matt shi – jay z: hip hop’s living martyr lyrics
when the blaring notes of “u don’t know” opened the concert, i knew it would be special. jay z, on his magna carta world tour supported by timbaland as dj, show-cased his new album with the effortless grace of his younger years while simultaneously reminding fans just how expansive and accomplished his career has been. already cl-ssic songs—“99 problems,” “big pimpin’,” “jigga what, jigga who,” “i just wanna love u,” and “public service announcement”—were interwoven with the new hits, and that was before a five-song encore set of “encore” (no surprise), “empire state of mind,” “izzo,” “hard knock life,” and “young forever.”
by the time jay z finished the first verse of “u don’t know,” i felt that he had made eye-contact with each one of us in the audience. this connection was solidified when, at the end of “encore,” jay addressed the crowd, pointing to random people, repeating, “i see you.” his keyboardist and drummer played softly while this went on for several minutes: “i see you, i see you.” it was not musically or artistically exciting, but it was one of the most intimate concert moments i have been part of, and that was when i decided that jay z is hip hop’s living martyr
by individually acknowledging his fans, he was not only giving them a few seconds on the screens flanking the stage, he was granting them his own recognition. as he thanked the audience for supporting him over the years, i began to wonder, how else can he give back to his fans? what more is he, or anyone, capable of doing, beyond taking time during his show to speak to as many individuals as possible? by making music we love, of course. by making this all possible in the first place
however, jay z is not loved universally. he is one of the most commercially successful rappers of all time, and, to many ardent listeners of hip hop, there are few descriptions worse than “commercial” or “mainstream.” these labels are -ssociated with the bureaucracy of the music industry, the sacrifice of original art in the favor of monetary success, and the “dumbing down” of lyrics to target less committed listeners. in “moment of clarity” on the black album, jay z himself said, “i dumbed down for my audience to double my dollars. / they criticized me for it, yet they all yell ‘holla.’” this song deals with the tension between the integrity of the craft and mainstream recognition, and jay z pays tribute to talib kweli and common, artists who have not compromised lyricism for airtime
the problem with condemning jay z’s methods of m-ss appeal is that we are asking him to deny himself financial accomplishment for the respect of small population of his listeners. who are we to make this request?
furthermore, it seems illogical at best to exclude jay z from the “true hip hop” category when he was instrumental in defining the “hip hop” that we are trying to preserve. his commitment to rap as an art form is apparent in specific songs such as “d.o.a. (death of autotune)” and in the cutting-edge aesthetics of each new album. rather than settling for a sound that he knows has been successful, he continues to push for originality (while still adopting certain musical trends that are already popular)
considering his dedication to hip hop’s development, he has effectively removed himself from “true hip hop” in the minds of many by making the opposite sacrifice as talib kweli and common. in order to connect to a wider audience, jay z has (debatably) given up his place next to j. dilla, a tribe called quest, big l, and so on. sometimes reaching a larger number of people is more important than deeply communicating with a select few, and jay z’s career seems to make this choice. i am willing to bet that he has introduced more people to hip hop (who have gone on to discover the aforementioned artists) than anyone who is accepted by hip hop puritans. (let’s not start the debate about eminem. eminem is hip hop, just as jay z is.) he is a martyr—not for having suffered more but for diluting his own image in order to reach more listeners—and i am a fan
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