Everyone is loving, and questioning, Jay-Z’s newest album release “4:44.” The Brooklyn-born rapper’s 13th album, that is now certified platinum, discusses several things about black family, friendship, finances, and love. Many are praising the album for touching on issues other than his infidelity.
Jay-Z’s entrepreneurial journey begins with his life as a drug dealer in Brooklyn, NY. Selling crack-cocaine out of high school, Jay-Z has rapped about his past business dealings as a street pharmacist, amongst other things. Once becoming a rapper and starting Roc-A-Fella records with Damon Dash and Kareem Biggs, the rest of the hustle is history. From a record label to fashion label to basketball arena and streaming service, Jay-Z is getting a piece of it all.
Although the album 4:44 has sparked many feelings in fans and critics alike, this album is targeting the young black man, his finances, and his family. Many have brought attention to his message of financial freedom for the black community but one can wonder how many will actually take action.
Evan Jefferson, the owner of ERGJ Enterprises and founder of the New Black Wall Street, considers himself the Black Moses, taking the charge in leading black people to a better place when it comes to money, business, and community. In true Bey-Z fashion, Evan and I took an in-depth look at 4 different sets of lyrics from mainly two tracks to develop specific ways Black America can take action instead of vainly glorifying the Jay-Z’s words.
You wanna know what’s more important than throwing away money at a strip club? Credit. ~ The Story of OJ, Track #2
IzE: This reminds me of when I was working a VIP brunch with Steve Harvey last year where he talked about how Jews build credit by taking a loan out of bank #1 and put it in bank #2. Then they pay back bank #1 with their own money that is parked in bank #2. I’m not saying they own everything but what would you say in terms of black people building their credit. Coming from generations of not managing credit and putting their children’s name in different accounts for credit, where should Black America go with this?
Evan: As a financial educator, I don’t necessarily agree with Jay-Z. I do agree with the premise, but I think it’s deeper than that. They practice group economics and financial strategy; one of those strategies being credit in order to be able to afford to buy up property that they couldn’t attain with cash. It’s the strategy and group economics of working together to get those properties.
IzE: So how can we practice group economics better?
Evan: Black America has to decide that financial education is going to be a priority. Once they learn financial literacy, then they are now educated and empowered to fix their credit or build their credit. Credit is nothing but an instrument to give you a number or score based off your behavior in honoring your commitment to pay people back the money that you borrow.
IzE: I feel like a lot of black people have a reparations mindset.
Evan: Yeah and it’s a crazy mindset to think that what has happened in history…. well in other words, I believe we focus so much on what we cannot control versus just controlling what we can. Why do we feel as a people that we can borrow money and not have to pay it back? We don’t have a problem getting money. We might not know what to do with it, but we don’t have a problem getting it so why are we fighting for someone to give us something we can just go get for ourselves? You don’t demand wealth. We are not fighting the economic war intelligently; we are fighting it with conversation. It’s like a battle to us where we talk about it for a moment then go back to what we’re doing.
I coulda bought a place in Dumbo before it was Dumbo, for like 2 million, that same building today is worth 25 million, guess how I’m feelin’? Dumbo. ~ The Story of OJ
IzE: What would you say about black people being homeowners and buying property? How does gentrification play into this?
Evan: Well it’s not necessarily gentrified for people who make more money it’s being gentrified for people taking advantage of buying low and selling high. It’s an investment principle that comes with financial education but at the end of the day, we must own our own block and communities because that is Group Economics 101. The Chinese come in and own their sides of town, Chinatown. Mexicans come in and own their sides of town, a Mexican town. Koreans, Thai, Jews – they all do the same things. They come into whatever city and own they own blocks and we don’t. To see something that is down trotted and understanding the principles of investing –being able to get something for cheap, fixing it up, beautifying it, and controlling your own neighborhood, that’s key. You get there first by education, practicing group economics, by getting your credit right. You get there by caring about your neighborhoods!
IzE: What are we doing to keep us from creating or restoring our neighborhoods?
Evan: Ownership has not been a priority but it needs to be. We need to learn and understand asset accumulation because right now we accumulate liabilities. If we got 1.3 trillion dollars in spending power, what we spending it on is the problem, not that we don’t have the money. The choices we make and the things we buy say what is valuable to us as a community – more valuable to use then our own houses that we live in. I can make a list! Jordans, hair care, the latest phone, rims, gold teeth, all of these things we’ve made more valuable than our communities. We literally get money and it flows out of our hands to make everyone else rich. Everyone else is getting change off the black dollar but us. 90% of our money flows out of our hands before we leave our communities because they are in our communities.
I bought some artwork for 1 million, 2 years later, that shit worth 2 million, few years later, that shit worth 8 million, I can’t wait to give this shit to my children. ~ The Story of OJ
Ize: This speaks to long-term investing and generational wealth respectively. That line took me back to an episode of “Atlanta” where the main character Earn told another character, Darius, that he needed some money. Basically they spent the whole day flipping and trading different items for more money. In the episode’s last scene they are seen giving a dog to a breeder. Earn was expectant of a few thousand dollars immediately and Darius told him it’s going to be a few months because it was an investment. Earn told him he doesn’t have time for investing because he is too busy being poor. I’ve seen and heard that. Can you share anything you witness is happening as well?
Evan: Yeah, that’s a mentality. How many of us are thinking about 20 years from now? We don’t even invest in our own retirement let alone the next generation. That’s long term thinking, planning, outlook. We don’t have a generational outlook just a right now outlook. What do I need to take care of right now? Setting something aside, putting something away, investing in the future is not commonplace for Black America. Man, the only future black people are worried about is –
IzE: Future the rapper?
Evan: nah (laughs) we’re only worried about the present. Most of what Jay-Z said in his lyrics is fathomable at best. A painting for $1 million dollars, who going to buy a painting for a million dollars? This is what you call a collectible. If you were investing in Jordans, in order to have the Jordans that are collectibles that you buy for $150 and it might be worth $500 in 2 or 3 years, that’s different than buying them to wear. The philosophy of investing versus consuming takes a shift of the mind.
Let me alone, Becky, a man that don’t take care his family can’t be rich. ~ Family Feud, Track #6
IzE: This lyric isn’t exactly tied to anything fiscally but the nature of what he said I found to be interesting when it comes to money and the black family. A lot of black families are divided for various reasons – jail, multiple mothers of children. Would you say black families being divided hurt our ability progress and build in our communities?
Evan: Absolutely. United we stand, divided we fall. He’s referencing being divided by infidelity, but it’s true that a guy cannot be rich if he isn’t taking care of his family. This is historical stuff. When you look at empires that have been built, it’s normally by families. That empire stands all the way through the bloodline and vertebrae. To have a divided house, I don’t know how you can build. If I have a family and we are building, then an empire is sure to come.
IzE: Any specific action we can take right now?
Evan: Now that this is out there again, are we going to go learn? I hope this album does prompt people to do something about what he is talking about when it comes to financial literacy, investing, building. Getting our money right is a big part of it and it’s going to take learning things that you don’t know. We have access to financial education. From everything he said, whether real estate, starting a business, or investing, pick something other than what you are doing right now, learn about it, and implement it.
IzE: Last words?
Evan: We focus our attention more on white folks than on black folks. The hate we have for white supremacy has more of an impact on us than the love we have for our people. If we loved ourselves as much as we should we wouldn’t even be concerned about white supremacy.
Jay-Z’s album, 4:44, is available on Tidal with a trial or paid subscription. Evan’s book The Black Billionaires Club – How They Built Their Wealth will be available later this year. The book shares lessons from the world’s current black billionaires and how they attained wealth. You can pre-order the book here.