May 20 2008
Jay-Z at the 2008 NBA Draft Lottery

Jay-Z at the 2008 NBA Draft Lottery + Usher’s “Best Thing”

Jay-Z was on hand to represent the New Jersey Nets at tonight’s NBA draft lottery. With a 1% chance of getting the number one pick, Jay-Z hoped his other nickname “Lucky Lefty” would hold true.
The balls bounced and The New Jersey Nets got the tenth pick - (Chicago Bulls 1st, Miami Heat 2nd.)

Oh well, there’s always the Carmelo Anthony trade. How pissed would Allen Iverson be if that happens?

Jay-Z was interviewed just before the picks were selected.

30 Seconds with Jay-Z at the 2008 NBA Draft Lottery

I can’t get over how unremarkable he looks in corporate settings. Really, despite the many millions and successful business deals.. He reminds me of Marlo when he mingles with the suits.

Well he’s always comfortable on his home court.

Jay-Z and Usher

Usher hit Jay-Z up for two verses on “Best Thing” a song from Usher’s new album Here I Stand due May 27. It needs multiple plays to sink in, but whether Ipod or CD, it’s a spinner.


☼ What's Your Opinion? ☼

1 He is only a rapper Tue, May 20, 2008 - 11:44 pm

You can’t imagine it because regardless of the money that Jay-Z has he still isn’t a true businessman. I give him credit for what he has done with his money, but he is CLEARLY no Donald Trump.

2 Charolette Wed, May 21, 2008 - 12:25 am

No rapper from this era can be a “true businessman” because they are too hood. That includes Jay-Z. I would like to see someone like LL Cool J do the business thing instead of these thugs. He really showed how inept he is in that interview they did. When you have money it is easy to put your money up and call yourself a businessman. I agree, he is doing the right thing with his dollars though.

3 Jay's Wifey Wed, May 21, 2008 - 1:21 am

Wat? Jay is a biznessman. Just cuz he’s one of the greatest rappers alive don’t mean he can’t handle his B.I, too. Look what he did with Rocafella Records, he sold it and got it right back when he became president of Def Jam. He also owns part of the Nets, Rocawear,and still makes money of his own songs, If that is not a true biznessman, I don’t know what is.

4 To the post above Wed, May 21, 2008 - 9:42 am

Yeah, maybe he is a biznessman but he isn’t a businessman. That is why he looked like a deer in front of headlights in his interview. Part of being a businessman is self representation and last night he failed in that aspect.

5 People please... Wed, May 21, 2008 - 10:02 am

Self Representation is only important for up and comers not to established businessmen. With that said I am not sure I see where he lacks it. Trump loves the camera, Jay Z is a more secluded person you rarely see him in photo ops. Most business men are that way minus a few that love it like Trump and Rich Branson. Real business deals are done behind closed doors which means no “headlights” and cameras just men and women shaking hands and signing documents. Jay-Z is a multi-plat artist that also heads a clothing company, Armandale Vodka, Carols Daughter, he has watches by Audemars Piguet, currently on a nationwide tour raking in millions, while signing a 150M deal with Live Nation.  He also has deals with Chevy, NJ Nets, Coca-Cola the list goes on and on. Not to mention Jay-Z was the first non athlete to receive a shoe deal…The result…Reeboks highest selling show EVER!

No Jay-Z is not businessman, he’s a business

The Nay-sayers are simply voicing their opinions of a rapper.

6 The Hustler Thu, May 22, 2008 - 7:10 am

Just because a dude comes from the hood he cant be a business man? Because a man used skillful word play as an avenue to escape the hood(MARCY da real hood B), he is not a business man? Get outta here clowns! The man used rap (his gift) to manuver his way into the business world (his passion).The guy owns several multi-million dollar companies and stock in a billion dollar corporation, thats good business. So i ask you, What makes a person a business man? “a college degree” NO. Like da man said not only is he a business man, he is a business. With a mind thats so tactful, that he got Budweiser to pay him, to promote his album. Yo I could spaz out on u clowns all night but its a rap. Big ups to Jay, Keep handling your BUSINESS B!

7 hustlers aren't business men Thu, May 22, 2008 - 7:47 am

Don’t give me this shit that business was his passion. He was fortunate that rap became what it became and hired BUSINESS MEN to do the right thing with his money. I give him credit for that but I will never call him some BUSINESS MAN like you all are calling him. He is a fortunate man. What next are you people going to say that a crack dealer is a business man? Get real people.

8 Michele Thu, May 22, 2008 - 10:57 pm

This guy is clearly no business man. He has business men doing his business. If he had to close a deal I guarantee he would not know the first thing about doing it. To any of you that think that you don’t need a college degree to be a business person. Run your own REAL business then and see how far you will get. I’m not talking about opening a corner store or a nail salon, I am talking about a real business and see how you will fail.

9 J.A. Fri, May 23, 2008 - 1:53 pm

Regardless of whether or not he is a business man in the typical, old-fashioned, uptight way is not the point. The point is he has diversified his revenue sources from one stream (rap music), to many. Its ignorant to say what someone is or is not when in most cases, you haven’t met the person in question. Then on the other hand give other executives praise for moves and business deals you THINK they make when you don’t know them either. I know a former employee of Mr. Trump and like other employees of his he will tell you that Trump is the face of the company and handles very little of the day to day operations of RUNNING the company. In closing, saying that it takes a college degree to run a Fortune 500 company is the DUMBEST thing I’ve ever heard!!! Do your homework people! Bill Gates DROPPED OUT of college and last I heard he was the richest man in the world for the better part of 15 years before being succeeded last year by Carlos Slim. But as Jay recently rapped, “others ain’t the game so they practice hate!” If he’s not a business man then will the haters please come forward and show us how its done!

10 hustlers aren't business men Fri, May 23, 2008 - 4:09 pm

To the post above, Start a fortune 500 business without your college degree and let me see how you do. Saying that you can run a fortune 500 straight out of high school is the DUMBEST and I mean DUMBEST thing that I ever heard. Business takes education for those of you that are too dumb to know that. As to you knowing someone that is a “former employee” of Donald Trumps, which by the way I don’t believe, he or she doesn’t know what they are talking about. Jay-Z is a rapper who has BUSINESS MEN doing a very good job with his money. I haven’t met him but anyone with a brain would know that if there was no rap money Jay-Z wouldn’t have any business because he ain’t no business man. BTW, if you have an opinion that doesn’t mean that you are a hater STUPID. IT MEANS THAT YOU HAVE AN OPINION.

11 JA Fri, May 23, 2008 - 6:07 pm

So you don’t know Jay-Z but you know for SURE that he isn’t smart enough to do anything without anyone else’s help? Yet, you don’t know Donald Trump either but you believe that he is completely capable of running a Fortune 500 company ALL ALONE!!!!!???? Get real. As for starting and running a Fortune 500 company without a college degree being dumb, you apparently didn’t read my post in its entirety because I listed the best example known to man for why college isn’t necessary to be a successful business person…Bill Gates!!! Not sure if you’ve heard of him but he is a college DROP OUT who along with another college DROP OUT friend of his, Paul Allen started this TINY, LITTLE software company called Microsoft. You probably haven’t heard of it but they did pretty well with it. President George W. Bush has a college degree from Yale and its done NOTHING for his business sense in running this country so what does college really prove. Degrees only take you so far. Half of the people with degrees CAN’T get a job in the field they studied for. Bill Gates (that guy I mentioned earlier) has made more millionaires out of kids he hired straight from high school. Hustling is not limited to drug dealing. Its a mindset to succeed no matter what! Its about determination and perseverance! Larry Ellison and Carlos Slim are two more examples of college dropouts who became billionaires. The latter, Slim, was named “world’s richest person” in 2007 by Forbes magazine. Do your research before coming on a blog and being so adamant about how VITAL college is to life success. Finally, to say that someone is surrounded by smart people is not a discredit to them but rather a testament to their intelligence in picking the right team! No one stand alone. From Gates, to Buffet, to Obama. Everyone needs a TEAM to win. So if Jay-Z has selected a team to help him, then he is following in the footsteps of greatness. Unless of course, you can produce ONE example of someone who built an empire ALL ALONE with NO HELP!!!! But you can’t!!!

12 Hustlers aren't business men Fri, May 23, 2008 - 6:48 pm

Look, you can name a few cases that have fell through the cracks but the bottome line is that college is needed. To down play the importance of college is not very smart. I hope you don’t use that same logic with your children. For every 1 case of success that you have made there are thousands of cases that are the same of people THAT WENT TO COLLEGE. I do have to agree with you on that clown George W. Bush, but his college degree put him in place to at least fake that he knew what he was doing. So you see with a college degree you can fake your way through life as he has. He faked his dumb ass all the way to the top job in the world because he has a degree. Once again I agree with you that you need a team but lets not give Jay-Z credit for “picking a great team” give me his money and I can do the same or better. He is still a rapper that has done well with his money BUT HE AIN’T NO BUSINESS MAN. Business men do his business. That Forbes list that you are talking about I’ll bet you that 8- out of-10 of the people on that list attended college if not graduated from college. Even the college drop outs that you talk about used what they learned in college to get where they are. To say that college isn’t vital really is a sad statement. BTW, this is coming from a college drop out that has used what I learned in college but REALIZES there is so much more to be learned. COLLEGE IS DEFINATELY VITAL…

13 J.A. Fri, May 23, 2008 - 9:11 pm

I agree that college helps. I just believe that it can only do so much. As you have stated, you are successful and you are a college dropout. That speaks to your determination to succeed no matter what! All I’m saying is that is the most essential key to success: Determination NOT a piece of paper. Its what in a person’s will. Howard Hughes, founder of T.W.A. worked to build the foundation that the modern airline industry is still based on today without a diploma. He just wanted to be better than all of those ivy leaguers who thought that just because they had a degree, they were better than him. Jay-Z has a good team. It doesn’t matter if he picked them even though with his intelligence I’m sure he did. Let’s not forget, half of college graduates could NEVER be sharp enough to make it in the streets. So his street knowledge comes in handy. The same way Don King used his street knowledge to build a multi-million dollar business. The bottom line is, all of the graduates with diplomas now work for the dope dealer turned rapper turned multi-faceted entrepreneur. They all get paid with checks signed by HIM!!! That’s no small thing. The same way you will be signing the paychecks of those that work for you, if you haven’t started already! Its not always about a piece of paper but the will to be great! I used to live next door to a couple that had a daughter who earned TWO degrees from Yale and still lived in their basement! She had no will to succeed. Gimme a hard worker over a person that has a false sense of entitlement because of a degree anyday. That’s what I tell my kids. There is NO substitute for a basic desire to win no matter what. Even when you’re outnumbered, undersized, or underestimated. Success is a battle won in the mind, not the classroom. I’m not putting college down. But it doesn’t guarantee success. The same way that a lack of it doesn’t guarantee failure.

14 Hustlers aren't business men Fri, May 23, 2008 - 10:39 pm

I agree with you that a diploma can only do so much but it starts with college. College helps a lot of people fake it through life just like our president. No diploma and he couldn’t have become president regardless of how smart he is. You bring up another point that people that have diploma’s don’t understand and that is street smarts. The diploma is the first part and the street smarts does the rest. So I guess that in a way we are both right. Just tell every child if the have the chance go to college. Thats all that I am saying

15 Mufidz Thu, Oct 25, 2012 - 1:57 am

This family sreahd so many special moments with me. From the time they got engaged until now. I feel privileged to document & be part of their lives. I hope to continue to do so for a very long time. The last session was only a few months ago & was wonderful. You can see it here.

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