

Startup Tips from Jay-Z - robertjmoore
http://themetricsystem.rjmetrics.com/2009/12/21/top-5-startup-tips-from-jay-z/
Lyrical excerpts from the past decade of Jay-Z's most inspirational business-themed rhymes
======
mikekarnj
“I’m not a businessman I’m a business, man Let me handle my business, damn”

That has to be one of the best lines of all-time from Jay-Z. Great post.
Thanks for sharing.

~~~
yan
I listened to that song countless times when I first heard that line.
Absolutely wonderful.

------
cloudkj
I find #2 and #3 to be contradictory. Being a "business, man" is what Jay-Z is
all about. He's made himself into a brand. Kids buy HP computers simply
because he endorses them. That brand and iconic status is quite separate from
his "businessman" status as founder of Roc-a-fella, CEO of Def Jam, owner of
the 40/40 club, New Jersey Nets, etc. He definitely stays out of the limelight
while running his businesses. That would be the being in the "food and
beverage" mode. As Jay-Z the rapper, however, he has to take on a gigantic
public image. You can't really follow #2 while abiding by #3.

I also wouldn't say 2001 was when Jay-Z was a "young star." He was already
incredibly mainstream in the late 90's.

Of course, I understand that this post was more for entertainment value :)

~~~
jsm386
I think the author of the blog post misinterpreted the lyric in number three.
It isn't Jay-Z talking about himself. So it's not really contradictory:

 _The first verse is rumored to be about Jaz-O, his former mentor and business
partner, or about long-time friend, business partner, and co-founder of Roc-a-
fella Records Damon Dash._ <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_One>

He's saying that _they_ should have kept a low profile, while _he, the
'business, man'_ developed his personal brand.

------
mdg
[Offtopic]

In reference to point 5 - That line made me respect Jay-Z as an artist. He
isn't in my top 5, but that was honest of him to admit. In that song, he says
something along the lines of "Lyrically, I'd rather be Talib Kweli". Now,
Talib Kweli _is_ in my top 5. He writes on some deeper topics then most
mainstream artists, and as a result, is rarely heard of. Kweli, in a song he
wrote after Moment of Clarity came out, would say:

> If lyrics sold then truth be told, I'll probably be just as rich and famous
> as jay-z

Anyways... A lot of rappers are ex-drug dealers. As a result, many of them are
business-savy. I feel Jay-Z is the best example of this.

~~~
moron4hire
> Anyways... A lot of rappers are ex-drug dealers. As a result, many of them
> are business-savy. I feel Jay-Z is the best example of this.

L.L. Cool J., Missy Elliott, and Kanye West are just a few highly influential
artists who have no known history of drug dealing or other criminal activity.
And I think Stephen Levitt goes a long way to disproving the whole concept
that "drug dealers are savvy businessmen"
([http://www.ted.com/talks/steven_levitt_analyzes_crack_econom...](http://www.ted.com/talks/steven_levitt_analyzes_crack_economics.html))

~~~
mdg
I have not seen that TED talk, though I plan to. LL Cool J, Missy Elliot, and
Kanye never rap about selling drugs either. In fact, the latter two were
producers first.

I should edit my OP because the truth is that there are many sub-genres of hip
hop, some of which are prevelant with the drug-dealing folklore and others
which are not. It was wrong of me to make a blanket statement.

