S. Samuel
Rap mogul Jay-Z continues to keep his name in the headlines, this time for landing on TIME Magazine's "The 100 Most Influential People In The World" list.
In its special feature, New York City’s Mayor Michael Bloomberg inks a brief description on what makes Young Hov so influential.
“Jay Z embodies so much of what makes New York New York. A kid from a tough neighborhood who grows up in public housing, overcomes lots of bad influences on the street, never lets go of his dream, makes it to the top — and then keeps going, pursuing new outlets for his creativity and ambition. When no one would sign him to a record contract, he created his own label and built a music empire — before going on to design clothing lines, open sports bars and, most recently, represent professional athletes.” (TIME)
Mayor Bloomberg also acknowledges Jigga’s ability to bring excitement to the world of sports.
“He’s an artist-entrepreneur who stands at the center of culture and commerce in 21st century America, and his influence stretches across races, religions and regions. He’s never forgotten his roots — “Empire State of Mind” was a love song to our city — and as a co-owner of the NBA Nets, he helped bring a major league sports team back to Brooklyn, not far from his old neighborhood. In nearly everything he’s tried, he’s found success. (He even put a ring on Beyoncé.) And in doing so, he’s proved that the American Dream is alive and well.” (TIME)
According to reports, Jay is even featured on one of seven versions of the magazine’s latest issue.
Furthering Jay-Z’s rapid transformation into the United States’ version of Bono, all of these people have now graced a Time Magazine cover. OK, sure, so did Hitler. And Jay has to share it with six other people also receiving the honor of Time’s “100 Most Influential People in the World,” one of whom is Rand Paul. But it’s still a pretty major move for the rapper, never mind hip-hop as a whole. (Complex)
Jay’s influence was recently on display when his lyrics from the song “Open Letter” sparked a public response from President Barack Obama.
President Obama says the White House was not involved with the recent trip to Cuba by married singers Jay-Z and Beyonce. “I wasn’t familiar that they were taking the trip,” Obama told NBC’s Today show during a wide-ranging interview. “My understanding is I think they went through a group that organizes these educational trips down to Cuba.” A new Jay-Z song indicates that Obama approved of the trip, but Obama said the Treasury Department handles these kinds of things. “You know, this is not something the White House was involved with,” Obama said. “We’ve got better things to do.” The Today show taped the Obama interview Monday, just before the Boston Marathon attack. (USA Today)
