Hova Knows…

The last thing I expected to hear when I listened to the latest Jay Z album — Magna Carta Holy Grail — was a lesson on social enterprise and thoughtfully helping those in need. On his final track he raps about the challenges of our good intentions and their unintended consequences. Social enterprise and Jay Z, two of my favorite things… this was too good not to write about and share with you all.

I finally got around to writing a piece on the lessons that can be learned from this song. Below is a snippet of the article that was featured on Forbes.com. You can read the full piece HERE. Big thanks to Forbes for helping share this conversation further…

I have always loved hip-hop for, among other things, its long lineage of communicating a message. In its best form, music is art and art is social commentary; it speaks to us about what is currently relevant, it challenges public opinion, and makes us question our personal worldviews. So last summer, when Jay Z did a sudden release of his album “Magna Carta Holy Grail,” I was eager to listen and hear his commentary.

One song mentioned Miley Cyrus twerking. Another mentioned a favorite company of mine, Stance Socks (thus creating extreme jealousy and the urge to devise a plan for my organization to be mentioned on a future Jay Z album). Then, on his final track, a song called “Nickels and Dimes,” he offered up a lesson on social enterprise best practices…Wait, was I hearing this correctly?

The verse that literally made me scratch the record to a stop and replay multiple times says this:

“Gotta problem with the handouts, I took the man route,
I’ll give an opportunity though, that’s the plan now.”