities in the sound. On my playlist have been the new album from dance artist Kylie Minogue (‘Aphrodite’); the new album from Big Boi (‘St. Lucious Left Foot…The Son Of Chico Dusty’); the music of Deadmau5; the first two albums from the legendary house music group Ten City (‘Foundation’ and ‘No House Big Enough’); and the latest album from The-Dream (‘Love King’)

If you want an excellent and simple example of spatial location and reverberation listen to ‘Nikki 2’ by The-Dream and the uptempo ‘Can’t Beat The Feeling’ by Kylie Minoque (pay attention to what ‘happens’ with the energy level, and how different sounds are slowly re-integrated from the 2:11 minute mark to 3:14, especially if you do so while you think of someone you love-smile). It is exactly what 50 Cent describes, “The way…music allows the energy to decrease and then comeback to high energy…”

That’s the crescendo that dance and house music creates that the vast majority of Hip-Hop music lacks today.

If you want a good example of contrasting sounds weaved nicely around vocal delivery, ‘Shutterbug’ by Big Boi is nice, too.

Over this same period I had a very good and brief exchange with an AllHipHop reader about one of the best lyricists I have ever heard, Joe Budden.

The reader, quite properly wanted to know what I thought of him in relation to my last column on ‘Goose Bump music.’

This is usually the kind of advice I give an artist in private but for the benefit of the readers and because the sky is still the limit for Joe Budden here is that exchange:

TM: Reading your article on goose bump music I couldn’t agree more but I have been listening to Joe Budden for a couple of years now and I have put links to some songs where I believe he shows flashes of that “Goose Bump” music I know it gives me the chills its a perfect combination of lyrics which match the mood of the beat, so take a listen and let me know what you think.

Cedric Muhammad: The only small criticism I have is that while he is an incredible lyricist I believe that too often he cares more about how he says things (’flow’) than in conveying the meaning of what he is saying (through voice inflection and dramatic cadence) and reaching a broader audience who would be touched by his ’story.’ In other words, he is a master rhymer who is VERY introspective and can tell stories but yet not a great introspective story-teller (Scarface, Cube, Pac, Beans, Jay). It’s too often the curse of the talented northeast rapper who appeals to the mixtape audience - where flow matters more than feeling.

TM: Thank you for your response and I hadn’t looked at in that way his focus more on flow has been a hindrance for him to have a more accessible story to a wider audience I do contend though he is one of the most lyrically candid mcs in the game right now.

Cedric Muhammad: Yes, Joe Budden could be one of the greatest introspective rappers. He has all of the qualities - ’story,’ vocabulary, diction, emotion. Unfortunately things like beefing with artists on his website and trying to convince everyone how nice he is (which he is) as an MC, cause us to think of him more as someone who rips tracks rather than someone who makes moving music.

****

What I did not get too deep into with this insightful reader is that part of what Joe Budden needs is a new ‘sound.’ I’m not saying that he needs a gang of uptempo dance beats. I think we all know that would bring his brand-image-reputation out of alignment. But if you listen to how honest, revealing, and descriptive he can be, it is not hard to see that if Joe Budden could find a producer or team of them (and more importantly an arranger) with the discipline to just focus on things like spatial location, reverberation, and a theme or concept album (and not just hot beats) he is capable of producing classic music – down, mid and uptempo. Joe Budden is really that talented and special of an MC.

Nonetheless, I think he has had a good career and his business sense and understanding of how to create a cult of personality via the Internet put him light years ahead of most artists.

But, to me, he has never been able to find the right balance between freestyling, battle raps, and songwriting as he and I discussed back in 2003 in a BlackElectorate.com interview(http://www.blackelectorate.com/articles.asp?ID=881):

Cedric Muhammad: …Well, listen, there was this interesting line I saw in this interview you gave to The Source magazine, where you made a distinction between freestyling and making a song. And, looking at your evolution, I thought it would be interesting to hear you explain the transition from freestyling and making a song. Was it difficult? What were some of the things you had to learn quickly?

Joe Budden: You know, I had to adjust to making a freestyle. That’s what I had to adjust to. Because I am a songwriter…

Cedric Muhammad: So you went backwards with it?

Joe Budden: Yeah, I had to go backwards. I have always written. I started out writing in school - homework - and I was good at that. Then that went to having a daily journal. Then that went to having to write in therapy; then that went to poetry; and that went to spoken word; then that went to battle raps; and that went to songs. I always skipped the freestyles. I wasn’t too knowledgeable about the mixtape game and about how big freestyles were until I started getting on them. So I had to learn what the f— to say. I was real good about talking about me and spreading my own feelings and being real introspective on a song but I had to learn how to get people’s attention. So, I realized that I had always been real good at metaphors and punch lines from back in my battle rap days. So I tried to do that and the people definitely liked it. So I stayed in that but I didn’t want to get caught in the “Canibus syndrome” whereas, as you know, a few years ago, Canibus killed every mixtape but when he put the album out people found out he can’t make a song - which was the truth. So, I threw out songs early on when I thought the people were listening, from the popularity of the freestyles.

Cedric Muhammad: So, in essence, where are you right now? Do you think that you are back in your element with making songs for your album?

Joe Budden: Yeah, definitely back in my element. But I mean don’t get me wrong. I love doing the freestyles. I love it because it just gives me the chance to just run off at the mouth about whatever I want but with the songs I can get real personal, so while making an album, I definitely feel back in my element.

****

These words that Joe spoke to me in 2003 are still his dilemma. He actually was lured away from being the great songwriter (that he already was - “You know, I had to adjust to making a freestyle. That’s what I had to adjust to. Because I am a songwriter…I was real good about talking about me and spreading my own feelings and being real introspective on a song but I had to learn how to get people’s attention.”) by the pressures and culture of the mixtape circuit and rap’s obsession with ‘beef.’

7 years later, I still believe, with the right ’sound’ Joe Budden can make the kind of classic album that has eluded him thus far.

Because of these kind of dynamics, radio playlists that focus on bpms more than moving music, and producers who rely on synthesized sound too much, Naughty By Nature remains one of the most underappreciated groups in rap history and Kay Gee in particular, as a producer. The way he integrated the use of the piano into rap to create a new sound is something no other producer in Hip-Hop has ever come close to.

And in some ways Treach is an example of a master lyricist who understood it was more important for his career and the betterment of his group to stay within the pocket of a certain sound – even one that could cause him to be called ‘corny.’ Because Naughty admittedly made ‘feel good’ music (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAcIZ0N3Ez8) Treach’s place among the top MCs of all time remains disputed to some. But anyone who knows anything about MC’ing and making hot songs and concept albums knows the New Jersey native is one of the best that ever did it. KRS-One said it best in the early 1990s when he said lyrics were like a dog to Treach – they would go wherever he wanted to take them. The Teacher also said that you could look in Treach’s eyes and feel the intensity of his creativity. I know of no one else who ever received this kind of endorsement from KRS-One or a group for whom he showed such appreciation for their ability to make great song, after song. He said Naughty could go song-for-song with him, as early as back in 1992-1993.

One of the underappreciated aspects of the rise of Dirty/Down South music is its ability to bring new sounds into the game. In this sense among others, Mannie Fresh remains one of the most underappreciated producers. His ability to integrate the sounds of other genres of southern music, including elements of the instrumentation of the marching bands of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) is something that remains to be studied.

He was also excellent and building crescendo and that is one of the secrets of the popularity of ‘Back That Azz Up,’ by Juvenile featuring Mannie Fresh and Lil Wayne (aside from the ‘captivating movements’ note the string instruments shown in the video at the very beginning: http://new.music.yahoo.com/Juvenile/videos/view/Back-That-Thang-Up–2150407).

Note what Mannie Fresh does at the end of the song (the 2:50 minute mark) leading into Lil Wayne’s cameo and beat-box influenced ad lib, combined with the synth, strings, horn-sound section, timing of the drums; and of course the well, ‘captivating movements’ of those dancing in the video. It is what makes that song so memorable and is a major part of what made for a young Lil Wayne’s rise, which has continued for over 10 years.

String instruments, building crescendo, spatial location, and reverberation are small things to some but they are what make a very good lyrical artist like Beanie Sigel sound ‘classic’ in terms of introspection on the first two verses on a track like ‘Got Nowhere’ produced by Kanye West (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmnFNp9rG58). Again, note the use of strings, horns and piano to create crescendo.

The Rick Ross-affiliated producers like Lex Luger are also bringing a lot of subtle things to the table these days. “B.M.F.” is a beast of an arrangement (more than a beat) – so basic and disciplined, its sophisticated - including the flows of Styles P. and Rick Ross which let the beat speak as loud as they do. Too many lyricists would have tried to rip the track and take it over with excessive wordplay. The song is one big crescendo – movie score music and anthem all in one.

So, to me the talk about Hip-Hop artists making ‘dance music’ is about a search for greater sound creativity as much as business.
There’s something missing in the music and everybody feels it. It’s time for a breakthrough.

Recently while with a friend, I turned to the local Hip-Hop and R&B station – a typical booming but boring beat came on. She said to me, ‘How could anyone listen to this all day?’

My answer was, ‘Only two reasons – either they don’t know anything different and the power of other sounds in music, or, they are just conditioned to ‘like’ it because of habit and repetition.’

Those two reasons aren’t enough anymore to stop the revolution in sound that’s coming.

Let me get back to pumping ‘All Loved Out’ by Ten City…

Cedric Muhammad is a business consultant, political strategist, and monetary economist. He’s a former GM of Wu-Tang Management and currently a Member of the African Union’s First Congress of African Economists. Cedric’s the Founder of the economic information service Africa PreBrief (http://africaprebrief.com/) and author of ‘The Entrepreneurial Secret’ (http://theEsecret.com/). He can be contacted via e-mail at: cedric(at)cmcap.com

This week we worry a bit over a Cote d’ Ivoire (Ivory Coast) which continues to wrestle with national identity while its dependency on diminishing cocoa production looms large. Despite a eurozone slowdown we explain why Egypt’s tourism sector will continue to thrive (it has a secret weapon) and we pick one company in particular to keep an eye on. Botswana’s continued woes with ‘regulating’ capital and labor mobility offer a bit of humor (hopefully the Washington intellectuals of the 1990s who painted her as the ‘shining star’ of African economic growth are all retiring from think tank influence. It takes more than diamonds to create prosperity). We also examine why an informal so-called ‘re-colonization’ effort by Portugal in Angola continues to accelerate. And perhaps, surprisingly, we argue that sport and play can produce meaningful development – in one specific way the World Cup has laid the groundwork for economic empowerment in Africa.

It’s all in the July 16, 2010 issue of Africa Prebrief. Subscribe today at:

http://www.africaprebrief.com/pages/subscribe-to-apb.php

…We’re engaged in a great dialogue with the African Development Bank’s Fragile States Unit (OSFU) who sent a very kind note our way, reading in part, “We share your view that African Diaspora should be viewed in the broader sense, including African-Americans or Africans from other geographic regions “who have ideological affinity, but not necessarily deep cultural attachment or kinship ties”. Like you, we think that the most important thing is that the Diaspora contribute to the social and economic progress of Africa, without having necessarily to relocate to the continent. On another note, we visited your web site and would like to congratulate you on the great work you are doing by providing through your newsletter, Africa PreBrief, relevant information on the business environment in Africa.”

Any serious African observer should keep the ADB’s OSFU on their radar, particularly in the difficult area of how to engage the African Diaspora in meaningful economic development. While others are rhetoric-only in this regard the OSFU is putting together progressive forums like one which recently gathered “the private sector and Governments of India, China and South Korea to exchange lessons on mobilizing the contribution of the African Diaspora for development in their countries of origin.”

http://www.afdb.org/en/news-events/article/afdb-brings-experts-together-to-reflect-on-africa-diasporas-contribution-to-capacity-building-and-development-6954/

There are profound lessons for Africa in the histories of these countries and several others and Africa PreBrief will continue to highlight this historical perspective for subscribers and clients.

….Economist and columnist Bruce Bartlett, whose interests and analysis on Africa go back several decades is now regularly offering his latest notations on economic activity on the continent at: http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Blogs/2010/07/07/Bartletts-Notations-Focus-on-Africa.aspx. His daily commentary on broader economic issues can be found at:

http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Blog-Landing/Bartletts-Notations.aspx

…OK, now to the important stuff – the loss of my Beloved Ghana in the World Cup (yes I fall in love quick, having picked Ghana via a Facebook poll one day before the tournament started). I wish folks would leave Asamoah Gyan alone for missing the free kick. Ghana was the quickest team in the tournament but by far one of the worse in terms of kicking accuracy. Gyan’s true legacy may be in pioneering this dance that I expect Harlem to claim any week now: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwvMk-M_I0g&feature=related

For those who doubted – here’s the permanent link to the shot of me donning the official Ghana baseball cap:

http://profile.ak.fbcdn.net/hprofile-ak-snc4/hs325.snc4/41460_1274740479_180_n.jpg

Am I a soccer fan (pardon me, Football) now?

No, but I better appreciate why so many others are.

I still don’t think the sport will take root in America anytime soon.

Although the real Football has demographic change on its side, sports in America is entertainment and a cult of personality. Until soccer ‘stars’ are branded via college competition, video game and pop culture, and regular TV exposure (and as long as international news channels like Al Jazeera continue to find resistance from American cable channel providers this ain’t gonna happen) the NFL, NBA, and MLB can sleep easy at night.

But who knows? With the NHL continuing to shoot itself in the foot, soccer fans have reason to keep hope alive.

Lastly, I must thank the #1 African DJ and new friend Karengera Eric Soul for putting me up on two hot artists. I’ve been consulting with my French-speaking friends and multi-linguists to determine who is hotter – Baloji or Lexxus:

Baloji: http://vimeo.com/8907715

Lexxus: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dJYaFfiIlo

So far Baloji’s in the lead.

Weigh in…

Cedric Muhammad
July 16, 2010

Sir, I read your July 3, 2010 Washington Post, “Civil rights loses a champion in Bill Taylor” column with great interest (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/02/AR2010070204360.html).

As always, your writing makes for stimulating reading.

This was most recently the case with your June 19, 2010 column (‘On Father’s Day, Hypocrites Are All In The Family’) defending President Obama’s character from being assassinated by individuals such as Rush Limbaugh, Newt Gingrich and Sarah Palin, or those who revere them.

It is apparent why you are a Pulitzer Prize winning columnist.

I very carefully, over coffee, this morning read every single word of your most recent piece dedicated to celebrating the life and work of a Jewish leader Mr. Bill Taylor. I learned much about Mr. Taylor as a result of your witness and I thank you.

Your dedication to the subject of Black-Jewish relations is clear and because we both seem to share an interest in the quality of that relationship I am writing you.

In particular, I am reacting to this portion of your article:

“For more than 50 years, Bill Taylor gave his all for justice and equality. Taylor was “a proud Jew,” Rabbi David Saperstein said at the funeral, who “was particularly proud of the black-Jewish alliance in shaping the civil rights movement.”

I won’t dignify Farrakhan with another word.”

Sir, I must say that initially I felt your weaving this statement about Minister Farrakhan into a column dedicated to the life of a recently deceased person was inappropriate. My mind went to the Bible, specifically Hebrews 9:16-17 which places emphasis on the testimony that a life leaves of itself. In a sense, perhaps, Mr. Taylor’s legacy should have spoken louder than your editorializing on Minister Farrakhan. In that sense your words distracted me from seeing Mr. Taylor’s contributions more clearly.

However, you are a better knower than I about the etiquette of such things at The Washington Post.

I did learn interesting additional details regarding his life in the New York Times obituary of him: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/30/us/30taylor.html) on which I would have liked to have the benefit of your insights.

Your decision to not speak or write ‘another word’ regarding Minister Farrakhan is both positive and helpful because it opens the door for you to reflect and perhaps receive and learn some important and relevant facts, and hopefully decide to again revisit the subject in a future column.

Your expressed view I believe is indicative of what is both very right and very wrong with Black-Jewish relations today.

What is right is your personal testimony to the history regarding what black people suffered in the South as a result of Jim Crow laws. As you wrote, “Nearly 50 years later, we look back on that time, happy that the Department of the Army didn’t order me down south where, in 1961 — and despite a Supreme Court decision — local laws and customs made restaurants and waiting rooms in bus stations off-limits to couples who looked like us. Access to good schools and to the voting booth wasn’t much better for the same reason. Believers in the status quo were known to enforce Jim Crow laws, often with bloody violence.”

What is very wrong is that in a nearly 3 hour speech, last weekend, Minister Farrakhan deals extensively with aspects of that Jim Crow history, yet rather than quoting relevant portions you construct a caricature and utilize the straw man’s argument (reacting to that caricature as if it is real) with these words, “Minister Louis Farrakhan of the Nation of Islam would choose to go before a sold-out audience in Atlanta last Saturday and single out Jews as historical conspirators against African Americans.” Your characterization of this remarkable speech sounds eerily similar to the June 29th press release issued by the Anti-Defamation League, condemning it.

Mr. King, it is as if you relied upon their mischaracterization of his speech and his book, and reacted emotionally to their description without having listened carefully to the speech for yourself and certainly without having read the book to which it consistently referred.

Regardless to your view of Minister Farrakhan – is your reaction to his speech in keeping with the highest standards of your profession, the scientific research method and due diligence?

I sincerely appreciate your not using the descriptive label ‘Anti-Semitic’ or ‘Anti-Jewish’ in reference to the speech, the Minister, and the book. It suggests something very positive to build upon.

The casual use of this phrase by the ADL, in particular, has actually diminished and distracted from the very real problem of anti-Jewish thought and action, which the Nation of Islam strongly opposes.

Minister Farrakhan put it best in his June 24, 2010 letter to ADL National Director Abraham Foxman (http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/National_News_2/article_7101.shtml)when he wrote, “As you have constantly labeled me and done everything within your power to hinder me and us from the civilizing work that Allah (God) has given to The Honorable Elijah Muhammad and myself to do, I ask you to find one act committed by me or those who follow me that has injured one Jewish person, stopped Jews from doing business, hindered their education, injured their families, sullied or desecrated their synagogues. You will not find one.”

Unfortunately what is wrong with the current state of Black-Jewish relations is the unwillingness of Black intellectuals, columnists, pastors, activists, entertainers, talk show hosts, politicians, and businesspersons to admit in the public and state directly to the Jewish Political Establishment that while Minister Farrakhan and the Nation Of Islam have no such record of violence, economic sanction, deliberate mis-education, and denial of the freedom of worship of a single Jewish person, much less a whole neighborhood and community – there does exist such a record, not against only a single Black individual but entire Black communities, organizations, and neighborhoods at the hands of some members of the Jewish community.

Mr. King, you will find that scholarship represented in Minister Farrakhan’s speech particularly the attention he gave to the Jim Crow South.

That this fact, documented by Jewish scholars, historians and economists, cannot be spoken without one being labeled ‘anti-Semitic’ is perhaps the problem in the relationship.

Mr. King, did you know that this dynamic was a factor in the labeling of civil rights icon Dr, Martin Luther King, Jr. as ‘Anti-Semitic’ and ‘Anti-Jewish’?

Here is what Dr. King is quoted as saying, “I think we all have to admit that there are Jews in the South who have not been anything like our allies in the civil rights struggle and have gone out of the way to consort with the perpetrators of the status quo.”

And certainly, as a great student of the Civil Rights movement you would be aware of the fact that major Jewish-owned department stores had become so well known for their racist policies - toward customers and employees - that Dr. King and civil rights activists often targeted them for protest.

This is obviously not information originated by the Nation of Islam.

Yet, the Jewish political Establishment refuses to acknowledge it, and Black opinion leaders continue to avoid it.

Any discussion of Black-Jewish relations has to include the scholarship of respected Jewish scholar and historian Dr. Jacob Rader Marcus who wrote, “that most antebellum Jews, those in the North as well as in the South, cared little about the moral issues of human bondage.”

What are we to make of the question asked by Rabbi Leo E. Turitz and Evelyn Turitz in Jews of Mississippi, “What sociological phenomena would lead the Southern Jew to fight so fervently for the principle of slavery? Why was he willing to sacrifice his life so readily for a cause that he knew was contrary to religious principle?”

And the Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience has referred to the postwar period of 1865 to 1910 as ‘the golden age of southern Jewry.’ This at the height of the Jim Crow experience you lament at a time when no Jim Crow laws applied to members of the Jewish community, and sadly, when members of the Jewish community occupied key political offices and dominated the economy of many Jim Crow towns and cities.

Your quoting of Rabbi David Sapperstein regarding ‘a Black-Jewish alliance’ is interesting to me.

The Rabbis in the Black-Jewish history who stand out to me as exemplary in some aspects are Rabbi David Einhorn of Baltimore (pictured); Rabbi Sabato Morais of Philadelphia; and Rabbi Bernhard Felsenthal of Chicago.

Why aren’t these Jewish leaders regarded as icons today by members of the Black-Jewish alliance of which Rabbi Saperstein speaks.

To me, their strong stands against slavery despite the ‘Anti-Black’ views of their congregations deserve our attention and respect. They also set a standard, I think, for a new era of ‘relations.’

Incidentally, I learned about these three men from reading Volumes I and II of The Secret Relationship of Blacks and Jews.

Mr. King, I am writing you out of a spirit of respect and love, not only for you (and I do love you), but for our ancestors who suffered in untold ways and for Black and Jewish youth who deserve better than the repetition of this cycle of vitriol, hatred, bitterness and cowardice which has marked Black-Jewish relations for too long.

We have to stop beating around the bush and thoughtlessly repeating talking points fed to us by interest groups. Let’s not trivialize either the beautiful aspects of Black-Jewish relations or its lesser known more unpleasant side.

I want to be clear that I am not writing you because you are critical of Minister Farrakhan.

Whatever opinion you may have of him, I simply want it to be an informed one, that’s all.

Having said that, I must state for the record that he has the most beautiful heart of any human being I have ever met in my life. I have been blessed to be with him in various settings and even one-on-one in private. Not once have I ever heard him say anything derogatory about the Jewish people. If you listen to him carefully, as I have, you will notice how frequently he speaks of the ‘human family.’ If you got to know him (and his words) better you would learn more of the acts of kindness he has performed on behalf of all members of the human family – including many Caucasians and Jews who absolutely love and admire him for the beauty of his spirit as well as his courage, kindness, and truthfulness. I personally know some of them. You may be surprised to know of the profound respect that some members of the Jewish community hold for Minister Farrakhan.

Can a man with an ugly heart have lasted this long, speaking as he has for over 30 years? Would approximately 14 million people tune in to him on a Saturday night last week if there was not something compelling and substantive in what he represents?

Could it be that you have failed to appreciate that part of the appeal of the address, ‘Who Are The Real Children Of Israel?’ is what it spiritually suggests about ending the dual complex of White supremacy and Black inferiority (which is a factor in your brilliantly expressed view of how the character of President Obama is juxtaposed to that of leading White conservatives) – even providing a key to solving the Middle East Crisis?

So, sadly, Mr. King I found your column, aside from a profound witness of the life and legacy of Mr. Bill Taylor (which I did learn from), to be based upon conjecture and not the kind of analysis of a speech and book that a mind as brilliant as yours is capable and which we all deserve and badly need.

In a sense what you inserted into your column regarding Minister Farrakhan represents the kind of disputing without knowledge that impedes the establishment of right relationships.

Here is just some of what the Holy Qur’an says about conjecture and disputing without knowledge:

Surah 6:116: “And if thou obey most of those in the earth, they will lead thee astray from Allah’s way. They follow naught but conjecture, and they only lie.”

Surah 3:66: “…why then do you dispute about that of which you have no knowledge?”

Mr. King, it is clear you wrote your column without knowledge of the book Minister Farrakhan quoted and referred to. Does that not make it impossible for you to determine whether or not what he described is accurate? Yet you write, “That was the gist of Farrakhan’s recent message, which he attempted to buttress with a newly released 456-page second-volume edition of “The Secret Relationship Between Blacks and Jews.”

How can you dismiss the message while being ignorant of what supports or buttresses it?

You also write, that the Minister in his speech chose to “single out Jews as historical conspirators against African Americans.”

Aren’t you charging the Minister with what so many journalists do – single out, or rather write out some from the record as ‘historical conspirators.’

For example, exactly one year later what Black columnist at a major mainstream newspaper has written a full-length column about the news that only The Financial Times of London made front-page – that documentation was found linking Nathan Meyer Rothschild the 19th century patriarch of arguably the most powerful Jewish family that ever lived to slavery?

For years Minister Farrakhan’s criticisms of certain practices of the Rothschild family –including how they gained a significant portion of their wealth through cotton picked by slaves and sharecroppers – have been dismissed as ‘anti-Semitic.’ No major Black journalist that I know of countered this charge with the historical record. Even after a paper as respected as The Financial Times documents the facts, there is silence – from even the ‘Black-Jewish alliance.’

You can read the article and what I wrote about it on June 27th last year at:

http://www.cedricmuhammad.com/securitization-as-satan-ii-n-m-rothschild-linked-to-slavery/

In a way, Mr. King, Minister Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam may look so radical because it appears he and we are part of a very small group of Black people unafraid to simply do…..well, basic research and report it.

Why is that so controversial and what is producing the silence if not a form of fear and cultural, political and economic paternalism, at best?

We do great harm to Black-Jewish relations when we write out of conjecture and create a caricature of the truth and truth-tellers - devising strawman arguments based upon partial facts or even worse, the viewpoints of others based upon outright lies and the desire to deceive.

An example of this is the attention that both you and the ADL pay to this:

Farrakhan told the gathering that Jews “have always tied themselves to black people. They attach themselves to our talent. They are the managers, the agents; and they are the accountants. And that’s why our black artists loved fame and got fame but died poor because somebody else got their money, while the Jews sent their children to the finest schools and were able to continue to rule.”

Again, this is partly a device (I don’t believe you on your own decided after listening to the 3 hours to lift this quote in particular. You either used it because the wire services prominently refer to it or you are quoting the ADL press releases on the speech) to avoid the scholarship and scriptural arguments the Minister made regarding the trans-Atlantic slave trade and the Jim Crow south.

However I must ask you a question?

Sir, are you familiar with the practice of crop liens and the role that the cotton factor played in the Jim Crow South?

If you are, you will know that financial illiteracy and deceptive accounting practices are at the center of the share cropping relationship that existed between Blacks and Jews on the plantation.

Those two dynamics – financial illiteracy and deceptive accounting practices – continue to mar the relationship between talent and business management in the entertainment industry, especially the music industry.

[The pivotal role of crop liens and the cotton factor are described in detail in Volume II.]

Both sides must bear the responsibility for entering into a more equitable and accountable relationship today.

Those who are serious about improving Black-Jewish relations have a lot of work to do. And romanticizing about only the more pleasant part of that relationship is simply not equal to the time.

So, I applaud you for deciding to not write ‘another word’ about ‘Farrakhan,’ provided the decision will allow you time to more carefully study his speech; study his letter to Mr. Foxman, and review Volume II of The Secret Relationship Between Blacks and Jews (http://store.finalcall.com/?Click=3821).

Then, I think I’ll recognize once again, the work of that brilliant Pulitzer Prize winner I expect the best from in each of his columns at The Washington Post (smile).

If I can be helpful to you in any way please do not hesitate to contact me directly at cedric(at)cmcap.com.

You have all my best wishes for your continued success…

With Love and Deep Respect,
Cedric Muhammad

I can’t put into words how much I am enjoying playing the new album from the roots, ‘How I Got Over’ – with headphones on.

The experience gives me an excuse to write about something I’ve been working on for some time.

Perhaps you can help me with it (especially you producers, engineers, and musicians).

For a few years, but particularly the past year since I started building with an extremely talented R&B producer from New Jersey, I’ve been searching for the new sound – something not just hot and different just to be different, but arrangements that can be matched with the highest level of lyrical content, ridiculous flows, and spark social change and a revolution in thought and behavior.

I’m not talking just hot tracks to spit consciousness over. I’m speaking on beats so sophisticated (or so simple) they talk on their own, and artists that fit them so well, you would think they were separated from the sound at birth.

You know that ‘damn, I gotta go do something to this,’ music.

Or that ‘Alwayz Into Something’ MC Ren ‘I heard a dope beat; somebody told me that Buck did it; but if Dre didn’t do it I can’t f*** wit it,’ music.

So, what qualifies me to find it, you ask?

Nothing, and that’s how it happens. Sometimes the greatest change comes from an ‘outsider.’

First a bit of a disclaimer – although my grandfather played the saxophone, and I’ve been in the music industry for nearly 20 years I have never received any formal musical training.

Yet I have an ear. And I have a great father who taught me how to listen to music.

From the time I was as young as 7, I can remember my father (born in Harlem and raised there and Brooklyn) explaining to me the great Jazz and Soul artists of the 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s and early 80s; what made their sound different (he always emphasized the subtle importance of strings and bass lines); how to ‘equalize’ music; and the companies that made the best pieces of stereo equipment (I’m talking not just Bose, Sony and Panasonic but also Aiwa and Akai in the 70s and 80s).

The ‘ear’ that my father gave me influenced my earliest beats and the samples I would loop and layer which I would make with only the use of a handful of equipment, including my little Casio SK-5 (only the realest will admit they got down with this little keyboard).

I developed a unique sound, in my neighborhood in New Jersey by mixing jazz, disco, house, gospel and R&B records, and equalizing them in unique ways. It was something like Marshall Jefferson meets Donald Byrd meets Prince Paul meets Jam & Lewis meets Barry White’s Love Unlimited Orchestra. It was a nice little formula I developed, using staple snares, bass drums, hi-hats, strings, bass lines, and sampled voices. I was Trip-Hop before Trip Hop.

Through the help of my Brother I got my beats to Hank Shocklee of The Bomb Squad who sent a message that he liked what he heard, said I had a nice sound but that the only problem was that I didn’t have a rapper! Over 20 years later I still don’t (smile).

Another influence on me was my early career as a party and concert promoter where I was able to observer what sounds and beats moved crowds, but more importantly, the role of timing in dropping a beat or previewing a sound. The best I ever saw was DJ Ron G., who got me so paid one night, that my ever speaking a bad word about him would be blasphemy. He is the man.

Another DJ I always enjoyed building with is a childhood friend, DJ Kam of the Heavy Hitters (http://www.myspace.com/djkam1200 who understands so much about the use of different sounds and timing, it is amazing.

When I got with Wu-Tang Clan I spent most of my time in the office, on the road or, in business meetings. I would make a lot of our arrangements for studio sessions but usually was so exhausted from the day’s work that I fell asleep by the time the Wu producers and artists would get going – which was never before midnight (smile). My goal was not to hang out but to make sure everything was set up and that producers and artists arrived (never on time, but eventually) and had what they needed. Once that was taken care of I would especially build with the engineers – the almost always White dudes who I knew were the unsung keys to finding the right ‘sound.’ But over the years I made several recording sessions, and the moments when I could discuss music and different sounds with RZA, Mathematics, and especially True Master, were a pleasure and always educational. I honestly don’t feel the Hip-Hop culture and industry truly appreciates how far ahead of the curve the Wu producers (including 4th Disciple) were in terms of creativity and ’sound’ discipline. Perhaps at the right time RZA may go deeper into it but the little bit I know of the influence he and they had on the sound industry is enormous.

For example, only a few well-placed individuals in the broadcasting and audio industry (which is not the same as the music industry) know how RZA and the Clan transformed the use of the 360 Systems Instant Replay, among other things. Those of us in Hip-Hop culture truly do not know how important this generation has been in so many sciences and to so many industries.

Bringing the business aspect of the culture and industry back into perspective is part of my motivation for writing this Hip-Hoppreneur ™ column, each week at AllHipHop.com.

From time to time I’ll chop up the subject of ’sound’ with artists – just last year Wyclef and I discussed it and why he decided to go to music school ( http://www.berklee.edu/news/1962/wyclef-jean-records-with-berklee-students).

And I’ve been immersed in an excellent book, This Is Your Brain On Music: The Science of a Human Obsession by Daniel J. Levitin as I study more of the science of it and why we are naturally affected by sound the way we are.

It is partly from that perspective why I am intrigued by the recent ‘mainstreaming’ of the lucrative sound industry in Hip-Hop, as symbolized by the Beats by Dre headphones by HP (http://beatsbydre.com/).

Another reason is because few have properly understood the impact of the dollar of the producer, DJ, and engineer on corporate America. I may visit this soon, after speaking publicly on it last year. The Beats By Dre headphones have actually positively affected the stock price of HP.

Sadly, I may be the first person to publicly keep track of the relationship between the Hip-Hop culture and industry and capital markets. It’s nothing to brag about.

In 2003 while the New York tabloids and rap magazines were focusing on what else, industry gossip, I pointed out that Star of Star and Buc Wild’s unclear employment status at Hot 97 in New York was actually impacting the stock price of Emmis Communications, which owned the radio station. Davey D. (http://daveyd.com) picked up my piece and ran it, and in a way that I never realized my perspective became important to some very influential people not only in the music business but Wall Street.

A story for another day, maybe (smile).

But aside from the important angle of just how important the lucrative ‘sound production’ segment of creating Hip-Hop music is to multi-national corporations and financial markets, is the emerging debate over whether or not the quality of the sound is impacting the ability to monetize (make money from) music. Here is how the debate was framed in a recent article in the Financial Times, ‘No one will steal it if it sucks/Could a pair of headphones save the industry?’ (http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/5e37eb34-74e0-11df-aed7-00144feabdc0.html) :

Complaining about what young people today are listening to is not exactly original but you don’t expect it from the record executive behind Lady Gaga. Jimmy Iovine, his baseball cap incongruous in the stiff dining room at Manhattan’s St Regis hotel, is getting worked up not about noise or explicit lyrics but about the quality of sound coming through the iPod generation’s headphones.

Bad sound, he warns, is destroying the music business.

Jimmy Iovine has a point. While I know his argument is aimed at selling more headphones (in technical business terms we call his persuasive argument the ‘value added proposition’), there is some truth to what he is saying. While some point to the increased use of synthetic sound as the downfall of the industry I believe that the lack of the kind of ‘Sound 101’ that my father gave me as a young boy – which even included showing me how to read the credits on album sleeves, where the the name of the producer, songwriter, engineer and studio location were all given, usually along with the lyrics of each song – has resulted in 1) the devaluation of sound creation and enjoyment 2)the death of the theme album 3) the diminished chemistry between a producer and artist and 4) the disappearance of the valuable role of an arranger in the music production process.

I won’t get into all of these points now except to say that the near extinction of the arranger may be the worst thing to happen to Hip-Hop. The greatest arranger in music over the last 40 years is Quincy Jones. He is not a producer, despite what people say. He is an arranger. He puts concepts, songwriters, producers, musicians and artists in the right relationship to one another and in the right environment.

With the possible exception of Marley Marl (whom we use to refer to as the Quincy Jones of rap music), while few people appreciate him – for this and so many other things – the greatest arranger in Hip-Hop history in my view is Puffy (please allow me to continue to call him this. I struggle with ‘Diddy’).

Puff is not a ‘beatmaker.’ In some respects Dr. Dre, in my view, could qualify as an arranger. But while I think he is technically more skilled than Puffy at a micro level and enjoys that process, Puff is the dean of the often more important tricky process of the personal management of creative personalities. Dre’s not necessarily the kind of ‘people person’ an arranger has to be, but awesome nonetheless at what he does perfectly - production.

Puffy is a genius and despite the ‘Making The Band’ made for TV (and a bit exaggerated) drama-personna, he is very skillful at knowing how to motivate and fall back from artists, depending upon their personality. His ability to manage an organic creative process is hard to explain. I experienced this a bit in 1997 when I spoke to him regarding the desire of Method Man and Biggie to do a follow-up to ‘The What,’ to appear on Biggie’s second album. It was something that Biggie and Meth had discussed between themselves and shared with Puffy and Power (one of the influential Wu executives). Puffy was calling to follow up to see how it was moving along from our end. Because Puffy realized it was only a creative concept that two artists were kicking around he knew not to push too hard, and he understood there was eventually going to be a business side to this too, which Power was in position to represent. Puff shrewdly wanted to determine the creativity-to-business ratio (smile).

Puffy, like Quincy Jones, is one of a handful of individuals in all of the industry who understands how to make a concept or theme album, and the discipline involved in it. RZA is one of those as well. Both of them also know how to master the science of song placement (the order in which tracks appear on an album, and one of the reasons I believe Jay-Z’s Blueprint 2 was disappointing and Blueprint 3 came across as strong; even though Blueprint 2 may have had better individual records, pound for pound).

If you ever want to start a good argument – as I sometimes do – raise the question to an inner circle of your most serious Hip-Hop fans of which of the two: Notorious B.I.G.’s ‘Ready To Die’ or Raekwon’s ‘Only Built For Cuban 4 Cuban Linx is the better theme or concept album; and which has better song placement. I’m warning you ahead of time - no matter how many times you try to explain that ‘theme’ and ‘concept’ does not mean ‘hotter,’ people will not listen (LOL)!

Like many of us, last week I thought a lot of Michael Jackson and what made him so great and magnetic. One clear reason was the ‘sound’ that Quincy Jones arranged around him. One of the most overlooked factors in the success of the King of Pop is the role that sound engineer and producer Bruce Swedien and songwriter Rod Temperton played in the creation of that sound.

And then there was Michael’s matchless gifts and skills which allowed him as Minister Louis Farrakhan said, to ‘explode words,’ and as Debbie Allen has described, ‘become one with the beat,’ and actually ‘be the beat.’

One of the lesser known stories that I wish someone would write is the influence that the sound quality that Michael Jackson’s ‘Off The Wall,’ ‘Thriller,’ and ‘Bad’ had on Hip-Hop artists and producers who grew up with the ‘Sound 101’ like I received from my Dad. I distinctly recall brief conversations with RZA and Ghostface over wanting that ‘crystal clear, Michael Jackson s**t!’

Have we all forgotten (or are too young to remember) that the incredible sound quality of Dr. Dre’s ‘Chronic’ was one of the most attractive aspects to that classic album?

It changed the game for that reason alone.

*****

Over the last few weeks I have been involved in a communications cipher with a small circle of DJs, producers, and engineers from all over the world discussing with them my search for the next sound in Hip-Hop. I can hear it in my head, but not yet on a single track. I have something that I want to accomplish as an arranger that will identify a new sound that is not just ‘hot,’ but equal to the lyrical content, ‘story’, and talent of a new kind of artist that I am determined to bring forth.

Again, looking back on history serves us well.

Public Enemy, in a sense, is the greatest group creatively, in terms of sound, in the history of Hip-Hop. Yes, in certain respects I could make arguments that Run D.M.C., Gang Starr, N.W.A. and my beloved Wu-Tang Clan are greater or more influential but please, hold your eggs long enough to allow me to make this point.

In terms of lyrical content, ‘story,’ and talent being married to an innovative and moving sound, Public Enemy is the greatest group in rap history. From what I understand Chuck D. wanted the group to have a sound that was so unique, it would immediately get your attention and differentiate them from any other artist out.

As soon as you heard them you knew Public Enemy was a phenomenon.

Some things don’t require explanation or lengthy arguments. You know ‘it’ when you see it, feel it, and watch it. There is an aura and electricity that you experience with a phenom that actually defies words.

Quincy Jones called it the goose bump effect that he experienced when he ‘heard’ a hit record. If it didn’t give him goose bumps it wasn’t special to him. He once said in terms of the shared quality of good music across different genres, “If there are any common denominators, they are spirit and musicality. I go for the music that gives me goose bumps, music that touches my heart and my soul.”

I hear a lot of good music these days in Hip-Hop and R&B but very little of anything that meets Quincy Jones’ standard of what is ‘special’ or electric.

From another perspective the most recent example I can give was on June 8, 2010 with the debut of pitching phenom 21-year old Stephen Strasburg, which I witnessed from Washington, D.C. where he pitched. I have never seen anyone live up to so much hype regarding them - maybe even more than LeBron’s ESPN debut when in high school (see ESPN’s aptly titled headline, ‘Stephen Strasburg Makes The Impossible Possible’: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=stark_jayson&id=5266515 ). If anyone tells you they watched that game (especially the last 7 batters he struck out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG0YTNsQkWE&feature=related) and after the 14th strikeout did not experience the ‘goose bumps’ Quincy Jones describes they are just afraid to admit it.

He had all of D.C. jumping.

While I respect the great many hot young producers out there – particularly from Down South – I don’t feel the kind of movement-soundtrack electricity like you have with Public Enemy. And I don’t think that without an arranger in their careers that they’ll be able to make the kind of theme or concept album that the culture and industry badly needs.

The only producer to appear over the last 10 years who I think has the potential to do something like this is Just Blaze. His sound, ability to create an aura and crescendos in terms of tempo and rhythm is amazing – as is the manner in which he layers samples and strings. He is truly special. Unfortunately, in my view, he appeared on the scene in an era where collaborations and albums with multiple artists were the rage and when swagger took precedence over introspection and revolutionary lyrical content and so while he worked with a diverse group of big name and underground artists, to me, he never found that one artist or that group with the talent, ‘story,’ and lyrical content with whom he could establish the kind of chemistry necessary to do what the Bomb Squad did with Public Enemy or even what Dre did with N.W.A.

But if you want to hear tracks in the Just Blaze catalogue that approach what I’m looking for, you can find some of it in the sound, flow, and lyrics of the arrangements in these tracks:

‘Somehow, Someway’ – Jay-Z

‘What We Do’ – Freeway (featuring Jay-Z and Beanie Sigel)

‘Mom Praying’ – Beanie Sigel (featuring Scarface)

‘Never Been In Love’ – Talib Kweli

‘Breathe’ – Fabolous

‘Exhibit C’ – Jay Electronica

For the record, Jay Electronica’s ‘Exhibit C’ qualifies as ‘goose bump’ music (how many other producers would have ruined this song with a catchy chorus?). You can see how I recommend using it to market and promote him – even produce a classic concept album for him at:

Part I:

http://allhiphop.com/stories/editorial/archive/2010/02/02/22114121.aspx

Part II:

http://allhiphop.com/stories/editorial/archive/2010/02/09/22119830.aspx

There’s a lot you can do in the way of strategic marketing with an artist who sits in the pocket of the right sound (and becomes one with it).

One can only imagine what Just Blaze could have done with a supergroup like Jay-Z, Scarface, Beanie Sigel and Freeway (and now, throw in Jay Electronica). I believe only a few producers could see their similarities and complimentary differences in voice pitch and inflections, personality, ‘story,’ and lyrical content as an opportunity to not just make an album with ‘hot’ tracks but a classic theme or concept album.

Diddy’s creation of the ‘Dream Team’ supergroup with Nicki Minaj, Busta Rhymes, Rick Ross, Fabolous, and Red Café has potential in my opinion because of the arranger role that Diddy can play (I understand that Puff tried to recruit Jay Electronica to be part of this as well).

Having said that, even though I love the statement their professional unity and positive energy makes I just don’t see this group resisting the lucrative urge to primarily make a ‘sound’ geared toward an album full of hit or hot records.

Nothing wrong with that - I want them to count coins together. But this project can make money and a powerful statement - in business and ’sound.’

They are all great talents and Busta Rhymes is setting the right tone in his emphasis on them all being willing to subordinate themselves for the good of the whole (see what I wrote in ‘The Death Of The Group & The Art of Professional Loyalty’ http://allhiphop.com/stories/editorial/archive/2010/03/16/22147898.aspx), but that is not the same as the organic process the creation of a special ‘sound’ for them would require.

I’ll wait until I see which producers are involved in the project and hear a few tracks before I make a ‘judgment.’

Regardless, the ‘Dream Team’ is on to something.

****

What makes listening to the new Roots album a joy is that each track is an experience musically and lyrically, and as they always do, the group demonstrates that there is so much that can be done with live instrumentation - an area where Hip-Hop artists pay lip service to but where they have not even begun to scratch the surface.

The individual or team who can properly marry samples, synthesizers, and live instrumentation and match it with artists with lyrical substance, flow, and ‘story,’ has a good chance of writing the history of the next stage of Hip-Hop, in advance.

I know I’m not alone. It’s a gang of us dissatisfied creative folk with good ‘ears,’ who know something is missing in the music and genre we love.

If you are looking for that new sound like me, maybe we can find it together.

Join the cipher and let’s build.

The masses are fiending for ‘Goose Bump’ Music.

Let’s give ‘em what they need, not just what they want, at the rate of 1,120 feet per second…

Cedric Muhammad is a business consultant, political strategist, and monetary economist. He’s a former GM of Wu-Tang Management and currently a Member of the African Union’s First Congress of African Economists. Cedric’s the Founder of the economic information service Africa PreBrief (http://africaprebrief.com/) and author of ‘The Entrepreneurial Secret’ (http://theEsecret.com/). He can be contacted via e-mail at: cedric(at)cmcap.com

“President Obama is contributing to the isolation of Israel, and sending a clear signal to the Turkish-Syrian-Iranian axis that their methods for ostracizing Israel will succeed.”

- Liz Cheney

If you have been paying attention to the names of the intellectuals screaming the loudest against Turkey, in the days just before and since the flotilla incident, something probably looks familiar.

No, your eyes are not deceiving you, the list of ‘anti-Turkey’ articulators reads eerily similar to those who were foremost in the chorus calling for the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

Do these same voices want the U.S. to invade Turkey?

No. But perhaps ‘not so far,’ might be a more accurate answer.

What would satisfy this leading intellectual community?

Nothing short of what I believe would be the biggest foreign policy blunder the West has made since World War II: The neoconservatives are calling for the expelling of Turkey from NATO.

In a June 9th article from the Inter Press Service (IPS), ‘Neo-cons lead charge against Turkey’ columnist Jim Lobe surveys the landscape:

‘Outraged by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip’s Erdogan’s repeated denunciations of the May 31 Israeli raid, as well as his co- sponsorship with Brazil of an agreement with Iran designed to promote renewed negotiations with the West on Tehran’s nuclear programme, some neo-conservatives are even demanding that the U.S. try to expel Ankara from NATO as one among of several suggested actions aimed at punishing Erdogan’s AKP (Justice and Development Party) government.

The onslaught is ironic both because of the neo- conservatives’ long cultivation of Turkey and their avowed support for promoting democratic governance - of which they have singled out Turkey for special praise - in the Muslim world.”

If that weren’t serious enough, these intellectual voices are influencing members of the United States Congress. Rep. Anthony Weiner, a Democrat from New York says, “Let’s consider Turkey. This [the flotilla incident] would not have happened were it not for the nation of Turkey taking the role that they did… And for a lot of time, we kind of worship at the altar of the moderate Muslim state, the moderate Arab states that, you know what, we hope that they are there to be a fulcrum for peace, but it’s not unlike a child wanting to see a unicorn. It would be great if it happened, but we have to realize the facts are the facts, and NATO membership for Turkey has to be called into question here.”

Really?

If the neo-cons get a ‘D’ for their advocacy and planning of the war in Iraq they deserve an ‘F’ for the mere suggestion that it is in anyone’s interests in the West (including Israel’s) to have Turkey removed from NATO.

You only need to consider two factors: The strategic importance of Turkey’s Incirlik Air Base and Turkey’s controlled management of the Bosporus Straits.

It can be argued that over the last decade there has been no more important U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force or Marine installation than Icirlik Air Base in Turkey. It is from Incirlik that the United States established the hub of its actions for the War in Afghanistan; runs critical covert operations into three regions; houses nearly 100 nuclear warheads; can accommodate the landing/airstrip needs of stealth bombers and the logistics of sophisticated equipment; and provides humanitarian and disaster relief to places as far away as Asia.

And just how important was Turkey to the war the neo-cons craved for and got – Iraq?

From an article in the Turkish Weekly, “US Congress should weigh importance of Incirlik Base,” we read the testimony of important members of America’s armed forces:

Remarks made by an aerial port operations officer with the 728th Air Mobility Squadron, Capt. James Burnham, at Incirlik on Nov. 14, 2006, in the US Air Force Print News (AFPN) explain how vital Turkish facilities are for the US in its war in Iraq: “By flying critical supplies via C-17 Globemaster III from this eastern Turkey airbase directly to service members at remote locations in Iraq, more than 3,300 convoy truck missions are taken off the Iraqi roads each month.”

“The greatest accomplishment of this airlift hub is that every time we fly a sortie, we keep a convoy of trucks and drivers off of the dangerous roads of Iraq,” said Col. Mike Cassidy, the 385th Air Expeditionary Group commander. Since the inception of the Cargo Hub mission in June of 2005, more than 103,000 tons of cargo has moved through Incirlik, reported the AFPN.

It is clear the neocons really don’t know their friends from their enemies.

As for the second factor, the importance of the Bosporus Straits, It is hard to improve upon this Wikipedia entry on the subject as an introduction:

The strategic importance of the Bosporus remains high, and control over it has been an objective of a number of hostilities in modern history, notably the Russo–Turkish War, 1877–1878, as well as of the attack of the Allied Powers on the Dardanelles during the 1915 battle of Gallipoli in the course of World War I.

In more recent years, the Turkish Straits have become particularly important for the oil industry. Russian oil, from ports such as Novorossyisk, is exported by tankers to western Europe and the U.S. via the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles straits.

Apparently even the controversial source, Wikipedia, grasps geopolitical chess-playing more than the neocons.

While it is not a well-known subject, a high level chess game is still underway between Russia and Britain regarding the Bosporus Straits.

Pull out a map.

Russia has always coveted an outlet to the open waters of the south through access/acquisition of the Bosporous Straits and ‘Constantinople’ (Istanbul), domination of the Black Sea, and reach into the Persian Gulf. Parallel to this has been Britain’s long-standing interests in India. The British Empire’s nightmare scenario150 years ago (and still today) is an attempt by Russia to invade Afghanistan in order to get to northwest India; or crossing Iran into the Persian Gulf or to disrupt the British ‘lifeline’ to India. Russian penetration of the Aegean Sea and into the Mediterranean to interfere with Western interests has always been a concern.

I intend to get into some of this ‘forgotten’ European history in the future, as current events warrant.

So, now think through what might happen if the Neocons, in pure and dangerous ideological fashion get what they want. Not only does the U.S. and entire Western Europe lose the strategic access of the Icirlik Air Force base, but the even more volatile issue of control of the Bosporous Straits is now in play.

I can’t see anything other than the near complete outbreak of World War III.

A brilliant friend of mine – extremely knowledgeable of world history, current events and international chess-playing is convinced that the neocons would never be able to break up the relationship between the U.S. and Turkey because of its strategic nature.

But I do wonder, and have serious doubts.

*****

It is hard to convey how ridiculous a suggestion, much less demand that Turkey be kicked out of NATO sounds to someone like me who has lived in Europe on a military installation. It sounds even more ludicrous to any active duty personnel stationed overseas. The concept of Turkey as an ‘enemy’ of the United States and Europe finds no basis in factual history and is purely the fabrication of a very dangerous circle of intellectuals who have tried for years to justify the relationship between Israel and the United States on moral, strategic, ideological, and political grounds.

Such an argument is theirs to try to make and they certainly have a right to do so.

But it is sobering if not frightening to think that a group with such a poor track record, much less enormously weak arguments, is given access to extremely influential foreign policy planning circles not to mention such prize real estate as the influential editorial and op-ed pages of mainstream newspapers.

This brings us again to one such intellectual – Mr. Steven J. Rosen, whose op-ed in The Wall Street Journal - was the focus of Part I of this series. Mr. Rosen is a Fellow at the Middle East Forum – a leading Neocon institution (http://www.meforum.org/2092/steven-j-rosen-joins-mef-as-visiting-fellow) run by Daniel Pipes.

Fine, no problem. Mr. Rosen certainly has the right to express himself intellectually wherever he likes and the Wall Street Journal has every right to feature his thoughts.

But isn’t it more than peculiar or well beyond eyebrow-raising status that the same Steven J. Rosen who wants the world to believe Turkey is an anti-Semitic and anti-American nation (and we gather worthy of dismissal from NATO) is the same person who was indicted on charges that he helped spy against the United States on behalf of Israel. According to The New York Times: “The indictment said they violated the law by disseminating to journalists, fellow Aipac employees and Israeli diplomats information they had learned in conversations with senior Bush administration officials.”

The charges were dropped.

While I acknowledge Mr. Rosen’s innocent until proven status I just can’t help but wonder what Black American or Turkish American who had been similarly indicted (for spying on behalf of an African nation or Turkey) would have received the same honor of publication in the Wall Street Journal?

Interestingly, it was the same Obama administration that Mr. Rosen and the neocon intelligentsia are now criticizing, that moved on May 1, 2009 to drop all charges against Mr. Rosen.

So where do things stand in the relationship between President Obama and members of the Jewish Political Establishment? A clear indicator is the recent symposium, “Obama, Israel & American Jews: The Challenge—A Symposium,” convened by Commentary magazine, where 31 prominent American Jews were asked to respond to this statement:

“The open conflict between the Obama administration and the government of Benjamin Netanyahu has created tensions between the United States and Israel of a kind not seen since the days of the administration of the first President Bush. And those tensions are placing unique pressure on American Jews, who voted for Barack Obama by a margin of nearly 4-to-1 in 2008 after being assured by Obama himself and by his supporters in the Jewish community that he was a friend and an ally of the State of Israel despite his long association with, among others, the unabashedly anti-Israel and anti-Semitic Reverend Jeremiah Wright.

We argue that American Jews are facing an unprecedented political challenge, and at a crucial moment, with the need to address the existential threat to Israel—and by extension to the future of the Jewish people as a whole—from a potentially nuclear Iran. How will American Jews handle this challenge? Can Obama’s Jewish supporters act in a way that will change the unmistakable direction of current American policy emanating from the White House? Will American Jews accept Barack Obama’s view that the state of Israel bears some responsibility for the loss of American ‘blood and treasure’ in the Middle East? Will they continue to extend their support to the Obama administration and to Barack Obama’s political party?”

You can read the responses from the 31 Jewish intellectuals here:

http://www.commentarymagazine.com/viewarticle.cfm/obama–israel—american-jews–the-challenge-a-symposium-15449

Even the strongest defenders of President Obama in the symposium seem weak in their arguments on his behalf.

*****

What is this urge to push Turkey out of NATO all about?

And does the quiet effort to bring Israel into NATO – supported by such diverse voices as conservative Wall Street Journal owner Rupert Murdoch and progressive editor of the Tikkun magazine, Rabbi Michael Lerner – have anything to do with it?

What would a world with Turkey out of NATO and Israel in it look like?

Would it be more or less dangerous than it is now?

Lastly – can anyone openly state that America’s relationship with Turkey matters more than its relationship with Israel without being labeled, ‘Anti-Semitic’?

Cedric Muhammad is a business consultant, political strategist, and monetary economist. He is a former GM of Wu-Tang Management and currently a Member of the African Union’s First Congress of African Economist. He’s the Founder of the economic information service Africa PreBrief (http://africaprebrief.com/) and author of ‘The Entrepreneurial Secret’ (http://theEsecret.com/). Cedric can be contacted via e-mail at: cedric(at)cmcap.com

“Jay-Z can market just about everything but a breakfast cereal because he’s got huge talent and a savvy business manager, John Meneilly, a former Provident Financial executive.”

- New York Post; May 16, 2010; ‘Jay-Z’s 99 problems’

Please, can we stop being so spooky about Jay-Z, for just a few minutes?

Let me offer an approach to calm the hysteria down.

With all due respect to the conspiracy theorists and groupies on one hand, and the established Hip-Hop and mainstream media on the other – in 2010, anyone’s analysis or critique of Jay-Z’s career has little credibility with me if it does not factor in the role that John Meneilly – his business manager and adviser has played in it. It is actually a supreme compliment to Jay-Z and John Meneilly and a discredit to the journalism profession that the most talked about celebrity in the history of the Hip-Hop culture and industry has the least talked about business manager. Sadly, it is a sign of two things: how ignorant of business the Hip-Hop culture continues to be and why its media – talk shows, magazines and blogs – have little to offer those seeking to find a way through a global recession and music industry in transition. Last I checked as of the date of this writing there was not even a Wikipedia page entry on the man arguably most responsible, other than Jay-Z, for certain key business moves he has made. Nor, are there hardly any pictures of him on the Internet.

Is this a conspiracy of silence (being executed by Jay and John) or just one of ignorance (on all of us in the culture and industry who are fascinated and distracted by the wrong things)?

One of the reasons why I don’t superficially engage the talk of Jay-Z’s success allegedly being a result of his membership in some secret society (a subject Jay lyrically addresses on a hot new just recorded track…stay tuned) is because I know that the ignorance of business looms so large in the chatter that dominates rap music, that it is very difficult to have a rational and calm discussion over why certain artists are more commercially ‘successful,’ than others.

The mere mention of the name ‘Jay-Z,’ causes people to become irrational and unable to think logically, it seems (smile).

An example of this is the reaction to the word ‘righteous,’ in the title of this article. Righteous does not only refer to basic morality, it also has an application in terms of whether something is in harmony with nature, science and universal order. That so few people understand business and persuasive communication (which Jay has ‘mastered’ to a degree) to be age-old sciences and elements of human nature is a clear indication about the larger problem in how we in Hip-Hop narrowly define ‘consciousness,’ only in terms of book knowledge, morality and activism. This is an area where ideology (socialism vs. capitalism as the beginning of economic thought) has blinded us to the fact that trade and commerce pre-date Adam Smith and Karl Marx. (I’ve never understood how scholars, activists, and ‘conscious’ artists who claim Africa ignore the thousands of years of its economic history in favor of being parrots of these two schools of Western economic thought.)

If you understand that and how the people from whom Jay-Z comes were systematically denied business education (not to mention capital, wages and freedom of association) for nearly 400 years (while Marx and Smith supporters were formulating ‘capitalism’ and ’socialism’) Jay-Z is a ‘righteous’ teacher - enlightening us to certain sciences in life - in ways people simply don’t understand because of how we have been mis-educated.

So, until and unless certain aspects of Jay-Z’s business model are examined people will never get the benefit of what he represents for the good of us all – important lessons (for better or worse).

I am not writing this as an intellectual observer or outsider. I know it from within as a music industry professional - serving as part of the management of Wu-Tang Clan, and today as a business consultant.

I am not the greatest expert on the Wu nor have I ever claimed to be. But because I know my place in that history and don’t step out of it, I can explain some things accurately to others.

There are many things that journalists and die-hard Wu-Tang Clan fans know about the group, its music, lyrics, and its cultural impact that I do not know.

But when it comes to certain aspects of the business side of things – for a certain period of time if you don’t talk to RZA, Divine, Power, Mook, myself, and a handful of others that were in a position to know, as part of the administrative and team infrastructure of the group you simply cannot understand the music career of the Clan (during a certain period of time).

When it comes to Jay-Z’s success there is simply too much conjecture floating around for us to learn the valuable lessons that his approach to business can teach us.

A look at his business manager can help end some of the speculation and even mysticism around Jay-Z and go a long way toward educating the youngest members of the Hip-Hop generation about business, while improving the stategies and tactics of other artists who continue to hustle backwards.

I will never forget the day I met John Meneilly a few years ago. I actually had to be told who he was. After shaking hands with a very non-descript Caucasian who looked a bit disheveled, with a briefcase and documents he had to maneuver in order to greet me, my business associate (with whom John Meneilly had just met) told me whom I had just spoken with. In other words there was nothing flamboyant, loud, eccentric, distracting, or vain about Jay-Z’s business manager, although these are the characteristics many ascribe to the artist himself. And this man did not introduce himself to me as ‘Jay-Z’s business manager.’ In other words, he felt no need to impress or make himself memorable. He was just handling his business.

John Meneilly perfectly fits the low-key profile of what Thomas J. Stanley describes in the book, The Millionaire Mind.

I recognize this as an important lesson in how Jay-Z does business. It was the first thing I was taught – when only 22 years old – by my business mentor (whom I write about in Volume II of my book) who told me that the clients and artists that I would one day manage wanted to know that I could go places that they couldn’t. In John Meneilly, Jay has that someone ‘who can go places he can’t.’ That alone separates him from the legions of ‘commercial,’ ‘conscious,’ and ‘independent’ artists who simply do not know how to build a proper team infrastructure.

The artists who are going to survive this transition period are going to be the ones who pick the right managers and advisers to help guide their careers within and without the music industry caste system. I describe this a bit in connection to the emergence of the 360 record label deal in a November 9, 20009 Hip-Hoppreneur ™ Commentary “Chris Lighty Is Not A Sell Out! The Music Industry Caste System” (http://www.cedricmuhammad.com/chris-lighty-is-not-a-sell-out-the-music-industry-caste-system-hip-hoppreneur-%E2%84%A2-commentary-november-4-2009/):

“You see there is a caste system in the industry.

The individuals best suited to turn the tide are the managers (aka ‘the 20Percenters’), who understand the caste system and have more mobility than the artist, in the name of business. They are best positioned to establish the right relationships that new artists are now being denied (except they go through a label), and only they have the right mix of know how, skill sets and networks to construct a new ladder and business infrastructure outside of the industry, if need be, to counter the majors’ grip on market share.

Many don’t want to admit it but it is so obvious to me – what usually separates the major artist from the independent and unsigned is their better success in the selection of the right team ‘who can go places they can’t.’ While I do believe that the artist with the most potential to shine this decade is not the major artist, but rather the independent one, it will only be the independent artist who can build the right team around them capable of making things happen outside of the old music industry infrastructure that will thrive.

A common mistake that I see over and over again with independent and progressive artists is that as much as they criticize the elite major artists, they remain fascinated by them and adopt their conservative business practices, and are seduced into hiring their teams.

The independent, progressive and ‘conscious’ artist needs management and a team that can make ‘independent,’ ‘progressive,’ and ‘conscious’ things happen for them, on a business level.

As I often say to conscious artists – why do you rap so much about Africa when you don’t have a team around you who can make things happen for you in Africa on a business or cultural level?

While the ‘conscious’ artist is good at pointing out the contradictions in the lyrical content of an artist like Jay-Z, they are not so good in pointing out the contradictions between their own lyrical content and the manner in which they do business.

In this sense, again, Jay-Z exhibits a form of knowledge of self that they lack.

*****

“I came into this moth——– a hundred grand strong
Nine to be exact, from grindin G-packs
Put this s— in motion ain’t no rewindin me back
Could make 40 off a brick but one rhyme could beat that
And if somebody woulda told ‘em that Hov’ would sell clothin
Heh, not in this lifetime, wasn’t in my right mind
That’s another difference that’s between me and them
Heh, I’m smarten up, open the market up
One million, two million, three million, four
In eighteen months, eighty million more
Now add that number up with the one I said before
You are now lookin at one smart black boy
Momma ain’t raised no fool
Put me anywhere on God’s green earth, I’ll triple my worth…
I WILL NOT LOSE!…”

- Jay-Z; “U Don’t Know”

Something that I think gets lost in the ideological criticism of Jay-Z or the fascination with his celebrity is that no other rapper is more capable of sparking as much intelligent conversation, especially about entrepreneurship, economics and business, which I dare say is more essential right now than the political form of consciousness we’ve received in rap for over 20 years. Whether you like Jay-Z or not he is at the center of a consciousness-raising discussion in a badly underserved area: our definitions of ‘success’ and the science of business (which too many people incorrectly equate to ‘capitalism’: you can listen to my interview with Dr. Jared Ball where I explain the difference between business, entrepreneurship, trade and commerce on one hand and ‘capitalism’ on the other at: http://www.voxunion.com/?p=2588)

Here is what an AllHipHop.com reader named Dalitso emailed me regarding Part I:

”Since I was 12 I’ve been a huge fan of Jay I’ve grown on his experience to the point
almost every discussion I have with friends has a recital of a Jay
song. I’m the butt of jokes among friends but to watch someone come
from nothing towards the most influential statesman in a counter
culture is remarkable. I often think of an eastern proverb that says
“don’t follow in the footsteps of the great, seek what they sought” Jay
reminds me of Meyer Lanksy not from the media perspective but from the
lens of a minority marginalized in society and creates something. The
‘American Gangster’ album to me is his most underrated album but the
jewels on human nature, business in the album for cultural
entrepreneurs, social activist, marketing students, to me is crazy from
the intro to the last song among the many favorite lines on No Hooks
is “own boss, own your master, slaves the mentality I carry with me to
this very day, f*** rich let’s gets wealthy who else gonna feed we. If
I need it I’m gonna get it however God help me”. His realization that
as an artist freedom comes from owning his own masters, and breaking
the master slave mentality of being tied down to dying industry
structure coupled with that anybody can get rich but wealth is for the
few who understand that “money should work for you while you sleep”
and not you working for money and that is the difference between a
master and slave mentality.”

I asked Duane Lawton, an Internet Hip-Hop Marketing Consultant who has actually written a book on Jay-Z’s lyrics (http://www.bookofhov.com/ email: Duane@BookofHov.com) for his thoughts on Jay-Z’s business model and brand.

Duane Lawton: My favorite Jay-Z saying is “I WILL NOT LOSE!” It’s a simple
declaration that can be very self-empowering especially for
those who have been made to believe that they were born to
fail. I think success in anything, particularly business and
branding starts with what I would call “stubborn confidence”
this is not to be confused with “blind ambition”.

It’s amazing to see how Jay-Z has applied the theories and practices of
street hustling all the way to the corporate boardroom and the global
business environment. In some ways Jay-Z can be seen as a life coach
with a specialization in business and professional development. Of course
I’m speaking metaphorically about a MC who is a master at metaphors,
but the point is, Jay-Z has truly given our culture and generation a
blueprint- not just on how to make Hip-Hop music, but more importantly,
on how to conceive, believe, achieve and maintain success in whatever we do.
*****

Having established Jay-Z’s inspirational value and ability to teach business principles, directly and indirectly there are some very hard questions that I believe Jay will be forced to answer regarding his relationship to the classes (the 10%), his concern and influence over the masses (the 85%) and just how free he is to openly associate with other righteous teachers (the 5%).

This all has to be considered in light of his recent statements from last year which seem to indicate his interest in further evolving the culture and industry in more mature ways:

“The challenge with rap music is, you know, the place where it’s white hot is with 16- and 15-year-olds. You have a lot of people who are 30-something, 30-plus, still recording music like they were 15 because that’s where the most urgent buyer is…There’s been this reluctance to mature in hip hop and when you do that, you leave the audience very narrow. My whole thing is to expand the audience and the genre of music in any way, because music is music…If I’m 35 years old and I’m talking like I’m 15 — the kids at 15, they change slang every week. They know that’s not being authentic. I live in Teaneck, New Jersey, somewhere, I’m not on the streets…I felt like that was my calling and that was my direction in life, to show artists in a different light, that we could ascend to executive positions of record companies….In the beginning, it was at its purest form because everyone was struggling. All great music and all great art, I believe, comes from pain. As hip hop started to get successful, and really successful — you had these guys coming from these neighbourhoods that were now millionaires — it’s tough to draw back to that place [of creativity]…. Now people are having those types of feelings: ‘You’re sounding lazy, you’re sounding formulaic, you’re sounding like the same subject matter. So what are you going to do?’ Now we’re facing that challenge to make great music like every other genre.”

Will the ‘great music’ that Jay-Z makes next, be considered ‘radical’ by some in high places?

A hidden hand - coming from outside of the micro music industry and often working through the multi-national conglomerates that own it – with resources to control who gets the psychic income of fame (scandal-free media coverage, high level political access, and first crack at non-music industry business opportunities) has subtly and not so subtly made it clear to elite artists and their team that doing for self – in a certain sense - is incompatible with upward social mobility, in their world.

Thus, the fear of loss of status and ‘mainstreaming’ controls many and limits the effectiveness of those who aren’t afraid.

Jay-Z figures Some How, Some Way, into this important debate.

“I do this for my culture
To let ‘em know what a n***a look like…when a ni***a in a Roadster
Show ‘em how to move in a room full of vultures
Industry shady it need to be taken over
Label owners hate me, I’m raisin’ the status quo up
I’m overchargin’ n***az for what they did to the Cold Crush
Pay us like you owe us for all the years that you ho’ed us
We can talk, but money talks, so talk mo’ bucks”

- Jay-Z; “ IZZO (H.O.V.A.)”

Dame Dash and I discussed this dynamic and dilemma – just how independently elite artists can be while operating in the ‘system’ at BlackElectorate.com in 2002, at the height of Roc-A-Fella’s popularity and prior to his public break with Jay-Z (http://www.blackelectorate.com/articles.asp?ID=744 ):

Cedric Muhammad: The way I have looked at it from an economist’s point of view, it seems that the pace of the distribution channels, even of the multinational corporations at the center of your business ventures, is really too slow for you.

Dame Dash: Right.

Cedric Muhammad: It seems to me that everything that you are involved with from your music relationship with Def Jam and Universal to the movie business - you are like, really bumping up against Black America’s crisis of not having distribution for its products and services. How do you feel about all of that?

Dame Dash: Well…I mean, you know it is a constant struggle. A little bit of a fight, because our culture doesn’t usually get the correct opportunities and when they are presented, somebody usually f—- it up. Someone is there putting their hands into the cookie jar. Our culture has been exploited so much that we haven’t been able to capitalize on things. So many other people make so much money off of us that I don’t think that they are used to someone trying to capitalize on their own culture, you know what I’m saying? So its full of obstacles. But the s— that bothers me is that I know that I am a strong individual and I fight for what’s mine, but I know that there are alot of people in this who are not like that. Not to say that other people aren’t as strong but they don’t have the kamikaze attitude and as much to fall back on as I do.
That’s why I kind of feel sorry for anybody that can’t take the position that I hold. But I will punish anybody that I feel is doing anything disrespectful to my company. You are a liability not just to me but everybody else.

Cedric Muhammad: Do you think, Dame, that there is more unity required to overcome the distribution issues that you are dealing with in music, movies and alcohol…

Dame Dash: Yeah…

Cedric Muhammad: Who are some of the people that you are looking to link up with and what are the type of business minds that it would require to get over this hump?

Dame Dash: I feel like it is kind of hard because everybody is trying to get in where they fit in, you know what I’m saying? And as established as people may seem, they are still on shaky ice. So they have their own things that they gotta deal with. Like right now, I haven’t gotten the opportunity to address the distribution issue in the music industry because it would take alot of energy and effort. I will probably get back to that when I can. It is important that I do. I am happy that I got to make money my way, but when you get into distribution, it gets a little gangster, you know what I’m saying?

(laughter between both Dame Dash and Cedric Muhammad)

Dame Dash: You’ve got to be really serious about going for distribution and getting it done. And it is hard to put someone in that position.

*****

Could Jay-Z support an effort to address the long-discussed ‘distribution’ issue (which now must include things like ownership of concert venues, and control of transportaion and communication systems)? Or would his business and corporate partners consider it too radical a step for him?’ And if he came out and took a stand on something like this would politically conscious and so-called radical artists be able to get over their hang-ups with Jay and support him? I wonder on all three questions.

How many of us have heard of the ‘secret’ or private discussions of Hammer, James Prince, Suge Kinght and Luke in the 1990s to establish an independent distribution network in the music industry?

Hip-Hop historian and opinion leader Davey D (http://daveyd.com/) is the most knowledgeable person I know on the subject.

Isn’t it so interesting that it was artists/moguls with a ‘gangster’ or ‘commercial’ persona and not ‘conscious’ artists who were having this private, even revolutionary discussion?

Again – there has and continues to be an economic aspect missing from what we have labeled ‘consciousness’ in Hip-Hop.

*****

Look at Dame’s description of his peers, in my conversation with him – “everybody is trying to get in where they fit in…” and “…as established as people may seem, they are still on shaky ice…” and the ultimate, “Not to say that other people aren’t as strong but they don’t have the kamikaze attitude and as much to fall back on…”

Hmmm. Sounds a lot like the mentality and attitude of most folks I know with a job – whether in government, academia, or corporate America – scared to start a business until they are forced to by a sudden layoff or termination.

Is Jay-Z somewhere in that description? As powerful as he is can Jay-Z be ‘kept in line’ by a powerful elite who has the power to ‘scandalize’ him - as well as you and I? All of us have flaws, imperfections, lifestyle choices, and habits, that if made public, distorted, or incorporated in a slanderous media campaign would demagnetize our appeal to the masses (the 85%).

As we near the 1-year anniversary of his death, we would do well to watch/study Minister Farrakhan’s insightful talk on Michael Jackson (“The Crucifixion of Michael Jackson and All Responsible Black Leadership” http://store.finalcall.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=HLF090726DVD)

Could Jay-Z one day be ‘crucified’ like Michael? Or, was Michael Jackson made to serve as an example for Jay-Z? And do the forces who feared Michael Jackson’s evolution toward greater and greater consciousness have similar concerns about Jay-Z (and all ‘mainstream’ rap artists)? Is there a form of consciousness that Jay-Z has that the 10% recognize and fear, which the more politically conscious artists still lack and can’t appreciate about him, yet?

Much has been made of Jay-Z’s recording of Public Service Announcements (PSAs) against ‘Anti-Semitism’ with Russell Simmons a few years ago. You can watch the YouTube video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNFXHoaf4Vs.

Personally, I have no problem with Jay-Z’s actual words in the PSA. I agree with them.

However, I would hope that Jay-Z and Russell Simmons would support or be involved in a similar effort to ask Jewish celebrities to record commercials geared toward those, for example, in Israel today, who are currently calling President Obama an ‘anti-Semite.’ (http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20000658-503544.html)

If Jay-Z (and Russell Simmons) could publicly call for an end to the ‘anti-Black’ feelings that some members of the Jewish community do in fact hold, I would consider the cipher complete.

But there is more to consider:

Those who are calling Jay-Z a Zionist ‘pawn’ for making the PSAs, to the best of my knowledge, have not approached him in the same manner as the organization behind them did - Rabbi Marc Schneier’s Foundation For Ethnic Understanding did (http://www.ffeu.org/RMS.htm)

Until we give Jay-Z a chance to similarly accept or reject his appearance in a well-developed PSA campaign against Jewish ‘anti-Blackness,’ I will withold judgement on who’s a pawn…or a bishop, or a rook, and for whom.

Can we really blame Jay-Z for our own lack of operational unity, professionalism, and activism?

Again, we have to move beyond rhetoric (‘Jay-Z needs to support this…Jay-Z needs to stand for that…Jay-Z ain’t doin enough for…’) and speak the language of power, and make it impossible for Jay-Z (or any other artist) to say ‘no’ to us.

Jay-Z is not ‘anti-Jewish’ or ‘anti-Semitic’ but he didn’t do the PSA only because he agreed with the message. He did the PSA because it dovetailed with his business model and interests. I’m sure it didn’t hurt his relationship with members of the Israeli and Jewish community (in and out of the music industry with whom he may do business) that as was reported in Ynetnews, “The Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem received a report on the [Jay-Z's PSA against 'anti-Semitism'] initiative from Aryeh Mekel, Israel’s consul-general in New York.”

This is the real world of geopolitics Jay-Z has to operate in, not the one of Hip-Hop gossip where subliminal shots in his lyrics are considered earth-shattering breaking news to many of us.

When Black and progressive activism approaches Jay-Z in a manner that dovetails with his business model and interests – and not just loud shouting and whining – he will respond accordingly, I believe.

He understands the language of power, so let’s learn to speak it, as others have.

I am certain Jay-Z loves his people. But his people also have to understand the world he operates in.

If we love Jay-Z (which I certainly do) and want him to do better or more – we too – have to step up our game.

Political activism without an appreciation of business realities is going to increasingly be… well, D.O.A.

*****

“Yo, y’all n—–s truly ain’t ready for this “Dynasty” thing
Y’all thinkin “Blake Carrington”, I’m thinkin more like “Ming”
I got four nephews, and they all write’n
They all young and wild, plus they all like things
And I’m havin a child, which is more frightning
What cha’ll about to witness is big business kid
Big bosses, cocky, and big Benzsesses
Come through flossin’em shiny rims it is
And losses don’t pop up in their sentences
I think you understand what type of event this is
I don’t think you know how focused young Memphis is
or how Sigel’s so real, when you add on Amil
This is much more than rap, it’s Black Entrepreneurs
Clothing, movie, and films, we come to conquer it all
Roc-A-Wear, eighty mill like, eighteen months
You could bull—- wit rap if you want, mut———s
When it’s all said and done, we gon see what’s what
Holla at Hov, I’ll be in the cut…”

- Jay-Z; “4 Da Fam”

In an interview earlier this year, 50 Cent made an important criticism of Jay Z’s business model which I think has merit. 50 said, “I think he has good intentions – Jay – but he’s using the traditional corporate model and I think the only place he really went wrong was saying ‘La Familia’ – like we [the Roc-A-Fella artists and Jay-Z] are family…I understand that transition into the corporate space. Like Jimmy (Iovine) (doesn’t) say (to me), ‘we family,’ so I know that I got to be on my P’s and Q’s with him 24/7, because if you are no longer generating interests there will be that ‘new thing,’ that works (to replace you). But I say that (‘family’) and because I say that I make sure that they (the G-Unit artists) eat.”

I literally could write a book on what 50 Cent describes (and in a way my forthcoming book on the economic integration of Africa deals with this subject) regarding the ‘corporate’ vs. ‘family’ way of doing business, and the painful transition of evolving economic relationships from personal to impersonal contact. They – family and corporation - are almost never the same, and when people confuse the two they go wrong. Kinship systems which revolve around familiarity and a common belief and loyalty are not the same as a nexus of impersonal transactions.

Both systems have a hierarchy with a leader at the top, but kinship systems unlike corporations, almost always raise their leadership from within their own ranks while corporations pull in outsiders. The leader of a ‘family’ group is usually looking for his ‘successor’ from among the younger members of their own circle. While earning money important, other qualities are a factor too. While, in a corporation, earning can be everything. Family members expect charity to take place among one another. In a corporation, charity has no place on financial statements – not even as ‘petty cash.’ (smile)

A young person who doesn’t understand this and is really operating in a corporate structure while believing they are part of a family unit is headed for disappointment, even to the point of feeling they were deceived by the leader of the unit.

This may have been part of the dynamic in Jay’s business model and leadership style at Roc-A-Fella and where the role of John Meneilly (and not the more ‘family-oriented Dame Dash or Biggs) is important to understand.

I know a small bit of this dynamic, because in September 2002 I was involved in a dialogue with Roc-A-Fella’s marketing department about how to better position all of the artists on the label, aside from Jay-Z. The strategy was sophisticated but revolved around coordinating an ‘outside the industry,’ strategy with the standard record promotion.

The plan I laid out was the re-positioning Cam’ron and Beanie Sigel, not just as ‘hustlers’ and ‘gangsters,’ but as real power brokers and true ‘bosses’ in the communities from which they came – Harlem and Philly, respectively. What we discussed was revolutionary and would have built upon the street credibility of the artists and converted that form of power into others – in the business sector and political arena. They would have been true shot-callers with their neighborhoods as home base from which they would make power moves, generate positive media coverage, and break into new market segments as artists. The plan would have made them bigger and broadened their appeal beyond their current fan base.

Roc-A-Fella loved the specifics of what I outlined. Cam’ron’s manager wanted to move forward with the strategy and all that remained was for a meeting to be arranged to finalize details. Then, we agreed, we would immediately apply the model to Beanie Sigel.

Then, came the surprising news, confirming for me what I had only heard as rumors regarding how decisions were made at Roc-A- Fella Records.

I was informed that Jay-Z’s brilliant business manager, John Meneilly, who was a key decision-maker at the label (a fact that many don’t realize) put the initiative on ice because it would somehow distract or interfere with Jay-Z’s efforts to position himself more positively in community affairs. I was told by Roc-A-Fella that John Meneilly felt that what I proposed was essentially the same thing that was already in motion around Jay-Z’s efforts to do things in the borough of Brooklyn, timed perfectly with the release of Blueprint II.

I was told that all of this would be the subject of an upcoming 60 Minutes feature on Jay-Z. My Roc-A-Fella contact told me that after Jay-Z had the chance to establish himself in this new light, the label would look to incorporate my strategic advice.

I was disappointed a bit, not understanding why what was good for Jay-Z wasn’t good for his labelmates, but I was also excited to know that someone as influential as Jay-Z was moving in this direction. I started thinking of ways to support his efforts.

The 60 Minutes special came (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/11/18/60II/main529811.shtml), Blueprint II dropped and Jay-Z did get credit for a few good works. But the effort was heavily top-down (corporate –driven) nothing at all like what I proposed for Beanie Sigel and Cam’ron which would have had them building power and positioning themselves from the streets-up.

I’m sure 60 Minutes did not represent all that Jay-Z was trying to do but I got no indication that Roc-A-Fella pushed back or was disappointed in the feature that really was more of a biography piece designed to further mainstream Jay-Z or even, maybe make him less threatening.

It was a good look for Jay in that respect, but nothing that could benefit Beanie Sigel or Cam’ron, I thought.

Being ‘positive’ and ‘giving back’ through donations, foundations, corporate partners and appearances is nice but not the same as developing an artist’s street, political, and business leadership profile outside of the industry, in ways that connect them to everyday people and help them sell more records.

What Cam and Sigel needed was more power positioning not just good cause marketing.

*****

I ended Part I with this, “Could it be that certain people have a hard time accepting Jay-Z’s rise and continued success not because of anything he or others are doing but because they lack a grasp of the science of business?”

What I meant by that, is, the fascination with or focus on ‘secret societies’ among the poor can either be a hindrance to their progress or it can be an educational experience that motivates them toward success. The history of business is marked by private, interactions and relationships. You don’t get business done shouting at one another in the public (like a rap beef). You get business done by going in a room and closing the door and having serious discussion.

Either you or someone on your team has to be skilled at this kind of activity. I think this is something that is lost in rap culture where being flashy, attention-grabbing, and seen the most is valued too often.

In a sense, all business activity is based upon how one conducts themselves in private or cultural settings.

I wrote about this a few months ago for The Final Call newspaper in an article entitled, “Etiquette and Networking: The Secret Society of Business” (http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/Business_amp_Money_12/article_6647.shtml).

I hope you will read it and not only consider Jay-Z in a new light, but more importantly, yourself…

Cedric Muhammad is a business consultant, political strategist, and monetary economist. He is a former GM of Wu-Tang Management and currently a Member of the African Union’s First Congress of African Economist. He’s the Founder of the economic information service Africa PreBrief (http://africaprebrief.com/) and author of ‘The Entrepreneurial Secret’ (http://theEsecret.com/). Cedric can be contacted via e-mail at: cedric(at)cmcap.com

(Cedricmuhammad.com) This week’s issue edition of the Africa PreBrief economic newsletter looks at South Africa’s publicly traded MTN Group; the business monopolies of Tunisia and Cameroon; the continued political stuttered steps of Zimbabwe Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai; and our suspicions of the excitement over ‘economic growth’ as measured in West Africa.

In ‘Markets and Movements’ we take a hard look at the basic building blocks of regional economic integration which have yet to be laid, Botswana, case in point.

You can subscribe at:

http://www.africaprebrief.com/pages/subscribe-to-apb.php

I’ve reacted to the very interesting Interview with Ms. Margaret Kilo, Head of the Fragile States Unit, of the African Development Bank, titled “The African Diaspora does not have to relocate to the continent in order to contribute to its development.”

You can read my posting at:

http://www.afdb.org/en/news-events/article/interview-with-margaret-kilo-head-of-the-fragile-states-unit-afdb-the-african-diaspora-does-not-have-to-relocate-to-the-continent-in-order-to-contribute-to-its-development-6946/

I am very pleased that my recent E-Letter to the Financial Times regarding the ‘United States of Africa,’ (http://www.cedricmuhammad.com/e-letter-to-william-wallis-and-the-financial-times-re-the-road-to-integration-proves-grindingly-slow%E2%80%99/) is being widely read and well-received on the continent. A colleague from East Africa who read it wrote me the following, “I think you’ve articulated this issue better than all I’ve heard…it needs to be heard on CNN Africa and all the local TV stations across Africa.”

I was most impressed with the comments on the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo - on its 50th anniversary - made on the Riz Khan Program on Al Jazzera by Didier Gondola, a Congolese-born Professor of African History and Africana Studies at Indiana University, Indianapolis. You can watch the program here:

http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/rizkhan/2010/06/20106166142654521.html

Finally, after seeking the counsel of my Facebook network I am supporting Ghana in the World Cup tournament. You can see me wearing the official cap of the national team at:

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Cedric-Muhammad/57826974560?ref=ts

Next, I will don the T-Shirt publicly should ‘my team’ (smile) continue to advance…

Cedric Muhammad
June 18, 2010

- Jay-Z, Intro off of the The Dynasty: Roc La Familia

If there were any track in the universe of Jay-Z’s catalogue, which I think represents the powerful puzzle of his personality and appeal it is the Intro to the 2000 Roc La Familia album. In terms of the deliberate amount of time he allows to pass before delivering his verse; the sound of the hot but haunting beat; the nonchalant flow, the penetrating wit; the jewels and gems of wisdom; and the provocative hints and nods (‘this is food for thought, you do the dishes’) that Jay-Z deliberately leaves, this one-verse track almost perfectly symbolizes the career and mind of an artist who I am convinced may be the most Selfaware artist that rap has ever seen.

When many of us use the phrase ‘Knowledge of Self,’ what exactly are we really talking about? The older I get and the more I hear it used, I’m convinced people really don’t understand what it fully represents. Sadly, one of the most important concepts and bodies of wisdom we could understand has been reduced to a cliché.

In a portion of a letter introducing his Study Guide # 10, “The God Within” Minister Louis Farrakhan gives one of the best descriptions of that powerful phrase that I have ever heard:

“The knowledge of Self is the greatest of all knowledge. It is akin to the knowledge of Allah (God). Both of these knowledges, which is really one, is the key to our return to God, Self and Power.

…We must know ourselves historically, biologically, genetically, but we must also go to the root of ourselves which is knowledge of the nature in which we are created, which is the Essence of Self-knowledge.”

For years I have considered Jay-Z to be a conscious artist, very. It has been a very controversial position to take in the eyes of some. I first unveiled it, in limited form, in an economic context in a piece I wrote at BlackElectorate.com called , “The Consciousness of Wu-Tang Clan, Suge Knight, and Jay-Z” (http://www.blackelectorate.com/articles.asp?ID=529).

I have never gone into the other side of the consciousness I had in mind as it as it relates to Jay-Z. It has to do with what he implies on the ‘Intro’ with the phrase ‘keen senses.’

The portion of the Minister’s statement that I’m building on, as it relates to consciousness is ‘the knowledge of the nature in which we are created.’ The only way that one comes into this understanding of self is by traveling – outwardly and inwardly – through the 5 paths by which we all learn: conversation, observation, reading, experience (which is always painful), and revelation/intuition. Getting to the heart of this, in a December 12, 1986 letter he wrote introducing his study guides, Minister Farrakhan writes:

“Each student, after studying the principle under analysis, must then analyze self and critique self. The study sessions, while leading the student to self-examination, first; self-analysis, second; self-correction, third; must simultaneously be therapeutic. Therefore, these sessions must be twofold, consisting of both theory and practice. The practice will refine the theory.”

After many years and travels in the world of entertainment, politics and business, I am growing to learn the difference between one having an ideology, a teaching or dogma, and one who understands the real-life struggle of trying to apply what you know and believe, in public.

In my view, what limits the appeal of what is categorized as ‘conscious’ rap is the usually narrow definition of that word, which seems to equate to only reading certain books. Many artists, for years, have gotten credit for being ‘conscious’ primarily by only memorizing and quoting things that they have read in the books of others. But are they really any more of an intellectual than someone like 50 Cent who co-authors a book -The 50th Law - based upon the insights of his own life experience in the light of the wisdom of the book, The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene?

In impressive fashion not only does he weave that knowledge into his lyrics but I’ve seen 50 represent his book on rap stations, local news outlets and respected financial media like CNBC, handling questions like a professor.

I intend to write on the decline of the conscious MC, soon. Part of their extinction is self-imposed.

In a sense their appeal is limited because their ‘story’ is limited to ‘theory.’ The practice that will refine the theory and the lessons that come from the attempt to apply that theory are not in their life experience, or perhaps, more importantly that particular artist is simply not able to explain their life experience as well as they are able to quote it as expressed by others.

Keeping those 5 ways in which we all learn in mind and are taught, I believe that while many others may have more overtly conscious or political content than Jay-Z none express it lyrically in more diverse, articulate, subtle, or penetrating ways.

Although Jay-Z certainly reads books, his ‘keen senses’ – enable him to learn in powerful ways from observation, experience, and intuition and communicate them in a conversational manner that no other rapper, in my view approaches. Therefore, he delivers something for teenagers, women, non-Blacks, the hood, the industry professional, and the politically inclined (if only they would listen).

It may be hard for some to realize (or accept) but on a sensory level Jay-Z is a more holistic learner and communicator – as an artist - than those that are labeled as ‘positive.’ It allows him to reach more with his personality and ‘message’ than they do.

His appeal is based on his ability to combine introspection (self-examination and self-analysis) with keen observations and an interesting life experience.

’Where do Blacks with crazy cash and knowledge of they self live at?
Teacher haven’t seen them,
Many sold their sold for cash.

- Wise Intelligent on the Poor Righteous track ‘Black Business.’

With those words, on ‘Black Business,’ Wise Intelligent, one of the most konscious and brilliant individuals I have come across and had the pleasure of building with, presents the challenge to all of us who pursue knowledge, wealth, and success.

In one of the best ‘public’ conversations I’ve ever had, here is what Wise said to me in 2005 when I asked him for his thoughts about Jay-Z:

“Wise Intelligent: I really want to say that Jay-Z is the best MC, lyrically, skill level, I have probably heard in the last ten years. Jay-Z is a phenomenon, lyrically, to me. He can take a rhyme where he wants. Jay-Z can tell a rhyme sit, and it sits. He says, ‘get up and go’, and the rhyme will get up and go. Jay-Z is definitely a talent. He can rhyme about anything he wants to rhyme about. He’s rhyming about what works for him right now. That’s it. He is more than just a rapper too, I see more than just a business man in him as well. There is something else there. I don’t know what, I ain’t trying to figure it out, but, hey, that’s Jay-Z to me.”

“There is something else there. I don’t know what…” is part of the secret to Jay-Z’s success. He has created a mystique and aura about him through the selective nature of his public appearance (note: the lack of movies, commercials, and advocacy and the rarity with which he grants in-depth interviews). As I have written in a previous column, “The Business of ‘Story’ (A Rapper’s Brand And Image) [http://allhiphop.com/stories/editorial/archive/2010/01/12/22092307.aspx], the nexus point of his brand-reputation-image have had better alignment over a longer period of time than any other rapper in history. The result: he’s always interesting but not always easy to understand. That tension creates intrigue around him, his creative work and his career.

The only other person I have seen maneuver through the Hip-Hop culture and industry and maintain this kind of mystique, as I have said before, is Star of Star and Buc Wild (http://www.vladtv.com/videos/star-buc-wild/).

Is it any coincidence that Star’s philosophy Objective Hate is defined as, “The total belief in one’s self with the full understanding of man’s true nature.”

No form of consciousness - no matter how ‘political’ - that leaves out the self will be relevant in this new era we are entering.

“I had to lace up my boots even harder
Father is too far away to father
Further-more all the kids either smoke reefer
or either move white, there’s few writers in my cypher
So they made light of, my type of
dreams seem dumb, they said wise up
How many guys-a, you see makin it from here
The world don’t like us, is that not clear? Alright but..
I’m different, I can’t base what I’m gon’ be
offa what everybody isn’t, they don’t listen
Just whisperin behind my back
No vision, lack of ambition, so whack!”

Jay-Z, “So Ambitious,” Blueprint 3

But the something else that I have always seen in Jay-Z and equated it to a form of consciousness that most ‘conscious’ artists lack is his natural ability to teach in very profound and subtle ways – lyrically and in how he moves on the public stage.

There is a discipline and comfort with self that allows Jay to pass up what is not best for him, on a business level and permits him to handle being misunderstood (and criticized) while still saying and doing things with a positive impact (I don’t feel I have to list various things he has done of a charitable nature to support my point. The fact that so little of it is publicized is something to consider though.)

While the critics, ideologues, and guardians of ‘consciousness’ in rap have have expressed their view of him, Jay has been reaching and stimulating thought in people – young and older - that they could never reach in the way he does.

Here’s how one artist from Africa, Howee (http://www.howeemusic.com) who has also lived in the States recently described it to me:

“So as soon as I heard the 1st Blueprint album from Jay-Z I was going through it 4 real. Money and the motions that come with that life. I remember hearing ‘Izzo’ and I was like “hol’ on!! rewind that!”.
I never heard anyone speak on it like that. So I bought that CD, backdated and was like “mannnnn, he’s been saying this all these years??” I mean I had hard knock life in high school (my brother sent it for me from the states) but I didn’t know that world.

Reasonable Doubt changed my look on music and self expression with no boundaries. I was still been highly influenced by Tupac (who wasn’t?..till now too) so I payed attention to this double voice and back ups and what not. Jay-Z just made it more easier, more descriptive. I started writing poetry in between times. I never rapped until I got to Kenya.”

It may not be a popular thing to say but in different ways I’ve heard the same thing from others which Howee expresses ‘I was still been highly influenced by [you fill in the rapper’s name]. Jay-Z just made it more easier, more descriptive.’

The authority in my inner circle on Jay-Z’s lyrics, and maybe anywhere else for that matter, is a Hip-Hop Internet Marketer named Duane Lawton. Many people can say they’ve studied Jay’s lyrics or been inspired by them but he’s the only one I know who has actually written a book about them (BookofHov.com).

In 2007 when I read what he had done I just started using the phrase the ‘Book Of H.O.V.’ in reference to what I saw as his compilation and commentary on the teachings of Jay-Z. My friend E from Queens and I, to this day, speak to one another in code out of the ‘Book of 50,’ the ‘the ‘Book of Jeezy,’ the ‘Book of KRS,’ and just last week I quoted something from the ‘Book of N.W.A.’ which I’ll keep to myself (smile). I’m even dropping some lines from ‘The Book of Young Money.’

This goes on everyday with our culture. It’s real.

I asked Duane some questions about the teachings of Jay:

Cedric Muhammad: What made you start this kind of study?

Duane Lawton: I’ve been a big fan of Jay dating back to the beginning of his career. I embraced his debut, Reasonable Doubt, not because I lived that life but because I was ‘around’ it
and could relate. I was one year outta of high school and
to me that album was the voice of my era at the time.

Reasonable Doubt is a record that’s really just about ambition-
with swagger.

In Reasonable Doubt, Jay rhymed about hustling with a level
of wit and insight that I had never really heard before then and
that caught my attention. I was a cool and smart kid and when
I heard Reasonable Doubt I knew that his lyrics were conceived
from careful observations and enlightening experiences, which
shaped his profound perspectives. And Jay’s performances
on Reasonable Doubt were flawless; his rhymes were
driven by street cred delivered with the demeanor of “a college cat”.

And as a fan, I’ve been ‘riding wit him’ ever since.

Cedric Muhammad: How important are his lyrics to consciousness raising?

Duane Lawton: Jay-Z has his ear to the streets and he has the ear of the streets. But, as one of his famous sayings states, you gotta “get your mind right”. To be honest, sometimes I wish the consciousness in Jay’s lyrics weren’t so abstract. But at the same time I think listeners have to be hungry in order to partake in his food for thought.

The point I made in my ebook is that the listener has to be
able to deciper Jay’s lyrics. He rhymes alot (maybe a little
too much) about the drug trade. But his mindset as it relates
to hustling can be applied to any sort of ambition within the
context of family, business, education, politics, community, etc.

Cedric Muhammad: What can one learn from the Book of H.O.V.?

Duane LawtonI think listeners can learn that there is a ‘cost’ to ambition; physically, mentally, spiritually, emotionally…

Success does not come without struggle, pain, jealousy &
envy, patience, solitude, unity, temptation, competition,
arrogance, humbleness…

Jay-Z is taking us to school. He’s like the most popular
guy in the school becoming the principal. If the most
popular guy in the school became the principal most of
the students would think it’s party time. But that cool
guy became the principal for a reason. There’s more
to him than his swag…

I’ll end by saying this: Jay-Z is featured
on “Light it Up” one of the songs off Drake’s upcoming
album. In the song Jay basically prophecies
on what Drake with go through as a result of his success
in the game and gives him advice on how to handle it.
It’s yet another hot verse by your boy Hov, but the verse
sort of sums up what Jay has been doing since back in
‘96: Showin’ us how to do this, son!

*****

“Do you fools listen to music or do you just skim through it?
See I’m influenced by the ghetto you ruined
That same dude you gave nothin, I made somethin doin
what I do through and through and
I give you the news - with a twist it’s just his ghetto point-of-view…”
- Jay-Z; “Renegade”, The Blueprint

Last year at the American Music Awards, Jay-Z made a controversial statement recently that many people interpreted as directed at 50 Cent (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIwxIobtab4). Another moment where Jay-Z wanted to be puzzling and could care less about who misunderstood, because he was confident the right people would understand. And 50’s blunt reaction to the comment, if it were intended for him, I thought was good, too. Both of them were true to their respective brands-reputations-images (see the intro of my book to see what qualities 50 embodies better than anyone). It was another moment where the tension between competitors became an opportunity to teach where the goal is making a more powerful point than your ‘opponent,’ not manufacturing a phony scene for the consumption of the ignorant masses.

Unfortunately, the comment generated only the usual silly chatter that dominates so much of the culture and industry these days.
Lost in the usual superficial focus on manufactured ‘beef,’ was the lesser-noted reality that Jay was teaching once again. He knew people wanted him to say something disrespectful to 50 but rather than be aggressive, which is not his strength (and he learned that for certain in his ‘beef’ with Nas where he was the aggressor), he decided to just be himself, and allow people to be perplexed, offended or humored by his comment, ‘Men Lie, Women Lie, Numbers Don’t’ on the week that 50 Cent had disappointing sales for the release of his album, ‘Before I Self-Destruct.’

What was Jay teaching with the comment? An aspect of his business philosophy. About 5 years ago I learned from someone who did business with Jay-Z that he was reading and influenced by the book ‘Moneyball: The Art Of Winning An Unfair Game,’ by Michael Lewis. The publisher’s description of the book is:

Michael Lewis examines how in 2002 the Oakland Athletics achieved a spectacular winning record while having the smallest player payroll of any major league baseball team. Given the heavily publicized salaries of players for teams like the Boston Red Sox or New York Yankees, baseball insiders and fans assume that the biggest talents deserve and get the biggest salaries. However, argues Lewis, little-known numbers and statistics matter more. Lewis discusses Bill James and his annual stats newsletter, Baseball Abstract, along with other mathematical analysis of the game. Surprisingly, though, most managers have not paid attention to this research, except for Billy Beane, general manager of the A’s and a former player; according to Lewis, “[B]y the beginning of the 2002 season, the Oakland A’s, by winning so much with so little, had become something of an embarrassment to Bud Selig and, by extension, Major League Baseball.” The team’s success is actually a shrewd combination of luck, careful player choices and Beane’s first-rate negotiating skills. Beane knows which players are likely to be traded by other teams, and he manages to involve himself even when the trade is unconnected to the A’s. ” `Trawling’ is what he called this activity,” writes Lewis. “His constant chatter was a way of keeping tabs on the body of information critical to his trading success.” Lewis chronicles Beane’s life, focusing on his uncanny ability to find and sign the right players. His descriptive writing allows Beane and the others in the lively cast of baseball characters to come alive.

Jay-Z was reading this book while serving as President of Def Jam Records. The book, Jay-Z told our mutual business associate reflected his (and my associate’s) way of doing business – relying upon numbers, statistics, and past history to judge performance and make decisions for the future.

That is what was at the root of his statement at the American Music Awards that he allowed others to misinterpret, for better or worse. Perhaps this is the gift and the curse with Jay-Z’s teaching and what Duane means when he says he wishes Jay-Z’s words weren’t so ‘abstract.’

“Ving ain’t lie
I done came through the block in everything that’s fly
I’m like, Che Guevara with bling on, I’m complex
I never claimed to have wings on
Ni**a I get mine - by any means on whenever there’s a drought
Get your umbrellas out because, that’s when I brainstorm
You can blame Shawn, but I ain’t invent the game
I just rolled the dice, tryin to get some change
And I do it twice, ain’t no sense in me
lyin as if, I am a different man
And I could blame my environment but
there ain’t no reason why I be buyin expensive chains
Hope you don’t think users are the only abusers
Ni***z, gettin high within the game
If you do then, how would you explain?
I’m ten years removed, still the vibe is in my veins
I got a hustler spirit, ni**a period
Check out my hat yo, peep the way I wear it
Check out my swag’ yo, I walk like a ballplayer
No matter where you go, you are what you are player
And you can try to change but that’s just the top layer
Man, you was who you was ‘fore you got here
Only God can judge me, so I’m gone
Either love me, or leave me alone”

- Jay-Z; “Public Service Announcement (Interlude)”; The Black Album

So what’s next for rap’s least appreciated teacher?

Here are excerpts of quotes Jay-Z gave to a Canadian newspaper late last year:

“The challenge with rap music is, you know, the place where it’s white hot is with 16- and 15-year-olds. You have a lot of people who are 30-something, 30-plus, still recording music like they were 15 because that’s where the most urgent buyer is…There’s been this reluctance to mature in hip hop and when you do that, you leave the audience very narrow. My whole thing is to expand the audience and the genre of music in any way, because music is music…If I’m 35 years old and I’m talking like I’m 15 — the kids at 15, they change slang every week. They know that’s not being authentic. I live in Teaneck, New Jersey, somewhere, I’m not on the streets…I felt like that was my calling and that was my direction in life, to show artists in a different light, that we could ascend to executive positions of record companies….In the beginning, it was at its purest form because everyone was struggling. All great music and all great art, I believe, comes from pain. As hip hop started to get successful, and really successful — you had these guys coming from these neighbourhoods that were now millionaires — it’s tough to draw back to that place [of creativity]…. Now people are having those types of feelings: ‘You’re sounding lazy, you’re sounding formulaic, you’re sounding like the same subject matter. So what are you going to do?’ Now we’re facing that challenge to make great music like every other genre.”

There have been many who have expressed suspicion that Jay-Z’s success is partly due to his membership in some form of secret society. There is something very legitimate about this curiosity and fascination over his ability to reach mass popularity and access to very high social circles, while remaining revered on a street level. A very powerful elite does exist and they search for brilliant and popular ones among the poor through whom they can control the masses. And yes, there are secret societies which elite Blacks are part of and which have been manipulated toward this end.

Yet, there is something very harmful and dangerous about this suspicion as well, if such discussions do not take into account the nature of business and the fact that the people from whom Jay-Z comes were systematically denied the education of it.

Could it be that certain people have a hard time accepting Jay-Z’s rise and continued success not because of anything he or others are doing but because they lack a grasp of the science of business?

How deeply do those who detract from Jay-Z and attribute his rise primarily to the work of this powerful elite understand the 5%, 10%, and 85% concept as authored by Master Fard Muhammad?

So, the homework for next week is: careful study and review of Brand Nubian’s classic, ‘Meaning Of The 5%?’ at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLAmKnCfAnw

Things are about to get real interesting in this classroom…

Next week (Part II): What We Can All Learn From Jay-Z’s Business Model

Cedric Muhammad is a business consultant, political strategist, and monetary economist. He is a former GM of Wu-Tang Management and currently a Member of the African Union’s First Congress of African Economist. He’s the Founder of the economic information service Africa PreBrief (http://africaprebrief.com/) and author of ‘The Entrepreneurial Secret’ (http://theEsecret.com/). Cedric can be contacted via e-mail at: cedric(at)cmcap.com