The Good Side of Hip Hop
It's not very often that I credit hip hoppers as being a voice of social consciousness. But, I ain't even gon lie: even I was impressed when I read that hip hop mogul Jay-Z (Sean Carter) has set up an education fund for the children of Sean Bell, the unarmed man recently killed by three police officers.
According to the New York Times:
The rapper Jay-Z has established an educational trust for the two children of Sean Bell, the unarmed man shot and killed by the police in November 2006 on the day he was to be married, allhiphop.com reported. Last month the three policemen tried for Mr. Bell’s death were acquitted of all charges by a New York judge. Mr. Bell’s fiancée, Nicole Paultre Bell, has been appearing in “I Will Not Lose,” an advertising campaign for Rocawear, a clothing company founded by Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter.
Granted, he is worth hundreds of millions of dollars and this (relatively speaking) is a drop in the bucket compared to what he and others like him could be doing for millions of other poor children. And -- yes -- he stands to make even more loot from his new marketing campaign for Rocawear. And -- yes -- I have an issue with people profitting from tragedy (case in point). But I still give Jay kudos for using his platform to uplift somebody who has gone through the unimaginable. Good lookin' out, Jay.
See? Hip hop is completely the devil. Just 90% of it.
- ACL
3 "Insiders" spoke their mind. Join in...:
it's a good gesture, and hopefully, a sincere one from the heart solely for the benefit of the children and not for profit in his pockets.
I agree Sylv. I hope this isn't just some stunt to serve Jay's own money-seeking interests. Lord knows he's got more than enough of that already.
Happy Belated Mother's Day to you. :)
thanks Andre.
Post a Comment