Jay-Z and 9/11 have always been linked. The typical Tuesday drop of his first Blueprint CD – generally regarded as his best work – was Sept. 11, 2001, and he’s spent the time since doing benefit concerts and donating to relief funds, something I’ve always appreciated.
Jay dropped the Blueprint 3 album this past Tuesday, pushed up from Sept. 11 (today) because of leaks. Or at least that’s his story; it’s more likely he wanted a full week to sell CDs to pump up his sales numbers. Regardless, he’s obviously trying to recreate the magic of the first one with the release date, and that’s cool by me.
Sidebar: I went to the store to buy BP3 the other day, heard a few songs playing in the store and decided it just didn’t have that spark. I opted for Raekwon’s “Only Built for Cuban Linx 2†and the score for the show “True Blood,†two solid purchases. I feel like much like Jay-Z is tied to 9/11, he’s also created a parallel between himself and Michael Jordan, who ironically is being inducted into the Hall of Fame today. Jay should take note: To be a Hall of Famer, you have to retire.
I will say this, if Jay ever does retire, maybe he should look into comedy. Much like when I watched Californication for the first time and discovered that David Duchovny is somehow really funny and I never knew, Jay-Z is hilarious! He deadpans everything, a perfect match for David Letterman, a guy I like whose show Jay did the other night.
The part of the interview that piqued my interest was when Jay speculated that they were going to break ground on an Atlantic Yards stadium by the end of the year, and went on to discuss LeBron James potentially coming to play for a Brooklyn Nets team he’s a part-owner of as if it were some sort of strong possibility. I get what Jay’s trying to do here; he’s not a businessman, he’s a business… man, right?
But Chuck Ratner said just two days later that they’re not going to start building until 2010.
And apparently, they have to break ground this year or else lose tax-exempt status, so that’s where Jay got that.
And then there’s the reports that say the City could lose $40 million on the deal.
Here are some facts. Regardless of LeBron’s friendship with Jay, he’s not coming to the Nets if they don’t have that stadium built by the time the 2010 season starts. He’s not going to play a day more than he has to in New Jersey. Why should he?
You can’t finish a new stadium in a year. Best case scenario, two years. Maybe three.
And LeBron also is a man who cares very much about his public perception. As such, he’s not about to get involved in something that has led some respected critics to label it a money pit.
Personally, I still have my doubts as to whether this Atlantic Yards project won’t end up going the way of the Jets’ West Side Highway stadium.
Regardless of that, I appreciate Jay-Z’s hubris, and certainly his sense of humor. But he must be joking if he thinks LeBron James will ever play for the Nets.
But hey… as long as Jay’s making videos, he can hoop it up with LeBron whenever he wants.
