Beanie Sigel - Jay-Z skirmish....
Now this is what I have to say about it. Honestly this is more because of a twitter conversation I had on Saturday morning. The fact of the matter is Jay is most likely a serial user, there is a definate pattern here. I had one of the participants talk about Beans' accusations and speaking about what happened as just part of business.
That last sentence may be hard to understand. Let's recap: Sigel releases a "diss" track called "Not Your Average Cat" addressing what he felt were shots in the Blueprint 3 and other feelings that were on his chest. He later went on Charlamagne's radio show in Philly to clarify the lyrics. One of the main issues was that Jay-z didn't say he would be responsible so Beans could get out of jail on bail. The second is that he obviously felt they had a relationship that preceded their business dealings. Third, that Jay never really put his neck out there to help push the rest of the label and that it was Dame who set up Bean's deals that were somewhat lucrative to have a back-up plan as the Jay-z situation deteriorated.
Jay-z's rebuttal was that Beanie had a lot of opportunities and still squandered them and basically gave the hollywood round-about answer saying none of it was his fault.
Now one of the issues I'm looking at this is idea that whatever Jay-z does is alright because it is Jay-Z and it's okay because it's business. The problem with that is this idea that Jay befriended and was to take Beans under his wing and actually teach him some things about the game. In his interview Sigel refers to a classic Jay-Z line where he is said to be trying to hip him to game, not making him change (him being Beans). However, it turns out that it wasn't a conversation, but an admonishing because what Beanie was doing was jeapordizing Jay. "Hov" wasn't interested in protecting the career of his artist and friend but looking out for himself. On the one hand, you cannot blame a man for looking out for his best interests, but when the guy purports it as doing it for someone else you might feel a different way about it.
Businesses and capitalism do not have to be inherently wrong, evil, and manipulative. There is enough out there for everyone to get a piece but the problem is some become consumed by power and selfishness. Another quote in my conversations was:
So is that saying it is okay to use people in the name of business? Not in my personal book and I'm not going to try too hard to convince you otherwise if you believe that it is ok. But a man whose image is built upon being the advocate for the other hustlers, the guy who looks out for his people who don't have anything cannot be the same person constantly being accused of using people and still maintain that image of being Robin Hood. Being accused also doesn't make you guilty automatically, however it doesn't mean that you're innocent either.
Business aside, Sigel is upset that throughout his time in jail he didn't hear from this guy who was supposed to be his friend. This is the same person who wouldn't vouch for him so that he could be out free. Fine, I can't fault Jay for that one. Beanie was reckless. To not call, write a letter, or visit however is unacceptable. This wasn't Puffy and Shyne. Then if you go back to the radio interview and Sigel talks about 50 Cent regularly being in the same jail to visit a relative when he was at the heights of his career truly adds insult to injury and is the real focus of his anger. Well that and the fact he used his new release to throw some shots at Sigel and the SP crew.
In the end, it's just another example of how the industry is a shady place. There is a lot we may never actually know. Jay talks about how Beans had a lot on the label, and he is right but it doesn't absolve Jay of his responsibilities as one of the principal owners of the label. More on this to come....
That last sentence may be hard to understand. Let's recap: Sigel releases a "diss" track called "Not Your Average Cat" addressing what he felt were shots in the Blueprint 3 and other feelings that were on his chest. He later went on Charlamagne's radio show in Philly to clarify the lyrics. One of the main issues was that Jay-z didn't say he would be responsible so Beans could get out of jail on bail. The second is that he obviously felt they had a relationship that preceded their business dealings. Third, that Jay never really put his neck out there to help push the rest of the label and that it was Dame who set up Bean's deals that were somewhat lucrative to have a back-up plan as the Jay-z situation deteriorated.
Jay-z's rebuttal was that Beanie had a lot of opportunities and still squandered them and basically gave the hollywood round-about answer saying none of it was his fault.
Now one of the issues I'm looking at this is idea that whatever Jay-z does is alright because it is Jay-Z and it's okay because it's business. The problem with that is this idea that Jay befriended and was to take Beans under his wing and actually teach him some things about the game. In his interview Sigel refers to a classic Jay-Z line where he is said to be trying to hip him to game, not making him change (him being Beans). However, it turns out that it wasn't a conversation, but an admonishing because what Beanie was doing was jeapordizing Jay. "Hov" wasn't interested in protecting the career of his artist and friend but looking out for himself. On the one hand, you cannot blame a man for looking out for his best interests, but when the guy purports it as doing it for someone else you might feel a different way about it.
Businesses and capitalism do not have to be inherently wrong, evil, and manipulative. There is enough out there for everyone to get a piece but the problem is some become consumed by power and selfishness. Another quote in my conversations was:
No one makes $400+ million and not be accused of using people!! Its business!!
So is that saying it is okay to use people in the name of business? Not in my personal book and I'm not going to try too hard to convince you otherwise if you believe that it is ok. But a man whose image is built upon being the advocate for the other hustlers, the guy who looks out for his people who don't have anything cannot be the same person constantly being accused of using people and still maintain that image of being Robin Hood. Being accused also doesn't make you guilty automatically, however it doesn't mean that you're innocent either.
Business aside, Sigel is upset that throughout his time in jail he didn't hear from this guy who was supposed to be his friend. This is the same person who wouldn't vouch for him so that he could be out free. Fine, I can't fault Jay for that one. Beanie was reckless. To not call, write a letter, or visit however is unacceptable. This wasn't Puffy and Shyne. Then if you go back to the radio interview and Sigel talks about 50 Cent regularly being in the same jail to visit a relative when he was at the heights of his career truly adds insult to injury and is the real focus of his anger. Well that and the fact he used his new release to throw some shots at Sigel and the SP crew.
In the end, it's just another example of how the industry is a shady place. There is a lot we may never actually know. Jay talks about how Beans had a lot on the label, and he is right but it doesn't absolve Jay of his responsibilities as one of the principal owners of the label. More on this to come....
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