The Blue Magic No One’s Talking About

So lots of people have been talking about this Jay-Z video, Blue Magic. Mainly, they are pointing out the fact that he’s flashing Euros. Being hip-hop’s poster-boy of the most successful hustler, showing Euro’s probably signifies that Jay’s committed himself to surviving. Mayhaps he’s sending a message to all the rest of us, too: “Switch your money now if you want to save your livelihood.” Given the juice Jay-Z has, I’d think he’d very much be aware of his ability to send such a message, even if he wouldn’t be able to come out and state it baldly in a soundbite.

But there’s another aspect of this video and the lyrics in there that no one is talking about and this goes hand in hand with the Euro flashing; they are utterly linked. What I’m referring to is Jay’s whisper-references to Iran-Contra and the Reagan year’s cynical flooding of black urban community’s with crack cocaine. I guess the mass-stream media really hates to have to address this. They’d prefer that everyone simply have a vague memory about needing to believe their lies about and character assassination of Gary Webb, who definitively showed the connection between U.S. intelligence, the drug trade, and the decimation of poor, black urban communities during the 80’s. Again, Jay is dropping clues…but they’re valuable ones for those who are not already aware of this stuff. (I’m lookin’ at you, white middle class–you’re always the last ones to know who’s gaming you.)

From Blue Magic:

Can’t you tell that I came from the dope game
Blame Reagan for making me into a monster
Blame Oliver North and Iran-Contra
I ran contraband that they sponsored
Before this rhyming stuff we was in concert

So pop quiz, class: What does the crash of the dollar have to do with CIA drug dealing, and what is the lesson a media hustler like Jay-Z has to preach?

Follow the money. The hustlers do.