by
E.Knight
With the first pick in the 1996 NBA Draft the Philadelphia 76’ers
selected a controversial 5’11 Guard from Georgetown and forever changed
the face of the NBA. Before Allen Iverson, Shaquille O’Neal was the
closest the NBA came to representing the true spirit of Hip-Hop. But
just as a new era of Hip-Hop was emerging, a new Hip-Hop athlete would
have to emerge and A.I. didn’t disappoint. The cornrows, the diminutive
frame, the tattoos, the attitude, the gangsta rap demo, the entourage,
the extravagant spending, the abandoning of the V.I.P. set, the
preference to party in clubs with other black people his age regardless
of the fact that he was a millionaire and we were broke. All of those
things made Allen Iverson our hero. The soundtrack for this era was
provided by……
Jay-Z burst onto the scene in 1996 with
Reasonable Doubt.
The album was such an accomplishment that all these years later some
hardcore fans argue that it’s his finest work and that even his best
album since then doesn’t match the wordplay on display here. Prior to
1996 not many outside of New York had given much consideration to Jay-Z.
His song “In My Lifetime” wasn’t considered a major hit but did get
some play on the Friday night mixshow circuit. And super knowledgeable
fans remembered him from his connection to Big Jaz (as Jaz-O was
referred to on the D&D Project compilation album that dropped in
94).
Though both emerged in the year of 1996 Jay-Z has proven to be the
far more successful more transcendent figure. Iverson heralded the full
arrival of the Hip-Hop culture in the NBA. The old guard, the Tim
Robinsons, Scottie Pippens, Michael Jordans and Karl Malones of the
world were beginning their final descent. The players who weren’t
particularly fond of rap and grew up in the pre-Hip-Hop world were
getting ready to hang up their shoes. Allen Iverson’s crossover of MJ
didn’t do anything to tarnish Jordan’s legacy but it meant a lot to us
kids barely younger than Iverson. When he was booed by the crowd at the
all star game for winning the MVP of the rookie game it solidified it
for us. This was our guy and we had to circle the wagons. We absolutely
tolerated no Iverson slander, about his game, about his image, about his
off court problems, troubled past, or ratchet mother. A.I. was our guy.
And the players that followed breathed a little bit easier knowing
somebody had already taken the slings and arrows from those who lamented
the Hip-Hopification of the NBA. Sadly his personal demons overwhelmed
his talent and ultimately led to a career that will always be debated
about in terms of what could have been.
The myth perpetuated by the media during the best of A.I.’s years was
that Sixers team President Pat Croce and coach Larry Brown argued over
keeping A.I. on the team after the 2000 season with Larry on the side of
“no way”. And while they auditioned and traded many sidekicks for
A.I.’s one man show none ever had any traction. His ultimate achievement
on the basketball court may be the sheer force of will that he summoned
to elevate a team consisting of him, Dikembe Mutombo and 10 role
players to the NBA Finals during the 01’ playoffs to take on Shaq in his
prime and Kobe during his ascendance.
Jay-Z on the other hand while being an insider in the Hip-Hop world
began getting his school of hard knocks MBA under the tutelage of some
of the greatest executives in entertainment history. I’m sure Harvard
Business School doesn’t offer a better education than watching Dame Dash
and Kevin Liles scream at each other in a Def Jam Boardroom in 1998.
What I wouldn’t give to be a fly on a wall during those years. Is there
any wonder Jay-Z is a business, man and not just a businessman. Thus
Jay-Z is fully prepared and well positioned for a life “after rap” the
opposite of the way that A.I. isn’t fully prepared for a life after
basketball.
Some have argued that Jay-Z’s artistic achievements post ’06 (the
year of his comeback from his first retirement) have been inconsistent.
And a few will assert that his tenure as President of Def Jam was
negligible at best. And the way Roc-A-Fella Records ended never sat well
with fans. Similarly Allen Iverson’s production on actual basketball
court post ’06 was never that great. And the way he left his original
team definitely doesn’t sit well with fans.
Jay-Z hasn’t really truly failed his fans though. I mean never. There
have been low moments in a career of mostly highs. There was the
disappointment of
Blueprint 3. But the most hardcore Jay-Z stans (myself included) could argue that
Blueprint 3
has some great moments. Some of us weren’t happy with the luxury brand
rap of “Watch The Throne”. Some of us were less than thrilled when we
bought a ticket to see him and Kanye perform “N—– in Paris” eleven times
back to back to back.
But Jay-Z has accomplished so much. He basically destroyed the
Roc-A-Fella brand and created the upstart label/management conglomerate
Roc Nation. He helped bring the Nets to Brooklyn. He dissed the Yankees
so well in that New York song that they didn’t even take it as a diss
and invited him to perform it… at YANKEE STADIUM. And when it was time
to take his brand to the next level he displayed zero fux about dropping
his ownership stake and turning Roc Nation Sports into the Roc Nation
of sports. (See how deceptively simple that is).
Allen Iverson has had a rough time of it. His alcoholism, his
gambling, his ugly home life, his horrendous divorce, his money issues,
his failed stints in Memphis, Philly, and….Turkey!!!. All of those
things have us looking at our childhood hero s’ing our mfh’s .
Washington Post articles and other recent profiles show us a tattered
soul. It makes us sad to know that sometimes even money can’t save us
from the ghettos in our mind. While Jay-Z continues to surprise us by
innovating and reinventing himself, Iverson meekly accepts that he may
never play basketball again and continues to dress like he did 10 years
ago when super baggy jeans and throwback jerseys were the height of
urban couture.
So while we are forced to look back to the early 2000’s and late 90’s
to relieve the A.I.’s greatness, we can almost certainly look forward
to great things from Jay-Z and his movie scoring, athlete contract
negotiating, Hip-Hop, rock and pop management company/record label. All
that and he still had time to thug out Beyonce. Meanwhile until Time
puts out a list of the world’s 100 most tragic figures we won’t see A.I.
on any magazine covers anytime soon.
