I recently read that Jay-Z picked up the phone and discouraged an artist from performing at the Super Bowl, in protest of police brutality, or Black Lives Matter, or some such thing.
In reading further, I found that he called champion sports teams and encouraged them not to attend the traditional White House gatherings honoring their victories.
Additionally, he called on artists to not accept invitations to perform at the Trump White House.
Again, looking further, I found that he was routinely invited to the Obama White House, and had that president’s ear.
He was able to call President Barack Obama and he would gladly take his calls.
So, who is this guy, that is a self-proclaimed arbiter of who should or shouldn’t perform or attend functions around the country?
Jay-Z, real name Shawn Carter, is a New York drug dealer-turned rapper.
He never graduated from high school and turned to dealing crack cocaine for 14 years in Brooklyn, NY.
He later became a successful rap artist and clothing company owner.
He even credits his days of drug dealing with his business acumen.
Saying, “I mean, I know about budgets. I was a drug dealer”.
I’m thinking that maybe our cultural and political influences have taken a turn to the absurd.
Phil Turner,
Sequim