America’s wealthy and influential getting together for exclusive soirées is nothing new. These events happening in New York City’s public libraries aren’t unheard of. At the Central Library in Brooklyn, though, few know what those golden icons are at the front entrance. If you’re wondering, they’re treasured figures from classic American literature. But Friday, I heard millennials, like me, and even Gen-X parents reciting Jay-Z lyrics to their kids. For now, they’re covering that same entrance, among those golden icons. They’re part of a “surprise” tribute exhibition created by Roc Nation. That’s the rapper turned billionaire’s full-service entertainment company. And he had no idea its staff was putting this together in his honor. The Book of HOV, it’s a “celebration of the life and work” of their boss, Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter.
The vibrant mosaic of bustling library goers represents mainstream American culture in Brooklyn. Jay-Z is a household name transcending differences among them, and that’s huge. But why is there a “Jay-Z exhibit” at the library? Why was a private party that shut down the library Thursday even needed? I heard several variations of this as I approached the library’s entrance.
It explores Jay-Z’s “global impact as a musician, innovator, entrepreneur, and philanthropist.” Bedford-Stuyvesant—where he is from—is in a historic northern section of Brooklyn. It happens to be the birthplace of many famous natives. It is also close to the library, Atlantic Terminal and Center, Barclays Center, and one of his 40/40 Clubs. Jay-Z amassed part of his wealth through an ownership stake in the NBA Brooklyn Nets, who play there. Hip-hop turns 50 years old this year. It’s been influencing popular culture and driving social change for decades now. All while maintaining its roots in storytelling. The youthful and rebellious subculture is now a classic American music genre. And the 53-year-old rapper is one of its most treasured figures.
“Why is there a Jay-Z exhibit at the library?” one library goer asked. “They’re giving us trinkets,” he said. The woman he was talking to directed her attention towards me. “I’d much rather see a community center,” she said. He agrees with her and asks me, “I see you taking pictures. Have you been inside yet? It’s sad. Why does a rapper need an exhibit at the library and a party in his honor? These people have never set foot in here. Now they’re showing up to take pictures today? Why?” “Jay-Z is making history,” I responded.
We continued as people hiked up the steps, took pictures, and hurried inside. “Cover your eyes and spin around three times. What Black iconography do you see? Do you know what those gold icons over there are?” I asked. “I’m not doing that. I know what you’re trying to say. But I support reparations and tangibles, not trinkets and distractions,” he replied. He then took out a book about “codes” and started talking about Booker T. Washington. I had come from browsing at the Strand bookstore that morning and picked up a copy of W.E.B. Du Bois’s The Souls of Black Folk. I showed it to him and said, “I like radical intellectualism. Its potential is worth more than reparations could ever be.” We ended our conversation, and I returned to taking pictures of history.
To me, keep having to remind others of who owes us what as Black people is a distraction. To “get on one accord,” according to Nipsey Hussle, we must plan for the future. And that’s impossible exerting all our collective power to dwell on the past. Imagine someone complaining and throwing all types of protest about Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid robbing their ancestors expecting to be paid, today. The LED display cube conveyed a powerful message: “A work of art already.” Now this statement isn’t a distraction but a reminder. Jay-Z’s creativity has brought immense sonic and aesthetic pleasure to audiences worldwide. The sign says you are here out of interest in a Black man from Brooklyn, without the exhausting derision.
“See, it’s a couple of niggas every generation
— Nipsey Hussle, “Loaded Bases,” featuring CeeLo Green. Victory Lap (2018)
That wasn’t supposed to make it out but decode the matrix
And when they get to speak, it’s like a coded language.
Reminds niggas of their strength and all the stolen greatness.”
That’s more of Airmiess Joseph Asghedom, a.k.a. Nipsey Hussle’s lyrics from the song “Loaded Bases.” If you didn’t know, he named his lifestyle brand “Marathon” after the Olympic event. Pheidippides was a Greek messenger. He died after running a great distance to deliver important news of an ending war to his people. The race is to honor his endurance and dedication. Jay-Z recognized such deep thinking and symbolism in Asghedom early on. Ten years ago, when Asghedom decided to sell copies of his Crenshaw mixtape for $100 each, Jay-Z bought 100 of them. That earned Hussle $10,000 to invest in his team. In baseball, loaded bases could tip the scales in favor of the batting team, creating a chance for success.
The American way is the current pinnacle of Western civilization. And we owe much of our basic tenets of that to ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome—in that order. It’s especially true in how we look at libraries. Besides books, the Library of Alexandria housed scrolls, maps, and works of art. Like, lyric poetry also. The goal of a library has never been to collect mere books. Its purpose and function in our society is to archive intellectual achievement. It’s intended to serve as a center for learning, science, exploration, and culture. A Black man from Brooklyn born in poverty and violence evolving to earn $2.5 billion, is that not worth archiving?
I walked into a library I’d been to hundreds of times, but this time it was a unique and exhilarating feeling. “Hov’s Hands” greet me, a private commission sculpture by Daniel Arsham. He’s known for his uchronic, faux archaeological creations. The rapper’s famous “diamond” gesture; it’s volcanic ash, pyrite, selenite, and hydro-stone. The statue resembles “survived” Roman antiquity. Well, their ruthless preservation of themselves and their antiquity in history. In my mind, this evoked “F*ckWithMeYouKnowIGotIt,” featuring Rick Ross. It’s Vinylz and Boi-1da’s infectious production on Jay-Z’s Magna Carta Holy Grail.
“landed in Rome, nigga
— Jay-Z, “F*ckWithMeYouKnowIGotIt,” featuring Rick Ross. Magna Carta Holy Grail (2013)
All hail, Caesar’s home, niggas
Cent’anni, ciao bella”
He wraps the history, geography, and sociology lesson up with, “Not bad for a mulignan.” Each one of Jay-Z’s albums to date show evolution and growth. To me, lyrics like these make it the album that shows the most. The library offers limited-edition library cards featuring iconic art from his albums. All thirteen, from Reasonable Doubt to 4:44. Before this weekend, my card featured artwork from author and illustrator Maurice Sendak. He’s the creator of the book Where the Wild Things Are, and he’s also from Brooklyn. The ultimate theme of his classic children’s book is socialization. It’s about how a child copes with isolation from society. Max gets sent to his room—without dinner—for misbehaving and creates a world where he’s “king of all wild things.” But Max realizes he’d been the king of “wildin'” because he felt alone and unloved. Through imagination, he learns how to behave in a more constructive manner. For the Brooklyn Public Library to put that on a library card is ingenious. So is putting Jay-Z’s album covers—that reflect chapters of his life—on them.
That’s what I interpret Jay-Z throwing up the diamond to have meant. The way he sees—prophecy, in a way. His “artistry, roots, accomplishments and transcendent cultural impact.” I’m sure there are plenty of books on geology and prospecting at that library. But Jay-Z is a living one in the flesh worth studying. Over time, pressure transforms dirt into literal diamonds. Over time, challenges and persistence can shape a person’s situation into something exquisite. It’s what people show up for. The vibrant mosaic of bustling library goers. Those whose taste for Jay-Z’s intellectual value transcends differences among them. His music is a digging tool for us to drill, excavate or pan through his vision.
The exhibit is more than mere ego balm. How could it have been if Jay-Z didn’t even know of it? The library had been flirting with the idea of him being an honoree for its fund-raising gala. An idea from president and CEO of Brooklyn Public Library, Linda E. Johnson. Johnson is a Philidephia native. And also an advisory director on the board of the Metropolitan Opera there. It’s managed by Live Nation, Roc Nation’s parent organization. When Johnson brought the idea to Desiree Perez, by January of this year, their teams began expanding on it. Part of that included The Book of Hov. It’s more than memorabilia or “thousands of archived objects” and “artifacts.” It’s “to provide a behind-the-scenes look” at the way a Black man from Brooklyn affects the lives of many.
I get it, NY-AF! has been writing about artifacts, B.I.G., Italians and “gangsta” imagery of the New York area since we began this blog. It’s actually to champion this very subject we’re talking about—New York writers. The creative contributions of its inhabitants and those who come here its inspiration. But to this very day it feels like readers see its offerings as offbeat and idiosycratic. “Beefless” meatballs called “Biggies,” on March 9th. Being NY-AF! is not about New York things readers never read before. It’s about topics that are on everyone’s mind but they’re too ashamed to express interest in it. New York is about not being afraid to push that line. Not being afraid to dig, drill, excavate or pan for that thing that makes New York, well, New York as fuck. Jay-Z’s “diamond” gesture has always been about seeing future worth in this way. It’s about the long game—dynasties—knowing how the world sees you and still going for yours. Over time, pressure transforms dirt in diamonds. You can say the same for some people’s lives who have a vision. “The Martha Stewart that’s far from Jewish, far from a Harvard student…had the balls to do it.” No one assimilates into mainstream America without a little dirt on them. No one.
“When Jay tapped into the wave, everybody became a believer,” Nipsey told writer Rob Kenner with a smile. Jay-Z also suggested to his Life&Times blog to write on Nipsey’s $100 mixtapes. President Trump granted a full pardon to Roc Nation’s CEO Desiree Perez. It was for a “conspiracy to distribute narcotics” conviction. Perez has taken full accountability for her actions and has turned her life around. Those mistakes were from almost 25 years ago. But Jay-Z must’ve saw her potential to shine bright like a diamond. Roc Nation oversees Rihanna’s career. Mariah Carey, Alicia Keys, Shakira, J. Cole, Big Sean, Megan Thee Stallion and many others, as well. They program the Super Bowl Halftime show and other aspects of the NFL’s entertainment, also. As CEO, Perez has also oversaw this very impressive “Book of Hov.”
Christine Schonhart expects the exhibition to remain open through the fall. Besides memorabilia, there’s a replica of the main room from Baseline Recording Studios. Jay-Z recorded The Dynasty: Roc La Familia, The Blueprint, and The Black Album there. It was a legendary industry hangout spot in its heyday. According to the Book of Hov website, Jay-Z and his circle would hold “Keep It Real Wednesdays” there. Producers would stop by and play their best beats. At its core, there was something else to the Brooklyn rapper building this space. “Build your own thing. Surround yourself with your people. Use that home to create art on your own terms, and create space for others to do the same.”
I wish the guy that was going on and on about “why is there a Jay-Z exhibit in the library” stayed a little longer. The Souls of Black Folk is a very good read. It’s where W.E.B. Du Bois introduces the idea of “double consciousness.” A psychological challenge we Black Americans face. It’s our struggle to both balance African heritage and set the norms of our American identity. Being a native New Yorker is part of my American identity. So was the writer, Herman Melville who gave us Moby Dick. And, Washington Irving who gave us “Rip Van Winkle” and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” Jay-Z’s lyrics cover the entrance of the library whose shape is suppose to be an open book, to Brooklyn. For now, they sit among those treasured figures created by Melville, Irving and others. Jay-Z’s legacy on display reinforces Du Bois’s criticisms of Booker T. Washington.
Du Bois believed that Washington was asking that Black people give up three things, to “belong.” First, political power. Second, the insistence on civil rights. And last, striving to educate of Black youth. He believed that this resulted in the paradoxical opposite. The disfanchisement of Blacks. The creation of the legal distinct status of “inferior.” And the withdrawal of any aid that educates Black people.
How high-achieving Blacks moved during the Reconstruction era was very important. And as the “Original Black Elite” says there was a rug pulled from under them. Especially in Washington’s South. The point that I was trying to make to the guy was, there needs to be new rules established. Jay-Z has done that. Buying $10,000 worth of Nipsey Hussle’s mixtapes show he understands that. It’s called being a “disrupter;”radical change in an existing industry or market. By means of innovation.
Give Perez her props. Give everyone at Roc Nation their props. The “visuals, audio stories, and physical artifacts, from more than 25 years” of Jay-Z’s life. The replica of Baseline Studios. The legendary space where he recorded some of his most influential work. “The guitar he played at Glastonbury Festival. And videos of young Jay-Z, speaking his future into existence.” Give the Brooklyn Public Library and Linda E. Johnson their props. This isn’t accepting a flawed system yet denying one’s role in it. It’s far from trinkets. It’s future building. It’s opportunity and options for everyone involved to fufill roles once denied. “Why is there a Jay-Z exhibit at the library,” is a rather silly question. Especially when a building shaped like an open book is in your face—waiting to show you the answers.
