To his credit, Jay Z has never distanced himself from the fact that his days “slanging rock” in the “bricks” (the contemporary revision of the PJs) and slanging units in the record industry were derived from the same kind of hustling endemic to hyper-capitalist societies. Thus “Hova” the savior of hip-hop, “Jigga” the every (nigga) man hustler, and “Shawn Carter” the Brooklyn-based “hood rat” conflate into a formidable product (Jay Z) that is inclusive of the Def Jam Island distributed label Roc-A-Fella, (home of Beanie Sigel, Mem Bleek, DJ Clue, and vocalist Rell) and Roc-a-Wear, the ghetto-fab alternative to Russell Simmons’ “ghetto classic” Phat Farm and Sean Combs’ “ghetto-runway” Sean Jean. But Jay Z has also been dexterous in managing the various communities where the commercial product “Jay Z” exists. Carter) puts a Marcy Project spin on southern “bounce” music - a sound that predates the emergence of No Limit and Cash Money by at least a decade - and the simply brilliant “There’s Been a Murder” borrows from “folk gangstress” Alana Davis’ Blame It on Me. Jay Z has arguably been the one artist who has most benefited from this new commercial universe, but he has done so by cleverly “Jigga-izing” pop trends. While this of course says nothing about the kinds of “bling, bling” posturing that has proliferated in the last five years, it does speak of a radical different terrain that hip-hop currently inhabits, as witnessed on daily doses of TRL or 106th and Park. Whereas earlier hip-hop artists were forced to “cross-over” to reach the widest audiences (see Whodini, LL Cool J, MC Lyte, and Hammer as seminal examples), like my man Todd Boyd (that Detroit Nigga) suggests, Jay Z, Eminen, Juve and DMX were on the cutting edge of a historical moment when the audiences instead crossed-over to hip-hop instead of artists being forced to water down their narratives for mainstream consumption. (“flow infinitely like the memory of my nigga Biggie.”), Jay Z has claimed the position as the flagship product of East Coast hip-hop. In the aftermath of the murder of Notorious B.I.G.
It was Jigga’s understanding of the commercial value of the anthem like theme “It’s a Hard Knock Life” from the musical Annie that propelled him to legitimate cross-over artist three year ago with the release of Vol. Thus the song appropriates elements of Nelly’s breakout “Country Grammar” with its sing-sing children’s lyrics and with its same-same sample of The Jackson Fives’ “I Want You Back”, while referencing his real life drama with the judicial system (“not guilty, ya’ll got to feel me”). “Izzo (H.O.V.A.)” encapsulates Jay Z’s brilliance as a commercial artist, with his astute ability to read musical trends within pop music while re-animating a wealth of semi-autobiographical narratives about his life as street hustler “Shawn Carter” and hip-hop icon “Jay Z”. “Fo’ Shizzle My Nizzle” is of course a lyric taken from “Izzo (H.O.V.A.)” the lead single from Jay Z’s latest release The Blueprint. Opportunist yes, but the good reverend knows a hustler’s talent-game recognizing game. While Jackson’s blatant opportunism has often been indefensible, he can never be accused of misreading public opinion, whether it be as the skeptic looking askance at the 2000 election results or recognizing the commercial brilliance of a hip-hop artist like the self-described “J-hova”, that “Nigga Jigga”, the hustler Sean Carter, or more plainly the commercial phenomenon known as “Jay Z”. Although my colleague Michael Eric Dyson described Jackson’s appearance as evidence of his “continuing relevance to our nation, especially black youth” in the pages of the Chicago Sun-Times, Jackson’s appearance smacked of the kind of political opportunism that has dogged his reputation for much of his public career. Jackson was on hand the present the “Sportsman of the Year” award to Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis. Jesse Jackson as he “graced” the stage at the recent Source Awards. “Fo Shizzle My Nizzle.” These were the words the dribbled out of the mouth of the Rev.
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