A Mad Dash

The word on the streets (okay, the NY Post) is that president and CEO of Roc-a-fella Records, Damon Dash, is planning on running for president.... of the United States. Yep, the United States of America. Wow, where do you begin to respond? My first response was, Damon Dash was really not that great of a record label president. Yeah, I know Roc-a-fella grossed a 8 trillion dollars, or some VERY exaggerated figure like that. But, the truth is, Roc-a-fella Records is Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter and a bunch of Fat Albert band members. [Although, Beanie Sigel's latest joint is hot].

The street cred, urban-bred Dash, does get the occasional Wall Street blip, as he's dabbled in some movie scores, clothing lines (imagine that?), and energy drinks. However, to most political pundits, he's simply Shawn's boy,with good timing. As usual, the truth probably resides somewhere in the middle. Nevertheless, it is not too uncommon for an admitted drug-dealer or street hustler to become president. Take John F. Kennedy for example. Bootlegging was illegal when the Kennedy's ran their cartel. And, the golden boy, turned First Man was just (get this!) in the right place at the right time. When Kennedy tried to put the Susan B. Anthony silver behind the treasured U.S. (papered) dollar bill, things got hairy and Kennedy's fate was met with the same brutal ending to that of a rap star who pisses on the wrong man. Isn't life funny?

Ironically, I think the president's office only serves one purpose... and that is to instill HOPE; the rest is just politics at it's worst. Remember Jesse Jackson ran with that "Keep Hope Alive" platform, because that is the only thing you can sell to the youth of America... HOPE. It didn't work for the same reason Dash's dash to the front office won't work, but they had the right idea. When you really think about it, the oxymoronic truth is, the White House is not even in the United States, so the laws created and overturned are not applicable to the man who signs the bill. Nevertheless, I admire Dash's Outhouse aspirations because some young kid in the projects, who sees the riches of hustling on the streets, will also look at Damon's run and it'll give him hope that some day he too can become president.... Of what is what makes life in America worth living.
Unfortunately, I have never lived to witness a good president. Sure most of my peeps thought Bill Clinton was a good one. I view Bill as the strongest man in an all-girls prison. He passed the three strikes rule. He sold the .com dream that imploded. He did meet with some counterproductive black caucuses, I'm not sure what ever came out of that, but it instilled hope at the time. Jimmy Carter wasn't bad, at least if he was invited to pay his last respects to the Pope, John Paul II would not have been passed around like a Jamaican joint for 12 days. I actually like Nixon. He was clever for a Republican and honest (as much as that chair will allow one to be).

Should Dash actually run, I hope that he lives long enough to lose.

1 love,

Ray Lewis