Hip Hop, much like the rest of the world has a class system, but never before has this been more obvious than right now. Probably because Jay-Z's light is shining so bright everyone else is in his shadow. Jigga man pulled the ultimate hat-trick this past month, starting with his $150 million Live Nation deal, which is one of the largest music contracts in the history of the business. At a time when record sales are plummeting (including his own), Jay manages to convince executives that on the verge of turning 40 years old, he's still worth more than entire Def Jam roster. Now that's game! His deal with Live Nation also resulted in his current 28-city tour with reigning Queen of Hip Hop, Mary J. Blige. This would be the second time he pulled the #1 R&B artist of the time to tour with.( Who could forget the R. Kelly disaster). This may seem like a natural thing, but ask yourself: who else could pull this off? Rick Ross and Ashanti? Fat Joe and Cassie? Not likely. And speaking of male/female pairings, this past weekend Jay wed his longtime girlfriend and object of every man's desire, Beyonce in a private roof-top ceremony.
Meanwhile on the other end of the spectrum, rappers Papoose and Remy Ma plan to tie-the-knot somewhere near Cell Block D, after Remy's recent assault conviction landed her a substantial amount of jail time. 50 Cent and Fat Joe continue to send each other video mail and draw pictures of each other with Photoshop and Common - looking awkward and uncomfortable - MC's a gay dance party!
Rappers take note: Follow the blueprint laid down by Jay-Z. That plan seems to be working. -Kapital One