Is JAY-Z’s Wealth Good for Black America?

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November 15, 2023

By Bria Overs, Word in Black

Muscian and entrepreneur Jay-Z (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

[Shawn “JAY-Z”] Carter is an excellent example of Black Americans’ entrepreneurial spirit and potential, but his particular case prompts a question. What’s more important: Growing your wealth or helping your community?

With a net worth of $2.5 billion, the mogul is the first billionaire to come out of the rap genre. HOV has gone “from being a run-of-the-mill, popular rapper with some nice jewelry to being a billionaire, and we’ve seen it all within our lifetime,” Christopher Emdin says.

[…]

“The thing about JAY-Z and hip-hop is that we’ve been able to see and witness his ascendancy into wealth before our very eyes,” Emdin tells Word In Black. “As much as he is the poster child for aspiration, he’s also the poster child for hyper-capitalism.”

Keep reading the criticism of JAY-Z.

Nevertheless, Jay-Z is still a Black man in America.

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