![]() “Nobody will fall ’cause everyone will be each other’s crutches,” he raps on the 1996, Ski Beatz-produced “Feelin’ It.” This timeless mantra speaks to the strength of support the kind of mentality necessary in corporate settings and street corners. ![]() Roc-A-Fella Records was JAY-Z’s first kingdom, and he made sure to vocalize the knights of his roundtable. They require a team, crew, collective, whatever the current name is for those who help to make palaces out of stones. Kingdoms are built, not born, but they aren’t built alone. More than luck is needed to turn a few hot summers into burning decades. Younger rap artists can look at Jay and say, “I want that, 20-plus years in the game with the passion to create still in me.” There are a few other examples that better reinforce that real longevity is possible. Diddy and more, it’s truly a milestone both for him and the culture. Knowing how many legends hip-hop has lost in their 20s, 30s, and 40s, to see Jay reach his 50s with the likes of Dr. Now, 16 years after that short, but impactful goodbye, another December fourth is here, and JAY-Z turns 50. Other rappers have found their footing between the spaces, but no one has reached the pinnacle of their peak as they were saying goodbye. No one knew what was next for the hip-hop superstar, and how could they? Jay at 34 had the charts and the classics, he was culture and commercial, a distinction that no other contemporary rapper balanced with his effortless zeal. It’s been 16 years since “December 4th.” JAY-Z was 34 then, newly retired from rap, with the world as his oyster. ![]()
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