Jay-Z Being A Billionaire Is Awesome But Many Black Entrepreneurs Been Caking Up Throughout History
The record industry in America is famous for chewing up musicians and spitting them out, leaving them with very little or nothing at all.
However, it seems the Jigga Man didn’t get the memo.
Rising from a difficult background as a teen to become the most successful rapper in world history, the 1969 Brooklyn-born hip hop star has become the world’s first rap billionaire and one of the most successful entrepreneurs of the 21st century.
While Jay-Z’s new status of a billionaire is unique and admirable for the black community, he wasn’t the pioneer of “Black Fortune,” neither is he going to be the last on the black dollar money road.
Black history is dotted with immense success stories of black entrepreneurs whose survival and creative instincts defined their worth and enabled them to write their names in gold in the footprints of time.
We remember Jeremiah Hamilton, Wall Street’s First Black Millionaire who cleverly outwitted his white opponents, forcing them to do his bidding. He is the shrewdest of the pack who bought insurance policies on vessels and ships he purposely destroyed. Jeremiah went to his grave as the wealthiest black American in 1875.
We remember Annie Turnbo Malone, one of the first black women to attain millionaire status by introducing a hair care line at the end of the First World War. She died in 1957, but her creativity was already famous. Madam CJ Walker started her hair care line adopting the inspiration of Malone. Walker became another black millionaire of the 1900s, and she cemented her name in American history by doing so.
We also remember William Leidesdorff, America’s first black millionaire. Unfortunately he was forgotten.
Even though Black Panther is a fictional character, his name might come up if any geek or clueless bigot out there is asked who the richest black man in the world is…and yes, it’s worth mentioning because, from this piece of information, we know that T’Challa is richer than Tony Stark and Bruce Wayne.
The Richest Man In History Was A Black Man… And His Name Wasn’t T’Challa, It Was Mansa Musa
We know the Biblical King Solomon was wealthy, and today’s tech billionaires like the late Steve Jobs, Bill Gate, Jeff Bezos, and the rest, are richer than some countries of the world. But, if you think they are the richest in human history, you’re in for a disappointment. The richest man in human history is a black man.
Meet Mansa Musa of Mali, the 14th-Century African Emperor who remains the richest person in history. Not even Solomon arraign in all his glory combined with the “alien” wealth of Bill Gates stand a chance against the wealth of Emperor Mansa Musa of Mali. His wealth is virtually unquantifiable and cannot be equaled.
While there had been a lot of successful blacks in the past, there is something just more unusual about the new billionaire status of Jay-Z, whose birth name is Shawn Corey Carter. However, before we get to that, there is something worth appreciating in the lives of the black people we mentioned earlier — something they all have in common: the ability to survive and keep pushing amid endemic resistance.
These brave sons and daughters of Afrika experienced, confronted, and overcame extraordinary resistance unleashed on them because of their race. They eluded lynch mobs and dodged racist assassins. They outwitted conspiracies designed to steal and destroy their fortune by processes of legislative fiat. They refused to be subjected and slaughtered at will. They fought back and stood their ground, defending their humanity and God-given right to live and prosper. When gunmen fired shots at them, they equally grabbed guns and fired back. When segregated and discriminated against, they summon the courageous will in them, marched into the courts and sued for equality and justice.
In the entire course of their career, these courageous black men and women demonstrated fierce courage and determination. The ability to cast a spotlight on achievements that are often neglected is what defines the success stories of these black figures.
Black millionaires and billionaires like Jay-Z disrupt and demolish stereotypes of black impotence. They remind the haters and those that lack self-will that black people do not lack the mental capacity or means to work or create wealth. That is what makes Jay-Z and his success story unique. He knew how to “Level Up” to build and sustain wealth. Every black entrepreneur must do the same.
Jay-Z Is Not The First Black Billionaire, But Being The First Rap Billionaire Is Historic
There are many successful black people across the world. Yes, Jay-Z is now a billionaire, but he is nowhere near the ranks of other black billionaires in the world in 2019.
For instance, out of the 2,153 people that featured in the Forbes billionaire list of 2019, only 13 of them are black people. Aliko Dangote remains the undisputed black heavyweight richest billionaire in the world, boasting an estimated net worth of $10.9 billion. The cement tycoon is closely followed by his fellow Nigerian compatriot, Mike Adenuga, the oil and telecom mogul. David Stewart, an American businessman, comes third, and trailed by Abdulsamad Rabiu, another Nigerian cement tycoon, in 4th, and the list goes on.
From the onset, it is clear that Jay-Z isn’t the first black billionaire, neither the richest of the pack. However, his “billioniareship” carries with it something that has never been heard of in the history of hip hop.
After Forbes magazine values his property, ventures and art collection, Jay-Z’s wealth was put at $1 billion to become the first hip-hop artist to reach the billionaire milestone. No one in the rap game has attained such height before. Rap music is one of the most famous and respected segments of the entertainment industry. But it is also one of the worst for artists.
Most times, the hip-hop industry is full of broke, poor, and frustrated artists. Those that aren’t dead (from turf wars and other gun violence) end up in prison. Only a few have made it out successful, unscathed by the dark side of the game. Jay-Z is one of the few who decided to make history by changing the street rules…changing the mindset from a negative to a positive one. “It’s time for somebody to take it to the next level. Someone needs to become an executive and swing open the doors for the culture,” he stated in an interview.
Yes, he did take it to the next level, and in this day and age he has made history as the first rap billionaire, the 5th richest black person in America, and one of the most successful black entrepreneurs in the books of Black Fortune.
When rap first started, it was written off as a fad. Due to racism and the demonization of black people, the dominant white society wanted nothing to do with rap. They didn’t think rap would endure and last for as long as it did. Once the music industry saw how profitable rap could be, they got onboard…and today, rap has changed its course, producing success after success. That is so because some of the individuals involved decided to level up across multiple fronts.
Many critics of rap that painted the genre as one that encourages violence in its lyrics, drawing instances from previous violent events like the murders of 2pac and the Notorious B.I.G., the turf war between the East and West coasts, etc., do not understand what rap music truly represents.
Rap music represents the oral tradition of the Afrikan people, particularly in America. Rap functions as the mouthpiece of an underrated voice of a people, maltreated, denounced, and sidelined. But as its messengers continue to forge ahead in hip-hop, its popularity has grown and has become one of the most selling genres of music, prompting its appropriation and commercialization by the music industry.
Being A Great Rapper Didn’t Make Jay-Z Super Rich, Multiple Streams Of Income Did
Make no mistake about it: the wealth of Jay-Z as it stands has nothing to do with him being a great rapper.
The entire hip hop industry has a ton of great artists, so if greatness equates to wealth then many artists’ would have been rich, and some of them wouldn’t have filed for bankruptcy. While many rappers from the Pac and Biggie era of rap were great, too many of them never really manage to create serious wealth because they never made the moves necessary to level up the way Jay-Z did.
Leveling up has been the key to financial success for a few artists in the hip-hop industry. From Master P to P.Diddy, to Akon, and now Jay-Z, these guys know the only way to certified success is constant expansion through ownership. They know that to get value, you have to create value and maintain total ownership of that value (one important lesson learned from the life of the late Nipsey Hussle).
Jay-Z knew the importance of ownership, and that is why he sacrificed almost everything he had to get back the legal ownership of his masters. If black entrepreneurs must succeed, they must learn how to level up like Jay-Z, which means be in total control of their art and own their brand. Jay-Z’s masters alone give him one-tenth of his wealth. Yes, the first rule of entrepreneurship is ownership—the ability to dictate how, where, and when you want your art or brand to sell or be used. You must realize there is no substitute for ownership.
And here is the better part of Jay-Z’s ownership…it goes beyond his line of music and creates for him other multiple streams of income.
Instead of playing his music on Spotify or Apple, the rapper purchased Tidal, a streaming service. That enables him to start curating songs of other musicians and earning big from it.
Instead of working with Ticketmaster, a dominant conglomerate, Jay-Z created Roc Nation, which enables him to feature other acts on tour.
Jay-Z was also a part owner of Roc-A-Fella, an indie label record label he started with Dame Dash and Kareem “Biggs” Burke. Jay’s first album “Reasonable Doubt” was produced through his own label.
Jay-Z and Dame Dash started a clothing line called “Rocawear” in 1999. Within eight years, Iconix Brand Group purchased the clothing line for a staggering $204 million. In 2007, the brand went forward to make $700 million, and that is Jay-Z using his image to create wealth. He remains the CEO of the Rocawear brand.
Jay-Z also went on to invest in other sources of income by establishing a nightclub called “40/40 Club.” His greatest investment ever is in Brooklyn Nets. He later sold his share and launched his sports brand, “Roc Nation Sports” in 2013, including many other investments.
The key to success on a larger scale is having multiple sources of income that keeps the cash flowing from different directions, and that is what makes Jay-Z the billionaire he is today.
Like Jay-Z, black entrepreneurs must learn how to level up by knowing the art of their hustle, getting to work even if they lack the necessary tools. Black entrepreneurs must first learn to help themselves (working hard…really, smart) before others can help them. They must keep their goals quiet to themselves mostly because 1.) you are your own best friend and 2.) some of the people you call your friends and family might hate on you. Black entrepreneurs must also develop a plan and start working on it. We must be ready to run the marathon and be ready to take some L’s on the way. The rejections will come but that doesn’t mean that you allow them to make you stop pushing forward.
Start diversifying your creativity by branching out into other sectors. Create a product or offer a service that others would love to purchase. These are the things Jay-Z did to develop his multiple streams of income that makes him a billionaire today. We most certainly can do the same if we want success bad enough and are willing to work hard (smart) for it.
