Your Keeping it Real Friends can Keep you Broke
Well not really broke because we are talking about some rather successful artists and guys who have a higher income than the average person for the most part. However, in a discussion about Puff (yes, this dude is like the bane of my existence right now) I sort of realized that those same guys you hang around to 'keep you grounded' can also "Keep you Grounded".
To explain let me first look at the hood dynamic that everyone protects those with talent when they cannot find their own personal talents. You have the football players, basketball players, rappers, potential directors, etc, whom the true thugs go and support so they don't go to waste. Of course, once they get put on they are responsible for holding down those who held them down. Sometimes, it works out, look at Jay-z and Ty-Ty. You never hear about Ty-Ty getting into beefs, or causing drama that isn't needed. (well he did allegedly mase R. Kelly lmao)
Is this what you imagined from Puffy in this century? I mean this might have made sense in 99 but at this point I expect Puff to be investing in real estate, having a distribution empire like that of Universal, the clothing line which seems to be doing well, and maybe some ownership in a sports team and some really interesting partnerships. Instead he's trying to behave like one of the newer guys in rap, like Rick Ross who doesn't know any better because he hasn't been in certain circles at this point. I would expect Puff to be a role model and guide these dudes careers to the next level. Sort of like...
Who would have thought Jay-z the rapper would turn out to be a better business role model than Puff? Ironically while writing this my random play list picked out the "Diamonds" remix where Jay says "I'm not a businessman I'm a business...maaaan, let me handle my business damn." Looking at Jay he handling this success the right way. He is constantly around people who have more money and know how than he does in his various arenas of interest. Mikhail Prokhorov is the principal owner and Russian billionaire. Jay-z talks to people like Warren Buffett and Bill Gates. Puffy talks to people like Lil Wayne and Fat Joe.
A wise man once said if you're the smartest person in your circle of friends, then you need some new ones, or something similar. The thought has its merits while hip-hop often looks at those who upgrade or move on from their neighborhood friends or those who seem to be similar and into different groups as sell-outs, it really is the path to betterment. Especially if you can get with a group of people who can teach you new things. Instead, attempting to remain the big dog in a small kennel gives a false sense of security and also a lack of growth. This is what i see when I look at Puffy, a lack of growth overall. Puff isn't the only one however.
Anyone familiar with the king of keeping it real, a one Earl Simmons aka DMX? The king of keeping it real until it went horribly wrong X can't seem to get himself right and ends up with the same cell mates because he's busy trying to keep it real instead of being smart and stepping upward. Or how about this one:
Why is Snoop still taking these pictures? And really its not just the smoking, its the constant same old gangster g-funk music with no purpose, murderous verses and lack of upward growth on the business end. Even if he wants to do the sex and drugs thing, why aren't you with the leaders in the counter culture industries? Guys who make money off of sex, the porn producers, or people in the medical marijuana field? I see you've got endorsement power, but it's one thing to be the rally monkey of a company and something different to be deciding who the rally monkey is going to be.
Look everyone isn't of the mind to become a mogul, but what' more infuriating is when guys continue to stick around with people designed to retain street credibility when the goal is to be successful and leave that life behind. I know it's difficult, but everytime someone decides they would rather be with Gunplay because he likes to wild out, instead of going to meet with a financier of the CFO of a Venture Capital firm to see how to best use their money, another nigga from the hood misses the chance to see the larger strategic goal and direction that they could be headed to. One of the biggest claims is that young men in the hood don't have role models other than drug dealers and entertainers. We need to systematically cure that by having our entertainers show the way to behave once some level of success is attained. Throwing money at every strip club on the east coast is not the way to do that.
To explain let me first look at the hood dynamic that everyone protects those with talent when they cannot find their own personal talents. You have the football players, basketball players, rappers, potential directors, etc, whom the true thugs go and support so they don't go to waste. Of course, once they get put on they are responsible for holding down those who held them down. Sometimes, it works out, look at Jay-z and Ty-Ty. You never hear about Ty-Ty getting into beefs, or causing drama that isn't needed. (well he did allegedly mase R. Kelly lmao)
Is this what you imagined from Puffy in this century? I mean this might have made sense in 99 but at this point I expect Puff to be investing in real estate, having a distribution empire like that of Universal, the clothing line which seems to be doing well, and maybe some ownership in a sports team and some really interesting partnerships. Instead he's trying to behave like one of the newer guys in rap, like Rick Ross who doesn't know any better because he hasn't been in certain circles at this point. I would expect Puff to be a role model and guide these dudes careers to the next level. Sort of like...
Who would have thought Jay-z the rapper would turn out to be a better business role model than Puff? Ironically while writing this my random play list picked out the "Diamonds" remix where Jay says "I'm not a businessman I'm a business...maaaan, let me handle my business damn." Looking at Jay he handling this success the right way. He is constantly around people who have more money and know how than he does in his various arenas of interest. Mikhail Prokhorov is the principal owner and Russian billionaire. Jay-z talks to people like Warren Buffett and Bill Gates. Puffy talks to people like Lil Wayne and Fat Joe.
A wise man once said if you're the smartest person in your circle of friends, then you need some new ones, or something similar. The thought has its merits while hip-hop often looks at those who upgrade or move on from their neighborhood friends or those who seem to be similar and into different groups as sell-outs, it really is the path to betterment. Especially if you can get with a group of people who can teach you new things. Instead, attempting to remain the big dog in a small kennel gives a false sense of security and also a lack of growth. This is what i see when I look at Puffy, a lack of growth overall. Puff isn't the only one however.
Anyone familiar with the king of keeping it real, a one Earl Simmons aka DMX? The king of keeping it real until it went horribly wrong X can't seem to get himself right and ends up with the same cell mates because he's busy trying to keep it real instead of being smart and stepping upward. Or how about this one:
Why is Snoop still taking these pictures? And really its not just the smoking, its the constant same old gangster g-funk music with no purpose, murderous verses and lack of upward growth on the business end. Even if he wants to do the sex and drugs thing, why aren't you with the leaders in the counter culture industries? Guys who make money off of sex, the porn producers, or people in the medical marijuana field? I see you've got endorsement power, but it's one thing to be the rally monkey of a company and something different to be deciding who the rally monkey is going to be.
Look everyone isn't of the mind to become a mogul, but what' more infuriating is when guys continue to stick around with people designed to retain street credibility when the goal is to be successful and leave that life behind. I know it's difficult, but everytime someone decides they would rather be with Gunplay because he likes to wild out, instead of going to meet with a financier of the CFO of a Venture Capital firm to see how to best use their money, another nigga from the hood misses the chance to see the larger strategic goal and direction that they could be headed to. One of the biggest claims is that young men in the hood don't have role models other than drug dealers and entertainers. We need to systematically cure that by having our entertainers show the way to behave once some level of success is attained. Throwing money at every strip club on the east coast is not the way to do that.
One of your best posts man.
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