Jay Z for President

Okay how about more like CEO of Def Jam Records. But if this man was running for president I would have to give him serious thought. I guess I will start off by telling you that I have been a fan of the Jigga Man but I never given the man credit because when the industry came calling and he crossed over I began to wonder…how much of the music is really Jay and how much of it is million dollar beats, ghost writers, and high budget videos.
H to the IZZO

As we all know Jay has returned from retirement and he has a lot to say and do in the world of music and business. Where do we start, this man has amassed an empire fit for a king. With the help of Dame Dash, they started Roc-A-Fella Records and RocaWear clothing. Later follows the epic rise of the artist who then does the music merger of the decade and sells Roc-A-Fella to Def Jam Records and take over as big chief of the entire label. But lets not forget his ownership of the 40/40 Club in NYC and part ownership of the New Jersey Nets. Now my reason for writing this article…Jay Z has released an album after declaring his retirement. So many questions have swirled about Jay’s strange split from Damon Dash and his relationship with Beyonce. Well Jay may have put all those questions to rest with the record: “Lost One”. This is by far one of my favorite tracks my Jay and the reason is because with all the things he could rap about his chose to rap about things in his life in a simple but very skillful way. This laid back song has an old school feel and possibly has the lovely Jill Scott singing the hook. It is my belief that Jay may be finally speaking out about his relationship with Dame Dash, Beyonce, and the choices he’s been forced to make with these relationships. If you don’t believe me, check out these lyrics that I think he used to describe his relationship with (Broken down in parentheses):

Dame Dash

- I heard motherfucka’s sayin they made Hov, made Hov say okay so make another Hov (Common statement made by Dame, he has attempted to start another label)
- We parted ways like Ben and J-Lo (Reference to the split of Dame and Hov, involving Hov using his majority ownership to buy out Dame’s ownership of Roc-A-Fella Records and Rocawear clothing)
- Should have stayed in food and beverage…too much flossing, too much Sam Rothstein (Well known that Roc-A-Fella distributes Armadale, a vodka. And Sam Rothstein is a reference that comes from the movie Casino…Sam a well known mobster who was running a major mob owned casino, but got a big head, spent lots of money, and got away from what he was good at. It was obvious Dame loved the limelight and was in every video actin a fool)
- I ain’t a bitch but I gotta divorce them (Reference to the split)
- Fame, the worst drug known to man

Beyonce
- I don’t think its meant to be, “B”, for she loves her work more than she loves me
- So we aint we, its me and her, cause what she prefers over me is work, and that’s where we differ
- In times she mature, and maybe we can be we again like we were
- And to ask her now ain’t fair (It was rumor that Jay was going to ask “B” to marry him this year)

Indecent Proposal

Now you think you get a little slack for working in the music industry. You get to meet the biggest names in the industry of rock, pop, and hip hop. So working for magazines dedicated to this industry should be the greatest jobs in the world. Could you imagine working for Rolling Stone, Vibe, Source, and XXL. I have this picture that working for a music magazine must be similar to working for a tech company during the dot com era. You got the bean bags for chairs, ping pong tables, and the best cafeteria money can buy. These were the perks to foster innovative thinking and generate enormous profits. So read more to find out what working at the Source Hip Hop magazine gets you. Xtra Read All About It


The perks of working at a hip hop magazine probably include extravagant flights, "relations" with rappers and singers, maybe a little pharmaceutical drug use (and I'm not talking prescription), non stop foul language, and a few movies that probably get the > than R rating. Well its safe to say that no matter where you work we all have to play by the same rules. Kim Osorio, the former Editor In Chief at The Source magazine, filed charges against two executives at the Source at the time. Kim was awarded a $15 million dollar verdict which includes wrongful termination and defamation of character.

In closing, its amazing when art imititates life you are reminded that you still have to play by the rules. The workplace is not a music video and women can't be treated like objects, no matter what you're favorite musician says.

See a write up of the case here: http://sohh.com/articles/article.php/10081