Harry Belafonte vs. Jay Z

In no uncertain terms, I am solidly on the side of Harry Belafonte regarding this situation between him and Jay Z (he dropped the hyphen).

The one thing I side with Jigga on is that entertainers shouldn't feel a responsibility to act as though they have a social conscience. No one should have to do anything they don't want to, no matter what position they find themselves in.

"But that's what the whole thing si about, so you really agree with Jay"...no, it's not: and no, I don't.




This is about the lack of respect that many in our generation have for those who came before us. The fact that Jay had the gall to refer to Belafonte as "boy" is almost literally sickening. The man bailed MLK out of jail 'and' he camped out with the Dream Defenders. Think about that: those two events were almost sixty years apart. He still has the courage, the vitality, and the perspective to fight for equal rights. I say this - while leaving out so much of his resume - to say that he is far above the reproach of a rapper.

Now, Jay Z is a great rapper. I don't think there's much of an argument on that. As he once said, he's not a businessman: he's a business, man. He's great at that too.

You know, as I continue to type I realize my problem isn't with Jay Z. My problem is with Shawn Carter. Jay Z got dragged into this mess because no one really cares about Shawn Carter. Maybe that's part of the problem. No one really cared about Shawn Carter when he was growing up. Shawn had humble beginnings and had to...well, y'all know the story. He soon created/became Jay-Z  and had the fame and notoriety and money that he had so longed for. Since no one cared about Shawn, Shawn decided Jay didn't have to care about anyone...

...but Harry Belafonte cared about Shawn. He cared about Shawn and so many people - not black people, but people - and they didn't realize it. This is Shawn's huge shortcoming, and neither he nor Jay has any idea of that. If Shawn knew...and the sad part is Shawn is smart enough to know...I doubt he would have used such a disrespectful term to describe Belafonte.

Funny thing is, Shawn is smart enough to know how to handle Harry's initial comment. He could have deflected or chosen not to comment. He could have noted Harry's work and simply agreed t disagree. But no...he had to come with the disrespect and say some foolishness like "my presence is charity". [Female dog], what?

There was only one wrong way to handle this, and that's the way Shawn decided to go. Jay said in a song "a wise man said don't argue with fools, 'cause people from a distance can't tell who is who". On the strength of that, Harry needs to let Shawn wallow in his foolishness.

Of course, Harry decided to be the bigger man yet again and requested a meeting with the Carters to clear the air. If Shawn can get past his personal hurt and pride to let Jay accept the invitation, then something positive could result from all this. However, if Shawn gets in the way he'll ruin a few opportunities. He'll also confirm that the Carters only know how to use their voices by opening their mouths, and that even then it's no guarantee that they have anything coming out that's worth listening to.