I gotta admit, I was somewhat of a Jay-Z hater for awhile. In between Reasonable Doubt and the Black Album, I lost track of where he was going a little.

I don’t know, man … of course I still respected him as an MC and dope lyricist … I guess I just felt that my definition of hip-hop revolved around certain valuable qualities, and “Big Pimpin’” just didn’t seem like one of them.

However, a verse in what was supposedly his last album made me think different …

Since I know what I’m up against.
We as rappers must decide what’s most important.
And I can’t help the poor if I’m one of them.
So I got rich and gave back.
To me, that’s the win/win.

Jay-Z in “Clarity” from the Black Album

I liked this verse because it made it seem like Jay had some master plan to pimp the industry, get rich, and give back to the hip-hop generation. And in several ways since then, from my perspective, he has made significant contributions. Recently, Jay made another …

I came across an article this week entitled “Jay-Z Helps U.N. Focus on Water Crisis,” which explained that Jay-Z has teamed up with the UN to raise awareness about the world’s water crisis while on his upcoming world tour. In the words of Jay …

“I’m not just gon’ go and do rap songs. I wanna touch, and maybe help, and see what I can do in these areas. As I start looking around me, looking at things in ways that I can become helpful, starting at the first thing, water. Something as simple as water.”

Jay-Z quoted from Soundslam.com

Damn, man … doesn’t that make you feel good? Not neccessarily that there are people in hip-hop who are adamant about helping, but that the whole world has the opportunity to see and acknowledge that now. I think it is the duty of the hip-hop generation to make a difference … not just in the US, but all over the world. And if our most famous representatives become more outspoken and involved in national and world affairs, it will likely influence our educators, business owners and policy makers to become more involved as well.

So big ups to Jay-Z and the rest of the increasingly conscious hip-hop generation. Stay up, and we’ll see what kind of difference we can make. Peace.