**This blogpost is based on a number of conversations I have had with one of my good friends. I am expressing a theory he dropped on me, with my own little spin.**
Today is December 4, 2015, which is Jay-Z’s
birthday. If you are a serious hip- hop
fan, you have or will pull out your favorite Jay-Z albums and playlists today. Like Henry said in Goodfellas, “they did it out of respect.” Jay-Z is arguably the GOAT when it comes to
hip-hop. I would argue that, despite his
spot at or near the top of hip-hop’s Mount Rushmore, at his core, he is an overachieving
underdog. This might sound a little
strange, but I believe it and hope to persuade you as well. If you recall Jay-Z’s early career, and I am
talking pre-Reasonable Doubt, his music was not well received by the masses. In fact, some old heads would emphatically
declare that he was kind of lame. His
pace was very fast and his sound was more Das Efx than Kool G. Rap (If you are not familiar with these hip hop
acts, you might want to stop reading now).
His rise to the top did not occur overnight. I will discuss his talent and rise to the
top of hip-hop through a direct comparison with another all time great—Kobe
Bryant.
Allen Iverson is one of the greatest basketball
players ever. He was also a child
prodigy—not unlike Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
From the age of thirteen, or maybe even
younger, he was the best basketball and football player in the State. By the time he was fifteen years old, he was
the best basketball and football player in the entire country. Iverson was gifted, and that is one of the
many reasons his “practice” rant is so funny.
For him, practice was not necessary to perform at a high level. I imagine he did not have to lift weights, or
train, or practice twelve hours a day to be the best—he simply was.
Nas is a very similar talent in the realm of hip-hop. Like Iverson, Nas was a child prodigy. He recorded Live at the Barbeque at the tender age of fifteen. At that time, he worked with some of the all-time
greats in the hip-hop game.
Surprisingly, or maybe not surprisingly, they dubbed him the next big
thing. How could they not, though? Then, at the age of nineteen, he released Illmatic, which is one of the most
flawless albums ever released. I believe
he actually recorded the album while he was only seventeen years of age.
I believe it is very appropriate that Kobe’s
announcement of his final NBA season and Jay-Z’s birthday occurred in the same
week. In many ways, they are
inextricably tied to one another. Jay-Z
released his first album, Reasonable
Doubt, in 1996. If you follow
basketball, you know that 1996 was the year Kobe entered the NBA. As great of a basketball player as Kobe is, at
the age of thirteen, he was not likely the greatest player in his state. In fact, it was not until he was in high
school that people took notice of his immense talent. He is different from Iverson and Nas because
he took his God given skills and worked his ass off. He left no stone unturned and his hard work
paid off—literally and figuratively.
I contend to you that Jay-Z is more Kobe, than
Iverson. Like Kobe, he was a relatively late
bloomer. When he started rapping in the late
80s/ early 90s, he rapped really fast and people did not necessarily take to
his style. Then, around 1995, or maybe a
little before, he slowed his flow, then Jigga was born. Even still, he could not find a record label
to sign him so he could release his first album. Consequently, he thought outside of the box,
worked his ass off, and created Roc-A-Fella Records. The rest is history.
The other week, I had a conversation with someone who
said Jay-Z is overrated. Because I am a
huge Jay-Z fan, I had to take a proverbial step back so I could hear the
opinion as objectively as possible.
After hearing the argument, I was not convinced. Jay-Z is maybe the most successful hip-hop
artist of all time. He has sold millions
of records, went bar-for-bar with Biggie and Big L, retired, returned, became
an NBA owner, owned a clothing line, owned a line of vodka, became President of
Def Jam Records, and so on and so forth.
If you are a hip-hop purist and decide to examine his career strictly on
his catalogue of music, it would be difficult to say that he is overrated. He has four or five legitimate hip- hop
classics to his name (Reasonable Doubt, The Blue Print, Black Album, Volume 1
and Volume 2). Who else—living or
dead—can boast this level of consistency?
He epitomizes what many people fail to see—the
overachieving underdog. He is a guy who
was blessed with talent, just like every person on this earth. But, what do we do with our talent? Do we cultivate it? Do we sit on it? Do we
complain that we do not have enough?
Jay-Z chose to believe in himself, despite naysayers, and grew his
talent to become arguably the GOAT. That
is an amazing feat considering there have been many people blessed with more
talent who never accomplished a third of what Jay-Z accomplished in the hip hop
game, or the game of life. Remember:
“Hard work beats talent when talent does not work hard.”
Jay-Z is not Allen Iverson, or Nas. But, he is Kobe Bryant, which places him in
great company.
Peace
