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www.themaroontiger.com
November 16 - 22 2011
10
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
THE LESSONS OF OPPORTUNITY
Phillip Wiggins
Staff Writer
wiggins.phillip@gmail.com
T his article is part of a series that will ana
lyze Jay-Z as both an entrepreneur and a
brand. The series will examine and quote “Em
pire State of Mind,” a book by Forbes writer
Zack O’Malley Greenburg, as a source for in
formation regarding the history behind Jay-Z’s
business.
The book’s goal is to explore “the details of
how [Jay-Z] honed his entrepreneurial phi
losophy not at a fancy business school, but
on the streets of Brooklyn, New York.” Green-
burg’s text seeks to catalogue Jay-Z’s business
journey; this series will analyze Jay-Z’s entre
preneurial psyche. I hope to develop this series
into a case study for student entrepreneurs to
read and apply towards their entrepreneurial
journey.
Granted, Jay-Z is not the most successful en
trepreneur of our generation. However, I feel
that his story is one of the more compelling.
No one can deny the impact hip-hop has had
on my (the millennial) generation. Thus, if
hip-hop is a part of my generation’s life-blood,
then Jay-Z is definitely one of my generation’s
most influential icons.
I am extremely interested in hearing your
thoughts; feel free to email me, tweet me Ot!
comment on the series. Remember, I am sim
ply beginning the marketplace of discussion,
but I want you, the reader, to guide the discus
sion.
Volume 1: Opportunity
Growing up in the Marcy Projects of Brook
lyn, N.Y., Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter had two op
tions: go to school or hustle.
College was an idealized goal, but Jay-Z rec
ognized that it was too far away to solve his
immediate problems. He was literally hungry,
so he looked for an opportunity that would ad
dress that hunger.
Allured by the fast money of street life, Jay-Z
opted to sell drugs. DeHaven Irby, a friend of
his, introduced him to the drug game and the
amount of lucrative potential innate to the il
legal trade. Jay-Z concluded that selling drugs
was the most convenient way he could amass
that amount of money.
Before Jay-Z became a successful music mo
gul, he learned an important lesson about op
portunity cost. Even though Jay’s mom would
have preferred him to go to school, get a de
gree, and become a lawyer or a doctor, Jay-Z
realized that there was fast money to be made.
The money was quick and risky, but given Jay-
Z’s situation the fast money was the most ap
pealing.
I am not condoning illegal activity, but I
think Jay-Z deftly executed a decision that ac
counted for both his aspirations and the de
mands of his environment.
Even though going to school and eventu
ally starting a career was safer, it did not give
Jay-Z the payout he wanted or needed. As a
young entrepreneur, especially student entre
preneurs, we are often faced with various sce
narios where we have to make decisions with
opportunity costs in mind.
For the more established entrepreneur, these
decisions are often situated between two busi
ness ideas. An entrepreneur can either opt to
pursue idea A and reap idea As reward or he or
she can pursue idea B and reap idea B’s reward.
The decision can be tough, because oftentimes
the rewards for idea A and idea B are mutually
exclusive. The entrepreneur, therefore, must
evaluate the cost of each opportunity and then
decide if the potential payout is worth the cost.
Jay-Z had a similar decision to make when
he had to decide between selling drugs and
making music. Jay-Z had made a small name
for himself as a lyricist and “free-styler” in his
neighborhood. His reputation for gritty, fast,
and clever lyrics preceded him. DJ and Atlanta
Records talent scout Clark Kent tried on mul
tiple occasions to sign Jay-Z to the label and
pull him from the world of narcotics into the
music industry.
“Jay-Z remained hesitant to devote time to
music that could be spent making more money
hustling,” Greenburg writes in his book. “Jay-
Z’s reluctance to splurge on music was under
standable, as there are a lot of people who pay
when recording a hip-hop song.”
Jay-Z did dabble in music from time to time.
Yet, after completing a music tour with rappers
Jaz-O and Big Daddy Kane, Jay-Z realized the
amount of money he was losing by pursuing
music. Thus, he got back into the drug game.
“Specifically, Jay-Z went back into business
with DeHaven,” Greenburg writes. “From a
supply and demand standpoint, the decision
made a lot of sense. In the 1980’s New York
vlas the main East Coast entry point for co
caine imports from South America.”
While Jay and DeHaven were selling drugs,
they included ideas about supply and demand
in their business structure. Rather than simply
selling in New York, the pair recognized the
opportunity to sell in other markets.
“With ties in New York and Trenton, Jay-Z
and DeHaven did what any shrewd business
men would do with a growing enterprise: they
expanded into undeveloped markets in Mary
land and Virginia, where the competition was
lighter and the clientele less sophisticated,”
Greenburg writes.
By recognizing a higher demand in Mary
land and Virginia, the pair hopped on the op
portunity to expand into a new market and
raise the prices of their product.
Even though Jay-Z and DeHaven were com
mitting a serious crime, the two demonstrated
a bit of business savvy that all entrepreneurs
should mimic. Jay-Z’s mind for opportunity
kept him making decisions regarding what
was best for his cash flow.
However, eventually the “Devils” associated
with the drug trade caught up with Jay-Z. Ac
cording to the Greensburg text, Jay-Z’s first al
bum, “Reasonable Doubt,” was supposed to be
his only album. However, a nudge from death
caused Jay-Z to permanently change his at
titude about the opportunity costs associated
with selling drugs and making music.
“He saw death,” DeHaven explains. “He saw
the bad side of the game. He almost had his life
taken. And that’s what did it. He messed with
the wrong people.”
Jay-Z realized that the risks - jail time and
maybe even death - were no longer worth the
fast-money reward of selling drugs. The busi
nessman, therefore, had to move in a new di
rection towards a new “hustle.”
“For the burgeoning businessman, the de
cision to stop dealing sometime around 1995
could also be explained as a simple recalibra
tion of risks and benefits,” Greenburg writes.
“When he saw the money that he could make
in the music business, [Rolling Stone maga
zine writer] Toure muses, and be legal with it,
and not have to worry about the police, and
getting shot by other drug dealers, and all the
other predators who’d been coming at him, it
made a lot of sense.’”
The business mogul innate in Jay-Z ob
served the risks of his trade and realized it was
time for a change. However, as he did when he
hustled illegally, Jay-Z prepared to move into a
new opportunity with a mindset bent on prof
iting as much as possible.
As a young entrepreneur, you should train
your mind to recognize and act on opportu
nity. As you move towards your venture, you
should also be aware of the opportunity cost
associated with that venture. What else could
you be doing with your time? What are you
losing by pursuing your opportunity? Is the
cost worth the potential benefit associated
with your venture? What can you do to ensure
that your venture is worth the potential losses
you may suffer?
These types of questions frame the thought
TUMBLING THROUGH FASHION
Jovel Phillips
Contributing writer
jovel@the-no-names.com
B logspot, Blogger or Wordpress? Re
gardless of the platform, blogging
is one of the biggest trends to reach the
digital age and it’s creating quite a siz
able impression on the world of pop
culture, business, and politics. Name
the topic and I guarantee there are hun
dreds, if not thousands, of blogs where
you can find immediate and personal
reactions to the latest updates on that
area of interest.
While blogging isn’t new, it’s recently
been revamped, largely because of Turn -
blr, as the cool, new thing for everyone
to do. I created my Tumblr in March
of 2010 back when there were maybe
six to 10 other members of the AUC
also tumbling. Now, half, if not more,
of AUC students can say that their do
main is .tumblr.com. With
the ability to upload pictures, videos,
quotes, links, songs, and anything else
that crosses their mind, who can blame
them?
Fans of the fashion industry are le
veraging this new trend to help stay
alert of what’s going on in the industry,
while also building names for them
selves amongst other “fashionheads.”
The front rows of fashion shows that
used to be filled with editors from the
most reputable publications are now
being reserved for people like Pelayo
Diaz (a personal role model of mine),
15-year old Tavi Gevinson, and Bryan
Boy, all bloggers that are changing the
world of fashion.
The magic behind blogging is that
it’s instant reporting of everything that
you want to hear. Who wants to wait
a week, a month, or sometimes even a
quarter for the latest reviews on fash
ion shows, trends, and news when you
can get them by the time you get home
from class at the end of the day? Ear
lier this month was New York Fashion
Week, and two out of every three pic
tures on my Tumblr dashboard were
fashion-related posts or images com
ing straight from the Lincoln Center in
NYC. This new social network gives as
piring members of the fashion industry
the chance to show their followers their
tastes and talents, while providing fash
ion fans a free flow of ongoing pictures,
articles, and news on what they love.
Recycle The Maroon Tiger