Cornel West Says Jay-Z Isn’t Motivated
February 8, 2010 @ 1:54 PM EST
News
Before Dr. Cornel West’s speech at The Center for the Arts in Buffalo Friday night, he spoke with The Spectrum on random topics including his view of Hip-Hop and Pop music on the radio.
Now I’m an old school hip-hop guy, and I know you’re big on that stuff and have even been mentioned in Lupe Fiasco songs. I’m kind of skeptical of modern hip-hop, pop kind of stuff. What’s your view of all of the stuff on the radio?
CW: Guys like Talib Kweli and Lupe Fiasco rap messages and have something to say. Now Jay-Z is on the radio and he’s talented, but he’s just not at the level he use to be at on Reasonable Doubt and The Blueprint. The genius is still there, but there’s no more motivation.
true, he ain’t talk about
shit since 03 “black album”
he just follows the hype.
does what hot at the moment
Nas>Jay
Negro please
somebody give him a copy of American Gangster
I Love Jay But C.West Kinda Has A Point I Mean At This Point There Are Still Shades Of Greatness But It Does At Times Feel Like Jay’s Just Making Music To Make Music With No Real Purpose And I Consider Myself To Be A Jay-Hova’s Witness But Even Then It’s Hard Not To Notice This…
it’s Hov’s prerogative to talk about whatever he wants, he doesn’t owe anybody anything.
Why is this non-sense even receiving a post?
I completely agree, minus American Gangster, BP3 and Kingdom Come lacked hunger
DEFINTELY TRUE..what was BP3 even supposed to be about? I have no clue what he’s trying to accomplish musically anymore..no direction, seems like he just wants to perform at big events and collect grammies to compete with Beyonce.
^
he’s said in interviews that he doesn’t want to be the hottest rapper. he wants to be the BEST. Hell, if beating Elvis’ record wasn’t motivation, than i dont know what is.
Jay has never been much of a substance rapper… he has material is much stronger than others, but in comparison to certain artists…(Nas, Scarface, Ice Cube, etc) his shit is incredibly dumbed down!
Cornel West is off the mark. Jay-Z is rapping from the perspective of a TRUE, big-time boss. It’s a perspective that no other current rappers can really rap from. I think Jay-Z just wants to give the world (the hip-hop community, in particular) a whole ‘nother view. That doesn’t mean he isn’t motivated.
Whats the matter Big Homie? Can’t accept the truth? Take the dick out already!
^
Rap Radar’s #1 fan.
THAT NIGGA JAY CAN TALK ABOUT WUT THE FUCK HE WANT!!!! I MEAN DOES EVERY SONG HE WRITE GOTTA HAVE A MESSAGE??!! JAY ALWAYS HAS MESSAGES ON ALL HIS ALBUMS!!!! JUST NOT ON EVERY SONG!!!! ARTISTS LIKE TALIB N LUPE ALWAYS HAVE MESSAGES ON THEIR SONGS CUZ THEY DO CONSCIOUS RAP!!!! JAY WAS NEVER A CONSCIOUS RAPPER!!!! THAT’S NOT JAY!!!! BUT HE’LL STILL PUT OUT SONGS WIT MESSAGES!!!! SOMETIMES U GOT GUYS LIKE DR. WEST WHO SOMETIMES GET A LITTLE AHEAD OF THEMSELVES N ARE TOO SMART FOR THEIR OWN GOOD!!!! LIGHTEN UP CORNEL!!!!
DON’T HATE ON MY OPINION!!!!!
I did not this site was marketing site for Jay-Z. Why can someone criticize him without this site catching feeling?
“And the music i be makin
I dumb down for my audience
And double my dollars
They criticize me for it
Yet they all yell “Holla”
If skills sold
Truth be told
I’d probably be
Lyricly
Talib Kweli
Truthfully
I wanna rhyme like Common Sense
(But i did five Mil)
I ain’t been rhymin like Common since”- jayz “moment of clarity”
ENOUGH SAID!
@another Mike I concur
That’s what im saying PREACH!!! ….niggaz sayin Jay-Z lyrical and have songz with meaning …. but what makes Jay-Z different from Lil Wayne and Gucci Mane?? … niggaz only like him because he from New York …he talk about money, cars, clothes, jewelry and how he use to sell drugs .. dis nigga stop selling drugs in 1990 and he still talkin about how he use to do it?? ….dis nigga never made one real song….
I’m surprised by Cornel West’s comments. They seem like someone with a cursory knowledge of hip hop would say. If you actually listen to some of the songs he put out on his last few albums there are some substantive songs on there.
“No Hook” American Gangster
“Fallin” off American Gangster
“Minority Report” off Kingdom Come
“Meet the Parents” off Blueprint 2
“Somehow Someway” off Blueprint 2
If Mr. West were to listen to the lyrics of these songs I think he would feel differently. It’s also easy to forgot how substantize Jay-z can be because he has so many popular commercial songs that get heavy rotation that people tend to simplify him to those tracks.
its 2010 people…reasonable doubt. illmatic and all that shit is not and will not work!!! Cornell is not in the game and doesnt understand this…
look at the line above “IF SKILLS SOLD…….”….raps changed…its not about who raps the best or is the most lyrical….this is not 1994
@ so icy boi….go listen to soula boy…jayz is not for you,….youre to dumb to understand obviously
OH SHIT YN aka HI YELLA NINJA…WEST TALKIN’ SALTY BOUT YOUR MAN CRUSH!!! I PREDICT YN WILL BE UPDATING YN BLACKOUT IN 5, 4, 3……
😉
JAY NEVER BEEN A RAPPER OF SUBSTANCE…WHY CHANGE NOW??? DUDE STICKS WITH THE SAME SUBJECT WHICH INCLUDES HIS MONEY, HIS HI YELLA B*TCH(HE SAID, NOT ME) HOW MUCH MORE HE CAN MAKE, ANYTHING TO DO WITH MONEY AND TY TY AS A SHOUTOUT. AND I STILL DON’T THINK MR CARTER THE BEST….HE’S ONE THE BEST THOUGH…INDEED
read the lyrics to the songs “dashing” just posted above…
people who say jay only talks about cars, clothes, money etc obviously arent listening…..they are bleeding hate…
thats natural when you are on top…..funny, we had people in high school who said jordan sucked and was overrated…..smh
stop it people, just stop it
I guess one requirement to work at RapRadar is to be a Jay-Z stan like YN.
yea blueprint 3 was so commercialized the bangers got and I never said this about Jay but shit got cheesy Run This Town got so cheesy it was unbearable and Empire State of Mind got played after a while too DOA was a hot tracc but i listen to it the other day it lowkey sounded like my dude was Hating on the New Generation but he been lowkey stealing they swag like he telling niggas to grow the fucc up he still wearing teenage clothing tees and sagging jeans
Jigga is on a level but this is why he can’t be called GOAT, it’s not of matter of what he owes us it’s what he owes the culture!! He said don’t drink Cristal niggaz stop drinking that shit, he said stop wearing Hilfiger that whiteboy is still begging fo our support!! Jay is @ the forefront of our culture & he owes it to our forefathers like Grandmaster Flash & the furious Five, Afrika Bambata, Public Enemy, BDP etc to educate the youngins bout what’s going on!! Lil kids can tell u bout Gucci, Fendi, Maybach’s & Purple Labels but don’t know their own civil rights!!
@DARKAQUA haha ….and i agree des nigga talk about the same shit niggaz from the south talk about MONEY, CARS DRUGS, …..How do that make Jay-Z when he never had one real song … compare all 2 Pac songz with all Jay-Z …. 2 Pac spoke about the black community ….what song Jay-Z ever made about the community or struggle in the streets (besides his struggle about him)
send me a link ? …..Gay-Z OVERRATED nothing special ….Jay-Z like Plies niggaz been tellin nothing but lies Gay-Z aint never been to jail or sold drugs ……@another mike “let Jay-Z dick go”
Niggas is mad cuz jay on top he is the mike jordan of his business
rapradar to the rescue, again! egor, thou art….
Fuck outa here thunderkush. You’re ass wouldn’t know lyricism if harvard taught it to you. Jay sold the fuck out. Nigga talks about bullshit now. I listened to bp3 for a sec then deleted it on the spot. Relapse was better than that shit. And relapse sucked.
He seems to have more bey bey on his mind and he seems lost.
I concur with Mr. Cornel.
butthurt? truth hurts
@so icy…
dashing just posted songs for you to listen to….go listen to meet the parents….go listen to ballad of a fallen soldier….go listen to where have you been….
as far as jay tellin lies….my boys daddy is a retired FBI agent….he told us jay had shit on lock in NY all the way down to MD eastern shore…fbi followed him for years. his divison was on his tail…they were very aware of what him and his crew were doing…they could never catch him red handed…and the people they caught, never snitched…I.E…emory jones…what more proof do you need? jays stories arent fake…
here we go again with pac and different subject matter BS….sorry that jay trys to uplift his community by preaching success instead of constantly talking about struggles….use his success as motivation to get to where he is or do even better…i dont want to relate to struggles…i want to relate to success
i still say reasonable doubt is relevant as its ever been, jayz is still alive and doing well. plus he has never been that tupac or chuck d type of rapper but i defintely get messages from jigga and they good ones.
I concur with Dr West. Jay-Z lacks substance. Scarface is the best rapper alive period! Suck a dick till u hiccup to all the bashers of my post. The Uptown Stunta has spoken. Continue with your day peasants. (DR EVIL LAUGH) HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Thank god we have Dr. Cornel West to break it down for us, cuz we’d never be able to see that for ourselves.
@another mike NIGGA STFU !!! “my boys daddy is a retired FBI agent….he told us jay had shit on lock in NY all the way down to MD eastern shore” …LMAO stop lieing ! …. niggaz will do anything to defend there idol/god Jay-Z……. i just listened to them songz and i cant take them “Illuminati” lyrics seriously
HONESTLY I DON’T NEED THAT FROM JAY THOUGH…JUST ENTERTAIN ME. THE GAME NEEDS A VARIETY, DON’T EVERYBODY GOT TO BE TALKING ABOUT SOMETHING
IF I WANT TO HEAR A BEAUTIFUL SONG BOUT ASSATA SHAKUR…I LISTEN TO COMMON
IF I WANT TO DANCE OR WANT SOMETHING I CAN JUST JAM TO IN THE CAR…I LISTEN TO JAY
THE LANE JAY STAYS IN…IT WORKS, WHY CHANGE NOW. SOME IN THE GAME TO EDUCATE, SOME TO ENTERTAIN
See, If that was anybody else making statements about camel face like that they would be considered a hater….C’mon Son! JAY Z sucks and thats all that can be said. Call me a Jay hater all you want but the man aint dropped nothing to write home about in like close to 10yrs.
not the hugest Jay fan, but it’s mad cliché for so called “smart” people to always name the *so-called* positive rappers who have a quote unquote message. it’s lazy cultural criticism. it’s shortcuts. but that’s what i expect from C. West. when I was growing up, “positive” rappers had hits. made noise. i’m not interested in rappers who are so uninterested in the masses they don’t make music good enough to engage the masses. Public Enemy is the real blueprint. Musical geniuses, the whole team. Mos? Lupe? hello?
When your music is rooted from an honest emotional stand point. You have carrers such as jay-z’s I feel that he has matured perfectly with in his rhymes. His message is look at me i did it you can to. He excudes motivation if he didn’t make another rap record ever he would still be a standing pillar of motivation just due to his accomplishments. We forget he was piss poor with ashy knuckles, and from the ghetto. To make it to his stature politically and financially and to not have succumb to the woes of stardom ( drug addiction, fame addiction, Prison time. Cornel west should have really thought about his statment before he made it. And approached the topic from a much broader stand point. That was always jay’s best abilty to view things with a very broad range of vision. hence “one day you sitiing in the seven the next day alibis a matching up the bullshit cathcing up ready to start sniching aint u i get it husling just aint u” and so on it’s a million angles to a situation but to be able to calculate them all and bring that prospective to your listners is SHEER MOTIVATION… THREE DOTS FOR THE CONTINUUM…
Hov on dat new shit, niggas like how come?!..Mr West want Hov old shit, well buy his old albums!!..And everybody talkin bout he make music jus to make it is bullshit!..No one is mad at MJ for never leaving the NBA (Bobcats)..Hov said in 2001 on Addicted to the Game..I guess it’s jus the need to be heard, I need niggas to say I can’t believe your words!..I’m jus a addict addicted to music, thoughts is sporadic I gotta unconfuse it..It’s sorta like a Rubik’s Cube is..every album’s a color, but I fuck up the other..color!
@ so icy…
“jay talks about cars clothes and money”….this coming from a person who calls himself “so icy”….oh the irony
idiot
@noris and hollaback…preach bro
The Rap Jerry Rice is back to fulfill the need, tho he leads the league!
damn, it never fails to surprise me how many dick riding faggots there are in this world.
I can understand Kids worshipping Jay Z, but anybody older then 20 riding his negro need to look in the mirror and ask themselves where the fuck you’ve gone wrong in life, seriously. IF JAY Z IS SUCH A BOSS WHERE ARE THE BLACK DISTRIBUTORS? Or how about Movie Production? WHERE IS THE ROCAFELLA FILM LOT/STUDIO ??? If he’s a boss why ain’t he printing his own discs and making his own movies? If he’s such a boss why is he signing 360 deals where he has to perform for the next 10 years?Jay Z is damn near 45 years old, so he gonna be on stage rapping till he 55??? That ain’t a BOSS, that ain’t even an CAPO. Jay’s motivation is to sell more than Elvis ? How about being the next Jimmy Ivine ? See, Jay Z don’t wanna swerve in Jimmys lane, COS THATS A REAL BOSS RIGHT THERE. Ya boy Jay ain’t nothing but the first multi millonare minstrel. And the worse part, Black America is so fucked up in 2010 that the MONEY he’s made means that anybody who criticises him is called a hater, even Cornel West. WELL GUESS WHAT, BUSH GOT MORE PAPER THEN JIGGA SO IS ANYBODY SAYING FUCK BUSH A PLAYA HATER ??? …and people wonder why Hip Hop is dead, IT DIED WHILE JAY Z OLD ASS WAS RUNNING IT, don’t forget that.
what did Jay Z say about KATRINA ???
nothing, but he supposed to be the GOD EMCEE, the KING OF HIP HOP.
but he ain’t say SHIT after KATRINA ?
FUCK AN AMERICAN GANGSTA ALBUM, WHERE WAS THE KATRINA ALBUM ?
he need his Hip Hop pass revoked just for that.
Rodney King, for those old enough to remember, was a spark for Hip Hop in the 1990’s.
You mean to tell me all them people died in Katrina and Hip Hop was silent ?
SILENT and HIP HOP don’t mix.
sound like House Negroes are running this rap shit.
I let you tell it. ONE.
i don’t know why niggas expect Jay-Z to be a mirror image of talib kweli. he’s never been that. he’s always been on honest, and always had balanced, autobiographical subject matter. when you do that, “conscious rap” goes out the window.
name a conscious rapper who consistently talks about their life, past and present, and all its triumphs, victories, and defeats. the good and the bad. the complexities of LIFE. not a one…why? cuz they’re too busy talking about everyone else’s.
Ok i do agree that jay isn’t the same but someone please tell me,are you gonna rap the same in 2010 as you were rapping in 95,think about it people 15 years I could care less about jay-z i don’t no that nigga but for real you gotta give him credit he is still putting out music that is getting run and tell me who else is doing it the way he is at his age.
mr cornel or whoever …jay z doesn’t owe anyone ….nobody helped him get out of marcy projects …he did it by himself…the truth about black people is we destroy the reputations of our own people..just days before the man most of you are trying to question opened up doors for hiphop(superbowl cormecial)…its the same with will smith and movies …blacks can’t stand their own being sucessfull and i think we would continue to be poor forever …because all we do is try to blame…and you guys dn’t get it twisted am from ghana (africa) …and i appreciate jay z because he had the heart to work kofi annan to work on water for life project in africa….no one talks about the good things he’s been doing…..i ve not seen Mr west on that side of the world …soo he should go fcuk himself
NO..YOU GTFOH..WHO CARES THO..
@ Nathaniel
YEAH, U SEE IT HOW I SEE IT!!!! REAL RECOGNIZE REAL!!!! ONE!!!!
DON’T HATE ON MY OPINION!!!!
haha i love all the jay-z stans
cornell is clearly referring to the shit from bp3. american gangster was damn good (i’m not even a jay-z fan and i still copped it), but bp3 was pretty dumb.
Doesn’t anyone else notice how many crutches hov had on that shit??? Look at the line-up of producers and featured guests – it’s easy to look good when you’ve got that much talent around you.
Lyrcially, BP3 was disappointing. I don’t care if you pull out “Star Is Born” on me, because that’s one track on the whole album.
Sadly, the best lyrical song Jay leaked before bp3, “History”, wasn’t even on the album. smh
@ Respect Cornel West “what did Jay Z say about KATRINA ???
nothing, but he supposed to be the GOD EMCEE, the KING OF HIP HOP.
but he ain’t say SHIT after KATRINA ?”
Listen to “Minority Report” off Kingdom Come before posting ill-informed comments.
that water project in Africa that Jay Z was involved in was bullshit. he signed contracts to purchase and promote water pumps from a company called PLAY PUMPS INTERNATIONAL.
they make playground toys that pump water when kids play on them. Them shits cost 20K each.
For you dumb fucks that don’t know, thats like 20 times what a water pump should cost, so them shits is like Jay Z feeding the homeless on Platinum Plates with Gold Knives and Forks and shit.
Get the Fuck Outta Here… Africa don’t need no 20K water Pump, you can build a school WITH a pump for each Play Pump this house negro buying and promoting. This nigga the type to blow 20K like its nothing, so he don’t give a fuck about no African Kids. He got good publicists tho, damn.
& no need to tell you what kinda people own the company. Do you know how much money there is in the Charity Game? look how much money was raised for Haiti but people still starving. You think that money sitting in a Bank? Yo keep the convo Hip Hop and don’t try make this nigga out to be anything more than an old greedy nigga. cos thats all he is. A greedy old nigga that can rhyme.
@DASHING
ONE SONG ???
I SAY JAY AIN’T DO SHIT FOR THE SOUTH AND YOU QUOTE ME A FEW LINES ?
GET THE FUCK OUTTA HERE !!!!
WHERE WAS THE NATIONWIDE TOUR ??? JAY Z GOT THE MONEY AND POPULARITY TO DO A NATIONWIDE TOUR WITH PROCEEDS GOING TO KATRINA. DID HE COME TO YOUR CITY ? DID YOU PAY TO SEE JAY Z KNOWING MONEY WAS GOING TO KATRINA VICTIMS ? YO IF HE CAME TO MINE I MUSTA MISSED IT. DAMN.
HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE DEAD, MISSING AND MISS-PLACED, AND YOU WANNA TALK TO ME ABOUT ONE FUCKING SONG ?
BRAD PITT DID MORE FOR KATRINA THEN JAY Z, AIN’T THAT BOUT A BITCH ???
YOU JAY Z WORSHIPPERS NEED TO KILL YOURSELF.
LOL @ ILL-INFORMED COMMENTS
KILL YOURSELF.
Gay-Z still aint donate to Haiti ….he only donate to the “Illuminati”
The people that are saying Jay never had substance are having a different conversation than the rest of us. Even Mr. West named Reasonable Doubt and The Blueprint as examples that were substantive. I agree with Mr. West to an extent. For a while I do think Jay was unmotivated. Maybe he had proven all he had set out to and was a little bored with the game. That lack of motivation helped contribute to some subpar music by my standards for Jay. That bad music created doubters. Doubters who became more and more outspoken. Even among rap artists the hate went from a whisper to open disses on record. That doubt , and this is where I disagree with Mr. West, has been the new motivation for Jay. He’s hungry again to disprove the doubters. BP3 is the work of a motivated man and if Jay is back in full time artist mode the naysayers better get ready cause he can take it up a couple of levels from there flow-wise. He might be back for real next album.
I love Cornel West.
Reasonable Doubt was the best album he ever did, no doubt.
Ayo, Pac really was a prophet, he predicted this nigga Jay was a Bitch as Nigga from jump. lol
@ dudus u are 100% right and cos jay-z is very successful, piss poor niggas will continue to criticize him and the funny thing is he is more talented than all this fake ass niggas.
HOV IS THE TRUTH AND HATERS NEED TO STEP UR GAME UP
HOV THE G.O.A.T
Mr. West and anybody who says Jay has no substance to his music isn’t even listening. BP3 every song has a meaning and follows the theme of the title. To say a mc who has had the success that Jay has isn’t motivated is foolish. The fact that he dropped an album at a time when everybody was flopping and the talk was he old and washed up. He put his career on the line with this album I’m a Jay fan since ’98 i didn’t even want him to risk the legacy. He knew BP3 was fire the whole way through. He released the album and crushed his critics again like he has done his whole career. Jay could make albums in his sleep no writers block all these years? no drug addiction, no jail time. I remember when Jay was going to retire, finally the haters would admit he the best and nobody fucking with him. I used to not like Jordan cause he used to kill the Knicks but after he retired i realized i wouldn’t let myself like him cause he was soo good and everybody else liked him. So I understand if you wasn’t down with Jay before he blew up not wanting to jump on the bandwagon, but to say he not motivated or aint no substance in his raps means you aint listening. How you gonna consistently sell the records he sold without substance???
@ so icy boi
U EVERYWHERE HATING ON JAY-Z , I SEE U ON HIPHOPDX (DUKE BOY). DOES CURTIS WOODFACE “FLOPPING” JACKSON AKA 50 CENT PAY U AS HIS INTERNET THUG TO DO THE HATE ON HOV COS EVERY THING U SAY ABOUT JAY IS NOT FACTUAL COS JAY HELPED HAITI RAISED OVER 80 MILLION DOLLARS AND U STILL IN DENIAR ABOUT THE G.O.A. T HOV.
WHILE HOV PERFORMS AT WORLDSERIES AND SUPERBOWL CURTIS FLOPPING JACKSON PERFORMS AT WINTER X GAMES.
GTFOH WITH THE SHIT
AMEN I AGREE WITH HIM REASONABLE DOUBT WAS THE REAL JAY-Z
@az5lyrics WTF is you talkin about nigga i dnt be on no HIPHOPDX …WTF 50 Cent gotta do wit dis?? i dnt fuk wit 50 Cent ….nigga i bet you is “another mike” …switching screen names LAME ……defending somebody who dnt giv a fuk about you
Truth Hurts. And that is a true statement. Like it or not Rap Radar. This site is a trip lol.
i cant believe the shit people make up to hate somebody. hes illuminati, he didnt donate to haiti, he didnt help katrina victims….wtf..how do you know? does his every move need to be made public to prove something to you assholes? and wtf does that any of that have to do with the music? what does his personal business have to do with you? why are you worried about what the next man is doing? YOU go help katrina victims, YOU go donate to haiti, YOU go help the homeless
the same shit you are hating him for is the SAME shit you probably arent doing either….
morons
^^^ Awww YOU MAD!!? ……….LMAO
KEEP HATING! Even with all that he still referred to Jay as a GENIUS! HA HA!
DID, OR DID NOT THIS NEGRO JAY Z GIVE A BENEFIT CONCERT FOR THE NYPD ???
I REPEAT,
DID OR DID NOT JIGGA MAN DO A BENEFIT CONCERT FOR COPS ???
STFU.TAKING BOUT, HOW DO WE KNOW WHAT HE DOES AND DOESN’T DO.
YOUR RIGHT, WHO KNOWS WHAT HE DID FOR KATRINA
NOBODY SAW HIM DO SHIT
SO HE CERTAINLY DIDN’T DO A BENEFIT CONCERT FOR KATRINA
BUT UMMM……THAT HOUSE NEGRO DEF DID A NYPD BENEFIT CONCERT THO.
HE DIDN’T DO THAT SHIT QUIETLY, HE DID A FUCKING BIG ASS SHOW.
SO NO SHOW FOR KATRINA, AND NO SHOW FOR HAITI
BUT A BENEFIT SHOW FOR THE NYPD.
YOU FUCKERS BETTER WAKE THE FUCK UP, CORNEL WEST BEING POLITE.
MR JIGGA AIN’T HIP HOP NO MORE.
HE A FUCKING UPPPITY HOUSE NEGRO.
SOMEBODY NEED TO TELL HIM HIP HOP AND COPS DON’T MIX.
THATS WHY HIP HOP IS DEAD, IT AIN’T REAL NO MORE.
GTFOH…. JAY Z GROUPIES.
NIGGA COULD POSE FOR PIC WITH THE DEVIL HIMSELF AND YA’LLD DEFEND HIM
I actually agree with Professor West, but I have a different point of contention: the same “unmotivated Genius” argument could be had about you sir.
‘Race Matters’ is a classic, and your American Evasion of Philosophy: A Geneology Pragmatism is a must read for American philosophers (I found your thoughts on Reinhold Neighbor most insightful), but what’s going on now? Have you completely resigned yourself to being a well-paid (very well) talking head, and private tutor for privileged white students? How about getting back to hardcore race philosophy (every movement has theoreticians, though unseen they may be), and helping Prof. Ogletree get my nigga Shyne back in the States? Oh, and please tell your boy Michael Eric Dyson he’s embarrassing us with all that wack ass freestyling.
As for the comments on Jay, I’m a Jay fan. BP3 was good, but we expect greatness from Jay everytime. To that end, I think its obvious that Jay has lost a step.
^^^”DEAD” @Respect Cornel West real shit you tellin the truth
@Respect Cornel West you know what it is about you that you don’t realize. I look at Jay as a regular person who made it. You expect because he made it to do this and that cause he got money. Everything you saying Jay could of done or should have done you can do yourself. Why you looking to Jay to do all those things? We all fucked up with Katrina and left our people to die. What Jay know about rebuilding a city after a Hurricane? Some things are about more then just money. Wyclef had that telethon and we raised $80 mil for Haiti we not making the same mistakes this time around. All that money raised and supplies still can’t get there fast enoungh. Sounds like alot of Hate kid you posted like 8 times some random wackness. Clean your face..
Jay raps about whats real to him, run this town can get the club popping and its still not your typical club track. New York is real to him. On to the next one, what you want me to say.. the man has a million ways to get money thats straight for the clubs and anyone tryna get that money. THOSE WERE THE SINGLES TO DATE. Not counting death of auto-tune which was kinda street singley but that track had a pretty direct message with some REAL statements. BP3 is a classic, because hov pushed the envelope, its maad innovative and just different. Hov isnt on that reasonable doubt shit because his life no longer reflects strictly tales of a hustler composed of 4+ syllable words just to sound lyrical. He has tracks for every occassion on every album including this one. SO AMBITIOUS was motivation. Star is Born showed mad respect. Real as it gets is big on the streets. Thank You and what we talkin bout were dope!! man all them shits were perfect, an album should be versatile and artists should be versatile too. MAC DIESELS A BITCH
106, thats a bullshit response to the things im saying. re-read your post then read mine.
out of everything I said, all you can reply is “im hating”
YOU sound like a kid, son. Brad Pitt, an Actor, has done more for Katrina then Jay Z.
I don’t have to say anything other then that – that says everything.
Nobody is expecting Jay to do good things in the Hood, or abroad in Poor Nations.
But God Damn.
Shawn Carter DID DO a Benefit Show for NYPD Officers, thats fouler then eating Pork.
he does that, but doesn’t do benefit concerts for the poor and hurt ?
KATRINA AIN’T “OVER” PEOPLE ARE STILL HOMELESS !!!!
I read where you said “Jay Z has made it” – Whatever. Have your Opinion and Values.
I have mine. Fuck Jay Z. and that ain’t hate, thats just keeping it real.
Lil Wayne Got Money too, guess callin him a faggot for Kissing Men is hate too right ?
106 could be white for all I know,
but all I DO know is African Americans need to get Right, bcuz this shit is aaall wrong.
one more thing, why DO people keep saying Jay “MADE IT”
where exactly did it “make it” ? how ? doing what ?
Is everybody supposed to aspire to be Jay Z ?
a nation of Jay Z’s ? hell, a nation of NBA stars and Comedians ?
Keep it real with yourselves, Jay ain’t make shit cept money.
Anybody supporting their family and handling business “made it”
You a regular Joe and you take care of you and yours ? YOU MADE IT SON !!!
thats real.
nigga ain’t gotta be on a Yatch with 100K of Jewelery to “Make It”
nigga ain’t gotta have Jay Z bank balance to “Make it”
just handle your business and your family and guess what ? YOU MADE IT.
people gotta stop believing the dreams being sold by rappers these days.
LMAO @ HE MADE IT.
Ya’ll need to go over to YouTube and listen to that KRS and BuckShot
song called “MADE IT” – everything they rappin about is really “Making it”
Cuz if “making it” means doing Benefit shows for KKKiller KKKops….
….I hope to God I don’t make it like Jay Z. and thats 100.
Props to Cornel West.
@ illaDeuce
WOW, WUT A REACH!!!! IF U WANTED SOME ATTENTION ALL U HAD TO DO WAS ASK!!!! NO NEED FOR THE NAME CALLIN’!!!! DAMN, U FEMALES BE ACTIN’ FUNNY SOMETIMES!!!!! BUHAHAHAHA!!!! SHITTIN’ ON U BITCHES IS LIKE CLOCKWORK!!!!!
“WUT THESE BITCHES WANT FROM A NIGGA….SOMEBODY LET ME KNOW”- DMX (WUT THESE BITCHES WANT)
DON’T HATE ON MY OPINION!!!!
I know he did that benefit concert but not because he came up with the idea. Somebody brought that idea to the table. I’m sure he wanted to promote BP3 on a live show on tv and it was political to prolly get that push so the Governor can approve that Nets stadium. Jay was retired when Katrina happened also so keep that in mind. Jay is a business man and i know thats no excuse but its the truth. Jay did that benefit concert for the firefighters and the widows of those that lost there life on 9/11. It’s all political now.
HE DID THE BENEFIT CONCERT BECAUSE THAT WAS THE ALBUM RELEASE DATE FOR BP1 N BP3!!!! IT WAS A MARKETING MOVE!!!! IF BP3 WAS GONNA DROP IN NOVEMBER, HE WOULDN’T DO NO CONCERT FOR NYPD OR NYFD!!!! N ALL THE COPS THAT DIED THAT DAY WEREN’T ALL BAD COPS I’M SURE!!!!! SMARTEN UP NIGGAS!!!!
DON’T HATE ON MY OPINION!!!!
He’s speakin the fuckin truth nigga!…Da fuck does Jay-Z rap about??…I’m tired of faggot-ass Hov fans actin like this nigga can do no wrong
@ Respect Cornel West
First, don’t say Jay didn’t say anything about Katrina when he recorded a song about it. You are ill-informed and that’s beng polite.
Also, on Katrina, Jay-z donated $1 million to the relief fund for Katrina and raised money from other celebrities(including getting Diddy to match his $1 million) like Lebron James and others.
Jay-z recorded a sung with U2 where ALL proceeds went to Haitian relief.
Jay-z got a Humanitarian award from the UN for his work bringing attention to the water shortage in Africa. It built over 1,000 pumps in African communities.
Jay-z did a benefit concert where the proceeds went to the FAMILIES of the firefighters and police officers that died saving lives on 9/11.
Jay -z has also donated and raised millions of dollars in education in the arts and after-school programs for students in NY. Many of which he doesn’t go out of his way to promote. Ever heard of the Shawn Carter Scholarship Fund? Didn’t think so.
Bottom line. Jay is not a savior, but he’s done A LOT for his community. More than Eminem, Nas, 50 Cent, Common, Talib Kweli, and most of his contemporaries.
^^ NO he didnt
LMAO @illaDeuce quote “MAC DIESELS A BITCH” @mac DIESEL “WUT THESE BITCHES WANT FROM A NIGGA….SOMEBODY LET ME KNOW”- DMX (WUT THESE BITCHES WANT) ……???
Nigga dat shit was lame! only lame niggaz would use a DMX voice
^^ How bout you explain what “No he didn’t ” means and back it up with some facts?
I agree with Mr. West. BP3 was quality, but Jay-Z hasn’t rap with the same ambition and motivation as he had back during the first Blueprint. BP3 was more of a platform for Jay-Z to crossover, like he has been trying to do since In My Lifetime Volume 1 when he did the record with Babyface and shot that outlandish video to support the record. Finally though with this recent record Jay-Z has done the complete successful crossover. The reason for the crossover success are the first two singles, which are mainly driven by the females on the hook. Honestly if you want to hear clever lines from Jay-z you either need to hear him on current freestyles or guest appearances on remixs. Outside of that, Jay-Z is trying to gain as much cross appeal as possible and he does that by dumbing down his lyrics and not being that conscious. To him this is just business and him and Beyonce are trying to make as much off of this music industry as possible. I cant plan them, but I do miss the motivation behind Jay-z’s lyrics. I guess we need to just need to appreciate the young talent coming up, such as J Cole and Joell Ortiz.
plan = blame
@ dashing first of all I wanna agree with you..the difference is that jay has long given to charities and causes but he doesn’t go out of his way alot of times to promote cause he even said it himself it looks like it’s jus for attention not only has he donated money in larger amounts than any “concious” rapper could…he also donated and continued to wit his last concert at the garden for sept 11th and put money in the bank for Sean bells children…as far as the music goes people have for a long time skimmed thru jays albums and lines and fail to notice dude is more concious than your fav concious mc…but he is also versital which makes a great mc…I could list the songs but there’s no need because those who really know his catalog already kno..I do like cornel west but I think it’s very arrogant to assume what drives or motivates a man that you don’t kno..like cornel but do many of his views still support a Eurocentric idea at times..yes..but shall we question his motivation…american gangster was a complete socially and politically concious walk the through 80s crack epidemic on both a small and large scale..not only was he talkin bout his block but how the governments provides the reason for the drug trade to happen “whereever there’s oppression the drug trade flourishes”..many “concious” rappers make great music but couldn’t make an American gangster because they didn’t live that life..and that’s jus one line..bp3 was to keep movin forward and make music from a real place no matter what people feel u should do to make them feel better…if the man made 11 resonable doubts there would b no growth and it wouldn’t be classic because everything would sound..it’s all bout progressin and maturing within the music and not tryin as a grown man to make the 106 and park hit
First of all Artists move on to the next one. Jay Z isn’t living that hard knock life who wants to hear any artists talk about the same things. A real Artist evolves, at this point its for fun for Jay he has broken records crossed over he’s good. Are some of you I would donate to my preference of a charity come on now, who says you have to donate to every damn charity beat it with that shit, because most of you crucifying him haven’t donated a thing. How about respecting where he came from and how most brothers never make it out of there. I look at the positive he’s matured makes music for everyone now not just the hood. Rappers making music only for the hood stays there they o not accomplish what Jay has he’s has a black audience as well as white and he’s catering to that. Respect his artistry and what he’s accomplished paving a way for other rappers. We have enough people hating on rap and people in general. On to the next one show love. Opinions are like rectums everyone has one you read it and move on we are all entitled to free speech
@ Dashin – MY RESPONSES ARE IN CAPS SO U SEE THE SHIT CLEARLY…..
First, don’t say Jay didn’t say anything about Katrina when he recorded a song about it. You are ill-informed and that’s beng polite.
FUCK ARE YOU BLIND ? I ALREADY ADDRESSED THAT. WHEN I SAID HE DIDN’T SAY SHIT I MEAN REAL SHIT NOT A FUCKING SONG. FUCK A SONG. SPIKE LEE SAID BUSH BLEW THE LEVIES. THATS SOME SERIOUS SHIT. THATS MURDER. SPIKE MADE A DOCUMENTARY TO PROVE IT, HENCE SPIKE DID SOME REAL SHIT, BUT WTF DID JAY DO ? A SONG ? GTFOH.
Also, on Katrina, Jay-z donated $1 million to the relief fund for Katrina and raised money from other celebrities(including getting Diddy to match his $1 million) like Lebron James and others.
SO FUCKING WHAT HE DONATED 1 MILLION, DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY MILLIONS BRAD PITT HAS DONATED TO NEW ORLEANS ? DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY HOMES HE HAS PAID FOR AND HOW MANY HOMES HE’S AGREED TO HELP BUILD OVER THE NEXT 5 YEARS ? ITS A FACT BRAD PITTS COMPANY IS RETURNING MORE PEOPLE TO THE 9TH WARD THEN THE GOVERNMENT. THE GOV WANNA GRAB THE LAND. HOW BRAD PITT STANDING UP TO THE GOVEMENT BUT THAT BITCH ASS HOUSE NIGGA JAY Z AIN’T ? FUCK HIS ONE MILLION, THATS BUGATII MONEY, BEYONCE GOT THAT ON HER FINGER.
Jay-z recorded a sung with U2 where ALL proceeds went to Haitian relief.
ALL THE PROFITS AYE ? WOOP-DI-FUCKING -DOO. JAY Z DO BENEFOT CONCERTS FOR NYPD OFFICERS WHO LOCK BROTHERS UP OVER ROCAFELLA LAWS, BUT HE ONLY DO A SONG FOR MILLIONS OF PEOPLE SUFFERING IN HAITI. U SOUND AS CONFUSED AS JAY.
Jay-z got a Humanitarian award from the UN for his work bringing attention to the water shortage in Africa. It built over 1,000 pumps in African communities.
MAN, YOU MUST BE BLIND AND DUMB, I ALREADY ANSWERED THIS, THOSE 1000 PUMPS WERE SOME BULLSHIT OVERPRICED PUMPS THAT COST 20K EACH. A NORMAL WATER PUMP INSTALLED BY CHARITIES ACROSS POOR PARTS OF AFRICA COST ONLY 1K SO INSTEAD OF 1000 PUMPS HE COULDA INSTALLED 20’000. I PUT DOWN THE COMPANIES NAME, LOOK THEM UP, THEY ARE A BUSINESS NOT A CHARITY. JAY Z DID BUSINESS WITH THEM. THAT 20K PER WATER PUMP SHIT IS LIKE FEEDING STARVING PEOPLE CAVIAR.
REAL WATER PUMPS COST 1K, OTHER REAL CHARITIES WAS DISSING THAT 20K SHIT. YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT YOUR TALKING ABOUT – AND FUCK THE UN – ITS FORIEGN UN SOLDIERS RAPING AFRICAN GIRS THEY SUPPOSED TO BE PROTECTING, FUCK A UN AWARD, THEYA BUNCH OF FUCKING WAR CRIMINALS.
Jay-z did a benefit concert where the proceeds went to the FAMILIES of the firefighters and police officers that died saving lives on 9/11.
MAN FUCK THE POLICE. AND FUCK BUSH. AND FUCK THE ROCAFELLA LAWS –
HOW HE DOING BENEFIT CONCERTS FOR PIGS FAMILIES BEFORE HE DO BENEFIT CONCERT FOR KATRINA FAMILIES ? BEFORE HAITI FAMILIES ? 911 WAS 9 YEARS AGO AND THE 911 FAMILIES GOT MORE THEN ENOUGH GOVERNMENT MONEY. HAITIAN PEOPLE ARE STARVING AS I TYPE. FUCK THE PIGS FULL FUCKING STOP, THIS IS HIP HOP NOT WE ARE THE WORLD. SAME POLICE LOCKING BROTHERS UP ??? FUCK THE POLICE.
Jay -z has also donated and raised millions of dollars in education in the arts and after-school programs for students in NY. Many of which he doesn’t go out of his way to promote. Ever heard of the Shawn Carter Scholarship Fund? Didn’t think so.
MAN, FUCK A SCHOLARSHIP FUND. TUPAC SHAKUR GOT A SCHOLARSHIP FUND AND THE BROTHER BEEN DEAD FOR MAD YEARS, EVERYBODY AND THEY MOMMA GOT A SCHOLARSHIP FUND, SO WHAT IF JAY Z GOT ONE ? YOUR MISSING THE POINT SON, JAY THE TYPE OF DUDE THAT WILL DO SHOWS FOR THE NYPD BUT RELEASE A SINGLE FOR PEOPLE DYING AND SUFFERING. FUCK JAY Z.
BUT YO, DASHIN, I HOPE YOU AIN’T THINK IM WRITING ALL THIS FOR YOU, I COULDN’T GIVE TWO FUCKS ABOUT YOUR OPINIONS AND YOU SHOULDN’T GIVE A FUCK ABOUT MINE, THIS IS JUST FOR PEOPLE TO READ BOTH SIDES OF THE ARGUEMENT AND FORM THEIR OWN OPINION. I AGREE WITH CORNEL WEST, JAY Z AIN’T SAYING SHIT NO MORE, BP3 WAS WACK AS FUCK, AND THE NEXT DECADE HE FACING IS 50. THIS NIGGA NEARLY 50 YEARS OLD AND HE STILL TALKING ABOUT HOW RICH HE IS, BUT WHEN IT COMES TO REAL SHIT IN HIS COMMUNITY AT HOME AND ABROAD THIS NIGGA ACT LIKE HE BROKE, GOT WHITE ACTORS LIKE GEORGE CLOONEY AND BRAD PITT REPPIN HARDER THEN HE IS. THATS WHY I SAY FUCK JAY Z – BUT HEY, YOU WANNA SUCK JAY Z DICK ALL YOUR LIFE I AIN’T GONNA STOP YOU, ITS A FREE COUNTRY RIGHT ? JUST DON’T CHOKE, LET THAT BITCH BREATHE, AND USE PROTECTION OK ? FAGGOT MOTHER FUCKER, IS THAT ENOUGH FACTS FOR YOU ?
CO SIGN….THINK THE HIP HOP WORLD HAS KNOWN THIS FOR A WHILE….RAPRADAR JUS WONT ADMIT IT LOL!!!
@ so icy boi!
U BEYOND IRRELEVANT!!!! U ARE EVEYTHING NOBODY WANTS TO BE!!!! U A TYPICAL COTTON PICKIN’ SOUTHERN COON ASS BAMA FIELD NIGGA!!!! WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME U HAD A PIECE OF ASS NIGGA???? C’MON SON!!!! STOP SWEATIN’ A NIGGA N FUCK A CHICK ALREADY!!!! BUHAHAHA!!!! U FUCKIN’ BUM!!!!!
DON’T HATE ON MY OPINION!!!!!
@ respect cornell west
WHAT HAVE U DONATED?? WHAT TIME HAVE U DEDICATED TO HEPLIN’ THE UNDERPRIVILEDGED?? IT AIN’T COMPETITION WHEN U DONATIN’ MONEY N HEPLIN’ OTHERS!!!! MILLION DOLLARS OR 50 MILLION!!!! WHO FUCKIN’ CARES!!!! IT’S THE THOUGHT BEHIND THE ACTION IS WUT COUNTS!!!! I THINK U SHOULD BE BEEFIN’ WIT THE GOVERNMEMT RATHER THAN JAY Z ABOUT THE WHOLE KATRINA RELIEF EFFORTS!!!! THAT’S THE REAL CULPRIT!!!! NOT A RAP STAR!!!! PAY ATTENTION NIGGA!!!!
DON’T HATE ON MY OPINION!!!!
@Respect Cornel West
“YO, DASHIN, I HOPE YOU AIN’T THINK IM WRITING ALL THIS FOR YOU, I COULDN’T GIVE TWO FUCKS ABOUT YOUR OPINIONS”
I guess that there will be no response to this comment then.
“SPIKE MADE A DOCUMENTARY TO PROVE IT, HENCE SPIKE DID SOME REAL SHIT, BUT WTF DID JAY DO ? A SONG ? GTFOH”
Spike Lee = filmmaker. Jay-z= rapper. Did you expect Spike Lee to make a rap song about it? Then why would Jay make a movie about it? Also, it seems silly to criticize someone who’s probably done more for New Orleans and Haiti than any of us commenting have. Don’t you think?
To sum up your comments:
Film on Katrina = “REAL SHIT”
Song on Katrina = bullshit
Cops = Evil
9/11 victims = rich off government money
UN = raping soldiers/war criminals
Donating a million dollars to Katrina = Not helping Katrina enough
Donating expensive water pumps to Africa = Not helping Africa enough
Scholarship funds = bullshit
Things seem real black-and-white in your world.
And Jay-z didn’t/doesn’t do showS for the NYPD. He did ONE concert. On 9/11. And it was because his album was dropping that day to coincide with the anniversary of the first Blueprint which dropped on 9/11/01. As mac DIESEL said, It was a good PR move for him to donate the $ for that show since it was on 9/11. So to say he DOES concerts for the NYPD is either an ignorant statement or a willfully misleading one.
And why go after Jay-z? Why not Michael Jordan too? Michael Jackson? 50 Cent? Tiger Woods? And Will Smith? And every other black celebrity that we can say “isn’t doing enough.” compared to Brangelina and George Clooney.
And another thing… ah, nevermind
I’m getting tired of going back and forth shit cause I truthfully don’t care about this shit that much. Let’s just agree to disagree..
I agree that BP3 was just aight and a’int fuckin with BP1 or RD (or AG or BA for that matter). BUT Jay has been puttin out deep songs, even on some of his wack albums. And when you put out 11 albums, it IS possible that some people won’t like some of them. Having 2 certified classics (and maybe 3, with The Black Album) is still better than most.
Either way, we disagree but screaming in caps and calling me a faggot doesn’t make your point any stronger. You have some valid points that you make but you do yourself a disservice by screaming at strangers in the comments section. It’s clear that you’re very passionate about Jay-z and feel a way about him. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
Finally Somebody else say’s what I’ve been saying since He did it.
It was also for The Rocawear Photoshoot.
Everything that Dude does is to Benefit Himself.
Michael Jackson Did tours and donated All of His Monies to Charity.
Jay Could do the same but You know that He would Never
———————————————–
Respect Cornel West says:
that water project in Africa that Jay Z was involved in was bullshit. he signed contracts to purchase and promote water pumps from a company called PLAY PUMPS INTERNATIONAL.
they make playground toys that pump water when kids play on them. Them shits cost 20K each.
For you dumb fucks that don’t know, thats like 20 times what a water pump should cost, so them shits is like Jay Z feeding the homeless on Platinum Plates with Gold Knives and Forks and shit.
Get the Fuck Outta Here… Africa don’t need no 20K water Pump, you can build a school WITH a pump for each Play Pump this house negro buying and promoting. This nigga the type to blow 20K like its nothing, so he don’t give a fuck about no African Kids. He got good publicists tho, damn.
& no need to tell you what kinda people own the company. Do you know how much money there is in the Charity Game? look how much money was raised for Haiti but people still starving. You think that money sitting in a Bank? Yo keep the convo Hip Hop and don’t try make this nigga out to be anything more than an old greedy nigga. cos thats all he is. A greedy old nigga that can rhyme.
Its funny how soon people forget about what people have done
Not only did Jay Z donate a million dollars of his money to Katrina and raised another few million for that cause, actually shot a music video for the song he did and donated everything from that to the Katrina fund
Donated millions for 911 every year since
Donated all the concert money from the Colombine shootings
Donated another few million for the Haiti relief
Water in Africa
And foundations and scholorship programs in NY for kids
I mean wtf? I like Lupe and Talib but what have they done besides just talk about things? They nice and they talk about a lot of stuff but they have no large fan base, so who’s hearing them? Jay says a few things but people dont want to hear that from him, they’ll skip that and go to “On To The Next One”
@Myke Wayne
I let you tll it fam, I know about it being a Rocawear photo op too, but these stans can only handle so much truth at one time. Peep this, there was a reporter that was there at the shoot, and they was shooting a scene where a bunch of African School GIrls were jogging or running, and because Jay Z wasn’t happy with the shot he kept telling the Photographers/Directors to re-take the scene again and again and again, and the journalist who did the article said that after a few takes, which take ages to set up and shoot, the Girls were complaining about needing to use the bathroom etc, and they were getting tired of running – but Jay the hustler just wanted his perfect shot before they lost the light at sun set, and he didn’t want to stay another day in Africa, so he pretty much forced the photo shoot to continue till he got the shot he wanted. Now im not saying Jay Z is Hitler, im just sayin THAT was a glimpse into his mindstate when he was in Africa, he was bout his Dollar not his people.
The thing is, Apart from the 20K Play Pump thing, he ain’t done shit in Africa, yet Jay Z recently keeps refering to himself as the new Mickael Jackson, saying he’s as big as Michael was. Saying that shit with a str8 face. People forget that Michael Jackson gave away MORE MONEY then he KEPT. Jackson is in the Guiness Book of Records for giving the most money away to charity EVER. Nobody gave away more money and helped more poor people then Michael Jackson. thats a Fact, and thats why People love Michael, not just his music, but his love of his people.
Its cool tho, let Jay Z keep comparing himself to Michael Jackson, shits funny, his time will come, the Powers That Be always come back for their pound of Flesh. And people only believe bullshit for so long. Jay like 42 years old, maybe when he get to 50 and he still rapping about how anybody wearing a button up is a Bum, maybe then people will see the house negro for what he really is. Funniest thing is nobody on here has anything to say when I tell em that Brad Pitt and George Clooney do more for Africa then Jay Z. Silence…… Jay Z has become an embarrassment, and Cornel West was simply being polite about it.
^^ Brad Pitt and George Clooney did more for New Orleans than 99% of people. That’s a testament to them. Not a knock on everyone else.
And Michael Jackson didnt donate nothin for Katrina. he just recorded a song so he did less than Jay , who recorded a song AND ponied up a mil.
Getting back to the substance of what Cornel West was saying really doesn’t have anything to do with “changing the world” or charity anyway. There was nothing about that on Reasonable Doubt, which was an album about a a hustler, drug dealer coming to grips with the choices he was making. It was substantive and a great piece of art, but didn’t try to encourage people to give back to the community. Likewise, Blueprint is a classic album and certainly substantive, but it doesn’t try to change the world. It’s definitely a fair criticism to say that Jay-z isn’t as motivated as he was then. On Reasonable Doubt, all he had was hip hop and drug dealing. On Blueprint, he was trying to establish himself as the best (over Nas, Eminem and others). Now, he’s already done that and he’s older, richer, and married. It’s understandable that he wouldn’t have the same hunger.
Though I’ll put up American Gangster and Black Album against anyone else’s third and 4th best albums.
@ Dashing
YO U AIN’T GOTTA EXPLAIN YASELF!!!!! THIS DUDE GOT THIS PERSONAL GRIPE WIT JAY!!!! IT SOUNDS PERSONAL TO ME!!!! THAT NIGGA MUSTA DONE A HELL ALOT FOR HIM TO QESTION ANOTHER NIGGA’S CHARITY WORK!!!! FUNNY HOW THIS NIGGA AIN’T NEVER MENTION WUT HE’S DONE AS FAR AS DONATIONS N DOING OTHER CHARITY WORK!!!! THIS DUDE GOTTA BE CORNEL WEST SON!!!! HA!!! COSIGN YA LAST POST!!!! REAL RECOGNIZE REAL!!!! ONE!!!!
DON’T HATE ON MY OPINION!!!!
Mac Diesel, you write like a white boy, stop saying “nigga”
I don’t care how many Jay albums you bought.
And if you are Black, Slap yourself for shouting at the computer. How you more mad then Dashing and I ain’t even address you once ? No wonder you huggin Jays nutts so hard, you a got a compulsive nutt huggin disorder. Slap yourself for that too. Why would I come online and list the work I do for charity ? Clearly I have an interest in Charity hence my posts, but this thread ain’t about me its about Jay Z, what kinda clown come online tryna gain a rep? You perhaps ? Slap yourself again.
@ dashing and respect c west
I agree and disagree with the both of u to an extent. What respect c west said about “making it” is some real shit, and dashing also makes good points. What kinda fucks y’all up is,imho, rcw’s disslike for j and dashings obvious love for him. I think if y’all were more or less unbias to the argument u would find common ground. Y’all r like two religions arguing the same point with obvois biases to ur points of views. I for one agree with c.west as a fan of jay who is unbias in my opinoin of him or anybody else. He’s always gunna have the talent, but a boxer doesn’t have to lose his skills to see he’s clearly not in a fight or a basketball player to see he’s clearly not into the game…..I respect both y’all opinions and anybody lookin from the outside in can put the positives of both y’all arguments and come up with a great common knowledge about y’all arguments
@ epinz
yeah, your post is how I see it, I don’t personally give a fuck about Dashin’s opinion per se, i was just posting a viewpoint about Jay so whoever reads the thread can balance it out and make their own opinion. thats when these threads work the best and people reading can learn new shit. Of course, you still get the occasional faggot, keyboard gangsta or weirdo online, but that comes with this shit i guess. but overall Cornel West has raised a good point. Jay pushing 50 years old soon, he gotta switch it up if he wanna keep rapping. For instance KRS got enough range of topics to rap forever, so I ain’t hating on Jay age, im just saying Jay taking about the same ole shit into his late 40’s ain’t a good look its kinda embarrassing. Ideally he shoulda retired after Black Album but GREED brought him back – this guy really think he the Mike Jordan of Recording……
….senile dementia I guess.
People give to the charities they want to. It doesn’t get you to heaven quicker donating neither is it any one’s place to judge any one’s donations. If I’m from NY I will take care of my environment first before I help any where else. As for hunger and making an impression, Jay Z has already left us with a legacy. He is not Cornel West trying to educate our youth, he is speaking of his truth. Every one does not want to change the world nor should they be pressured upon to do so. We all have a part to play in this world. Jay Z has inspired many and entertains. He is an impeccable business man amongst other qualities he doesn’t have to display for fame, those are his attributes. How can you expect to impose what you value on others? We all have a different purpose. He has helped our world in many ways by paving a way for others, breaking records. His body of work speaks in high volume, you have to give credit where it is due only haters can not see an extraordinary individual.
I find it immature to insult people for their opinions and beliefs especially in a forum for discussion. This is what’s wrong with our world today, we can’t agree to disagree always want to infringe our beliefs on others which is uneducated. I salute any one who can influence others positively to succeed. If you want a role model look towards your family members and people who want that role model position. Jay Z continues to break records and still maintains to sell and progress with today’s music something most of the rappers can’t do. If he donated to one charity, touched one life he has helped our community all it takes is one act. We are not in the olympics to see which celebrity can be the most charitable or look good for society’s ideal. He has done more than most rappers can dream about, more than our youngsters can conceive. Let’s congratulate and dicrease the amount of hate because it’s so infantile. Jay Z I salute because you have done enough and inspired plenty. No one but a higher power knows what that man does and especially whats in his heart. Stop questioning one being genuine because we can never know who is donating sincerely.
@epinz,
I appreciate your balanced perspective but I disagree with your premise that I’m biased. I will admit that I think Jay is probably the best rapper alive (Nas, an extremley close second). I don’t think that makes me a dickrider or gives me an obvious bias because I think it’s based on the facts. ( # of albums critcally praised, # of records sold, influence over other rappers/producers, consistency over a long period of time).
That said, do I think that he beat Nas in his battle? No. Do I think he could outrap Lupe bar for bar today? Maybe, but probably not. If he did a track with Eminem, would he get outrapped again? Probably. BP3 is certainly not classic at all, BUT it’s telling that it’s still a top 3 album of the year last year (Behind Rae and Mos).
It’s also factually untrue when folks say Jay always raps about the same things. Then when he makes Kingdom Come (an album with a ton of problems, and almost as bad as BP2) where he raps personally about his new multi-millionare 30-plus lifestyle, it flops and people knock “30 something” and “Beach Chair” “I Made It” and “Hollywood” which were authentic songs about his current sucessful lifestlye. Then when he goes back to gangsta on AG, people love it again. Then when he goes back to commercial on BP3, people love that again but then say he raps the same every time.
BP3 sounds nothing like AG (thematically or in the production). Neither sound like Kingdom Come (thematically or in the production). And none of them sound like The Black Album (thematically or in the production).
Fact is we don’t have a template for what older rappers are supposed to do. Should he go the Raekwon route and redo his first album to great success(see also Meth and Red, CNN, AZ)? Should he keep talking about how life of a multi-millionaire businessman is and really “keep it real”? Should he just keep making hits? I don’t know, but either way, the fact that we’re still having this argument means we’re still all listening to every word.
BP3 is a wack album , if you listen to it half the album is spent reminding his fans how great he is and what he’s done for Hip Hop. Its a Commercial Pop Album. He disses AutoTune to raise publicity, then uses Autotune onthe Album. Maybe im missing something or maybe I been listening for Hip Hop too long, but I remember when Jay Z was wearing Hawaiian Shirts, thats round the time he was supposed to be a big time drug dealer. Its like when fans talk about Jay’s growth they talking his fictional growth and not his actual growth. Anyway, maybe one of you dedicated fans can help explain WHAT exactly Jay Z has done for Hip Hop? How has he helped or furthered it? I can see how he’s benefited FROM Hip Hop but his input back has been minimal. We know Jaz O, Nas and Biggie inspired HIM, but who did he inspire? All I know is even the most ARDENT rocafella stan cannot deny Hip Hop is Dead on a mainstream level, and they also cannot deny that the meteoritic rise of Jay Z coincided with Raps decline. Even when Vol 3 dropped, Big Pun was alive, DMX just released Hell is Hot, Ja dropped I came I saw, Eminem dropped Slim Shady. It was only once Hip Hop started to decline that Jay Z became really popular. I’ll give him that, he’s smart.
If we’re talking business, yeah, Jigga is a smart individual, but musically? c’mon son. when the remys in the system… all those commerical tracks he put out aged 38 talking all that shit, biting Biggie Smalls lyrics. Nah, plus when he was at Def Jam as President the only Hip Hop artists he pushed was Officer RIck Ross and Jeezy. Overall the only legacy Jay Z has are his various business sensibilities. Other then that, Jay Z ain’t got the lyrical legacy of Biggie, and he ain’t got the world wide Love like Tupac. Maybe Jay Z got the the Hip POP crown, but not Hip Hop.
Thats what this conversation is about btw. HIP HOP. thats what Cornel West is talking about, and HIP HOP is bigger then Jay Z, but his stans think otherwise thats the problem. When people defend Jay Z they always talking about his growth or some shit. Or they talking about his money and why everybody hating on him. Or they talking about his record number of record sales and selling more then Elvis. NONE OF THE ABOVE, IS HIP HOP and thats what Cornel West is talking about.
But more then anything, I respect Jay’s ability to make cats dance to his tune – he got half of you calling him God Emcee Hova – nobody called Jay Z God Emcee till HE called himself that.
Nobody called him Hova till HE called himself Hova. So I respect his ability to gather Stans around him. But on the real, from a Hip Hop perspective, minus the SALES or his personal CAREER GROWTH or any of that irrelevant bullshit… minus all that… Jay Z is maaaad over rated in Hip Hop and the closer he gets to 50 years old the more obvious it is.
Even Joe Buddens already lyrically murdered jay Z – right now in 2010 Buddens is a better emcee. But Jay can hide behind his numbers. Cuban Linx 2 is a waaay better album then BP3, BP3 is a POP ALBUM, but Jay can hide behind his numbers. Biggie Smalls only ever released one solo album but he has STILL had a bigger impact and influence on Hip Hop then Jay Z and he’s been dead for 13 years, but Jay can hide behind his numbers. My point is Jay Z does sound more and more played out with each album, his fans can call it growth, and can call criticism of Jay Z hate, but ain’t nobody hating on a 40 something year old, who wanna be 40 something years old? if anything he hating on the Youth my constantly putting wack albums out instead of being a CEO and bringing in new talent. Its ike Jay tryna reclaim his lost youth. Reasonable Doubt came out when Jay Z was damn near 30 years old. Wu Tang, Nas, Tupac, Biggie Smalls, Fugees, OutKast, Scarface, Ice Cuve, Snoop Dogg… the list goes on… Hip Hop was ESTABLISHED by the time Jay came out, and it was established by Artists YOUNGER then him – he was desperately trying to get a deal when All Eyes on me and Ready to Die came out but Jay Z was older then Biggie and Pac… So when people say JAY changed the game, they just repeating what Jay says himself.
But like Nas said, Jay Z was just a fan looking up to JAZ O before he dropped his own album.
I’ve already said, I respect Jay Z’s business sense, because he’s managed to build a myth around himself like he Madonna or some shit. But beyond that? Jay ain’t the GOAT, how can he be? The Greatest Hip Hop albums of all time dropped before Jay even got a record deal. ORIGINAL CUBAN LINX, READY TO DIE, ALL EYES ON ME, ILLMATIC, DOGGYSTYLE, IT WAS WRITTEN, the list goes on, and if you go back through the Best Hip Hop albums, most of them came out while Jay Z was wearing Jaz O’s chain back when he was rapping like Jaz O and he was Jaz O’s number one fan. Jay Z can’t be the GOAT, its like Lebron tryna be better then Jordan, he can’t be no matter what he does or how many championships he wins. JORDAN WILL ALWAYS BE GOAT, just like nobody can challenge ALI for his legendary status. NAS BIGGIE PAC WU TANG SCARFACE – Jay Z will never be in that league no matter how much growth or record sales he makes. History is History and Jay Z missed that boat. Biggie and Pac had to pass before Jay Z could shine. You really think he’d be God Emcee if they was still alive? Jay Z maaaaad over rated by todays Hip Hop fans. Buddens already murdered him lyrically. Jay Z the best POP artist right now, but thats about it. Jay Z ain’t the best Hip Hop artist out now. He’s POP. Hence Cornel West’s comments, Jay ain’t motivated no more. He just a mindless Pop Star like Lady Gaga or some shit. He ain’t Hip Hop no more. SlaughterHouse, Survival Skills and Cuban Linx 2 were 3 of the best HIP HOP ALBUMS last year. BP3 was POP MUSIC.
Yo for real Jay Z need to grow old with grace or bow out the game. KRS been rocking Mics around the world doing his thing since the 1980’s right ? well Him and Jay damn near the same age. So if you ask me, Jay just mad he got in the game late. think about it, Jay Z old enough to have been rapping with Melle Mel, DJ Herc and Grandmaster Flash and dem.
LOL @ Its Like a Jungle Sometimes – Man, Jay need to call it a Day for real.
Get a fucking life dude. You spend way too much time writing shit that’s really irrelevant to the world. Instead of dedicating time talking about another man who you don’t even know on a hip hop blog, why don’t put your time and energy into something positive. Like helping the eldery or inspiring kids. There’s people who desperately need help, and your here talking rhetoric. There’s people in haiti dying and your trying to discredit jay z’s life and his albums or his charity work at 4 in the morning with multiple posts. I think it’s more of an obsession than it is hatred by you for jay z. Just get over it and live your life dude. Smh
^ Get a fucking life dude. You spend way too much time writing shit that’s really irrelevant to the world. Instead of dedicating time talking about another man who you don’t even know on a hip hop blog, why don’t put your time and energy into something positive. Like helping the eldery or inspiring kids. There’s people who desperately need help, and your here talking rhetoric. There’s people in haiti dying and your trying to discredit jay z’s life and his albums or his charity work at 4 in the morning with multiple posts. I think it’s more of an obsession than it is hatred by you for jay z. Just get over it and live your life dude. Smh
@ respect cornel west
IF ANYTHING, IT’S U ON HUGGIN’ JAY NUTS!!!! U THE NO LIFE ASS HAVIN’ NIGGA POSTIN’ SHIT ABOUT HIM AT 4:58 AM!!!! U THE CLOWN THAT WRITES LIKE A WHITEBOY!!!! NIGGA U JUST MAD CUZ I HURT YA FEELINGS NIGGA!!!! SLAP YASELF ONE TIME FOR BEIN A SENSITIVE BITCH!!!!
GET A GIRL NIGGA!!!! STOP POSTIN’ SHIT LATE AT NITE TALKIN’ ABOUT A NIGGA WHO U DON’T KNOW!!!! U WACK SON!!!!
DON’T HATE ON MY OPINION!!!!
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was this recorded? is there any way of downloading the interview? cheers