Can Shawn Carter Live?

I’m serious. Jay-Z can sell out Yankee Stadium—we settled that. Not can he become a billionaire—we settled that, too. Can a Black man build what Shawn Carter has built, own what he’s chosen to own, move the way he chooses to move, and not have every decision become a referendum on whether he’s still “for the culture?”

I’ve been sitting with that. Not because of the concerts. Because of us. Because every time somebody Black reaches a certain altitude, the conversation changes. We stop talking about the work and start talking about the worthiness. We stop asking what was built and start asking whether they still belong to us.

Maybe that’s fair. Maybe it isn’t. I’m still thinking.

Thirty years ago, I met a young Jay-Z in Atlanta.

It was the summer of 1996. I was 22 years old, working on producing entertainment events surrounding the Olympic Games. Reasonable Doubt had just been released, and I booked this hungry rapper from Brooklyn to perform a few songs.

No billionaire. No cultural icon. No Roc Nation. Just a brother trying to get an independent record into the world after the industry kept telling him no.

Nobody knew what was coming. Not him. Not me. Not any of us.

That’s probably why this anniversary stayed with me differently.

Fast-forward three decades.

Shawn Carter returned to Yankee Stadium for a three-night residency celebrating the 30th anniversary of Reasonable Doubt and the 25th anniversary of The Blueprint. But from the reporting, the clips, and the campaign Roc Nation built around the performances, it became clear this wasn’t simply about concerts.

Roc Nation described JAŸ-Z30 as a year-long celebration of music, entrepreneurship, storytelling, and cultural influence. The campaign stretched far beyond Yankee Stadium: immersive pop-ups, commemorative Brooklyn Public Library cards, custom subway maps, limited-edition merchandise, and a digital map connecting locations across New York City to moments in Carter’s life and career. Roc Nation called it “a living cultural archive.”

That phrase stayed with me.

Not because it sounded good. Because it raised a different question.

Who gets to preserve the story?

For generations, we’ve watched other people write our history, package it, monetize it, and decide which chapters deserve remembering. This time, Mr. Carter wasn’t waiting for permission.

In GQ, he reflected on the early days of Roc-A-Fella after major labels passed on Reasonable Doubt. He recalled saying, “We going to do this on our own.” The album initially sold roughly 43,000 copies. Without mainstream distribution or marketing, Roc-A-Fella relied on independence, relationships, and street-level hustle to move the record.

That reporting matters because when you remember where Reasonable Doubt started, JAŸ-Z30 doesn’t feel like nostalgia.

It feels like ownership. That’s a win.

Here’s where I got stuck.

While the anniversary campaign celebrated Black ownership and independence, the exclusive 30th-anniversary vinyl edition of Reasonable Doubt was sold through Target.

You already know the conversation.

I don’t need to explain it.

TheGrio reported that the partnership reignited criticism from Black consumers who were already questioning Target’s retreat from its diversity, equity, and inclusion commitments. For some, the issue wasn’t the vinyl.

It was the symbolism. What it signaled was the rub.

Jiggaman answered some of that criticism during the Yankee Stadium run. Complex reported that he challenged the idea that people selectively decide which corporations deserve scrutiny. His comments echoed what he’d previously told GQ: Black entrepreneurs often have to work within systems they don’t own because those systems still control distribution.

Okay. I hear him. I really do.

But I couldn’t shake one question: Who else won? Not as a gotcha. As an honest question. If we’re calling this a win for the culture, where else did the culture win? Who produced the activations? Who received the contracts? Which Black-owned businesses participated?

And how much of the economic activity found its way back into the communities that embraced Hov long before corporate America ever did?

As I worked on this column, I went looking for those answers.

I reviewed Roc Nation’s campaign materials alongside reporting from GQ, TheGrio, Complex, and Wired. I found detailed reporting on the performances, the partnerships, the merchandise, and the cultural activation itself.

Wired’s profile of production designer Willo Perron stood out in particular. Perron’s approach intentionally resisted letting spectacle overshadow the artist. Even the production reinforced the larger point: keep the story centered on the artist, not the production.

What I did not find was an independent economic-impact study. I did not find publicly available procurement data documenting participation by Black-owned businesses. I did not find a verified accounting showing where the broader economic opportunities connected to the campaign ultimately flowed. That doesn’t mean those things don’t exist.

It means I couldn’t verify them. And if I can’t verify them, I can’t write them. That’s journalism.

Now here’s where I think we get ourselves in trouble.

Sometimes we expect one person to carry the weight of an entire people. We don’t ask that of anybody else. One successful Black person becomes responsible for proving capitalism can love us back.

That’s too much.

Shawn Carter never said he was carrying Black economic liberation on his shoulders. He built a company after the music industry closed its doors. He maintained ownership when ownership wasn’t fashionable. Thirty years later, he celebrated that journey in a stadium, on his own terms, while helping shape how that journey would be remembered.

Respect. Full stop.

But respecting that journey doesn’t require us to stop asking questions. Those two things can sit beside each other. I can applaud what he built. I can still ask who else got to build with him.

Both things can be true.

Maybe that’s the real tension. Not whether Jay-Z sold out.

We’ve been recycling that argument for years.

The real tension is whether we’ve reached a place where a Black man can become this successful without immediately putting him on trial for it.

Can he celebrate? Can he preserve his legacy?

Can he make business decisions we don’t all agree with and still be recognized for what he’s contributed?

Can Shawn Carter live? I don’t know.

The better question is whether we should let him. Because somewhere between accountability and expectation… between ownership and obligation… we keep asking Black excellence to carry more than excellence was ever meant to carry.

I’m still sitting with that.

Can Shawn Carter live?

 James Farr keeps the conversation live. Thinking about his thoughts out loud while talking in cursive, he invites readers into the conversations that culture leaves behind the headlines.

In this gallery, you will see the following performers: Tevin Campbell, George Clinton, T.I., MC Lyte, Doug E. Fresh, Teedra Moses, Raheem DeVaughn, Marvin Sapp, Too Short, Patti LaBelle, and more.

The Fashion Vanguard Award

• A$AP Rocky
• Bad Bunny
• Beyoncé
• Cardi B
• Colman Domingo
• Doechii
• Rihanna
• Teyana Taylor — WINNER
• Zendaya

The Pulse Award

• 85 South Show
• Baby, This Is Keke Palmer
• Charlamagne Tha God
• Don Lemon
• Druski — WINNER
• It Is What It Is
• Joe and Jada
• On the Radar
• R&B Money Podcast

Best Female R&B/Pop Artist

• Ari Lennox
• Coco Jones
• Ella Mai
• Jill Scott
• Kehlani — WINNER
• Mariah the Scientist
• Olivia Dean
• SZA
• Tems

Best Male R&B/Pop Artist

• Brent Faiyaz
• Bruno Mars
• Bryson Tiller
• Chris Brown
• Durand Bernarr
• GIVĒON
• Leon Thomas — WINNER
• October London
• Usher

Best Group

• 41
• Clipse — WINNER
• De La Soul
• FLO
• French Montana & Max B
• Metro Boomin & DJ Spinz
• Nas & DJ Premier
• Terrace Martin & Kenyon Dixon
• Wizkid & Asake

Best Collaboration

• “Chains & Whips” — Clipse & Kendrick Lamar — WINNER
• “Errtime Remix” — Cardi B feat. Jeezy & Latto
• “Go Girl” — Summer Walker feat. Latto & Doja Cat
• “Good Flirts” — Baby Keem feat. Kendrick Lamar & Momo Boyd
• “Is It a Crime” — Mariah the Scientist & Kali Uchis
• “It Depends (The Remix)” — Chris Brown feat. Bryson Tiller & Usher
• “Take Me Thru Dere” — Metro Boomin feat. Quavo, Breskii, YK Niece & DJ Spinz
• “wgft” — Gunna feat. Burna Boy

Best Male Hip Hop Artist

• A$AP Rocky
• Baby Keem
• BigXthaPlug
• DaBaby
• Don Toliver
• Drake
• J. Cole
• Kendrick Lamar — WINNER
• T.I.

Best Female Hip Hop Artist

• Cardi B — WINNER
• Coi Leray
• Doechii
• Doja Cat
• GloRilla
• Latto
• Megan Thee Stallion
• Monaleo
• YK Niece

Video of the Year

• “100” — Ella Mai
• “Anxiety” — Doechii
• “Burning Blue” — Mariah the Scientist
• “Chanel” — Tyla
• “Escape Room (Short Film)” — Teyana Taylor
• “Folded” — Kehlani — WINNER
• “LET ‘EM KNOW” — T.I.
• “luther” — Kendrick Lamar & SZA

Video Director of the Year

• A$AP Rocky & Dan Streit
• Anderson .Paak
• Benny Boom
• Cactus Jack
• Cardi B & Patience Foster
• Cole Bennett
• Director X
• Hype Williams
• Teyana “Spike-Tey” Taylor — WINNER

Best New Artist

• Belly Gang Kushington
• DESTIN CONRAD
• JayDon
• kwn
• Miles Minnick
• Monaleo
• Olivia Dean — WINNER
• RAYE
• Trap Dickey

Album of the Year

• AM I THE DRAMA? — Cardi B
• DON’T TAP THE GLASS — Tyler, the Creator
• everything is a lot. — Wale
• HEARTS SOLD SEPARATELY — Mariah the Scientist
• Let God Sort Em Out — Clipse — WINNER
• MUTT Deluxe: HEEL — Leon Thomas
• The Fall-Off — J. Cole
• The Romantic — Bruno Mars

Dr. Bobby Jones Best Gospel/Inspirational Award

• “Able” — Kirk Franklin
• “ABLE (REMIX)” — Darrel Walls, PJ Morton & Kim Burrell
• “All to Thee” — BeBe Winans
• “Already Good (Tasha Slide)” — Tasha Cobbs Leonard
• “At the Cross” — CeCe Winans
• “Church” — Tasha Cobbs Leonard & John Legend
• “Do It Again” — Kirk Franklin
• “Headphones” — Lecrae, Killer Mike & T.I. — WINNER

Best Actress

• Angela Bassett
• Ayo Edebiri
• Chase Infiniti
• Coco Jones
• Cynthia Erivo
• Keke Palmer
• Quinta Brunson
• Regina Hall
• Teyana Taylor — WINNER

Best Actor

• Aaron Pierre
• Aldis Hodge
• Anthony Mackie
• Colman Domingo
• Damson Idris
• Delroy Lindo
• Denzel Washington
• Michael B. Jordan — WINNER
• Sterling K. Brown

YoungStars Award

• Daria Johns
• Graceyn “Gracie” Hollingsworth
• Heiress Harris
• Jazzy’s World TV — WINNER
• Lela Hoffmeister
• North West
• Thaddeus J. Mixson
• VanVan

Best Movie

• Highest 2 Lowest
• Him
• Number One on the Call Sheet
• One Battle After Another
• Relationship Goals
• Ruth & Boaz
• Sinners — WINNER
• Wicked: For Good

Sportswoman of the Year Award

• A’ja Wilson — Basketball — WINNER
• Angel Reese — Basketball
• Claressa Shields — Boxing
• Coco Gauff — Tennis
• Flau’jae Johnson — Basketball
• Gabby Thomas — Track & Field
• Jordan Chiles — Gymnastics
• Naomi Osaka — Tennis
• Sha’Carri Richardson — Track & Field

Sportsman of the Year Award

• Aaron Judge — Baseball
• Anthony Edwards — Basketball
• Caleb Williams — Football
• Jalen Brunson — Basketball — WINNER
• Jalen Hurts — Football
• LeBron James — Basketball
• Shedeur Sanders — Football
• Stephen Curry — Basketball

BET Her

• “Already Good (Tasha Slide)” — Tasha Cobbs Leonard
• “Be Great” — Jill Scott feat. Trombone Shorty
• “Beautiful People” — Jill Scott
• “First” — Tems
• “girl, get up.” — Doechii feat. SZA — WINNER
• “Go Girl” — Summer Walker feat. Latto & Doja Cat
• “Gorgeous” — Doja Cat
• “Lady Lady” — Olivia Dean

By MSR News Online

Rob Base, born Robert Ginyard and one half of the legendary hip-hop duo Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock, passed away peacefully on May 22, 2026, at age 59 after a private battle with cancer, leaving behind a legacy rooted in the 1988 anthem It Takes Two and a pioneering role in bringing hip-hop and house music to mainstream audiences.

Hip-hop has lost one of its foundational voices.

Rob Base, born Robert Ginyard and one half of the legendary duo Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock, passed away peacefully on Friday, May 22, 2026, surrounded by family after a private battle with cancer. He was 59 years old, having celebrated his birthday just four days before his death.

His family announced the news on his Instagram page. “Rob’s music, energy, and legacy helped shape a generation and brought joy to millions around the world,” the statement read. “Beyond the stage, he was a loving father, family man, friend, and creative force whose impact will never be forgotten. Thank you for the music, the memories, and the moments that became the soundtrack to our lives.”

A Harlem Legacy That Reached Millions

Rob Base grew up in Harlem, New York, where he met his future partner DJ E-Z Rock in the fifth grade. Together they built a rap career from the ground up, recording early demos before breaking through with one of the most recognizable songs in hip-hop history.

Their 1988 hit It Takes Two was a genre-crossing phenomenon, blending rap, dance, and sampled funk grooves into a high-energy anthem that crossed over to mainstream audiences in a way few records had done before. The track reached No. 36 on the Billboard Hot 100 and has since been sampled by artists including Snoop Dogg and The Black Eyed Peas, and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. The duo also charted with Joy and Pain and Get on the Dance Floor.

For Black communities across the country, It Takes Two was more than a song. It was a moment, a feeling, and a memory tied to block parties, cookouts, roller rinks, and living rooms from coast to coast. If you grew up Black in the late 1980s or early 1990s, that record was part of the soundtrack of your life.

A Pioneer Who Helped Shape the Sound

Alongside DJ E-Z Rock, Rob Base was instrumental in cross-pollinating hip-hop and house music and bringing them to the mainstream in the 1980s. His influence on the genre extended far beyond chart positions. He helped prove that hip-hop could fill dance floors and reach audiences that had never heard the music before, opening doors that generations of artists would walk through after him.

DJ E-Z Rock, whose real name was Rodney Bryce, passed away in 2014 from complications related to diabetes. The two had been friends since childhood, and Rob Base spoke often about the bond they shared. “He was a good DJ, but everybody just loved him for who he was,” Base once said. “Just a funny guy.”

Rob Base’s final public statement came just days before his death, when he marked his 59th birthday with a post to Instagram. “Happy 59th birthday to me. God thank you for allowing me to see another year,” he wrote.

He will be remembered not just for the records but for the joy he gave to an entire generation. Rest in Power, Rob Base.

By Mell P | New York Carib News

On a Friday evening in Brooklyn, the air carried something unmistakably Caribbean. Inside the Brooklyn Public Library, a select gathering witnessed something rare, a first look at Like Ah Boss: Journey of a Soca King, the intimate new documentary tracing Machel Montano’s extraordinary life in Soca music, captured since 2015 and set for its global launch on Amazon on May 29.

It was an evening that felt bigger than a premiere. It felt like a reckoning, with legacy, with culture, with the quiet sacrifices behind four decades of dominance on the world stage.

We sat down with the man they call the ‘Michael Jackson of the Caribbean’ to talk about what it truly means to carry a culture on your shoulders, and why, after all this time, he’s still running like a boss.

Watch:

Snoop Dogg celebrated the premiere of 10 Til’ Midnight at his Inglewood recording studio & multipurpose facility, The Compound, but the night felt like much more than an album release. It felt like Los Angeles. It felt like legacy. And it felt like another major move from one of the city’s greatest cultural architects as he continues to prove that he is not just dropping music — he is building moments, shaping narratives, and pushing the culture forward in real time.

What made the event so powerful was the clarity behind the vision. During a panel conversation with DJ Hed, Snoop opened up about the heart behind 10 Til’ Midnight, explaining that the project was created to help bridge older and younger generations while also speaking to the long-standing divisions between Bloods and Crips in a unique way through film. That alone gave the project a different kind of weight. This was not just about songs. This was about using creativity as a tool for connection. This was about taking a story rooted in Los Angeles and telling it in a way that could bring people together.

Snoop Congratulated By Rapper & Fellow 10 Til Midnight Cast Member G Perico (CreativeLB/KreativeKapturez)

The album is paired with a film that stars Snoop Dogg, Hitta J3, G Perico, and Ray Vaughn, and one of the strongest elements of the whole project is that the production stayed rooted right here in Los Angeles. The film was shot in the city, including at WePlay Studios in Inglewood, which gave the entire project an even deeper hometown feel. It was not just a West Coast story in content — it was a Los Angeles-made production from the ground up.

That matters because, in a city like this, authenticity still carries weight. Snoop understands how to make sure that what he creates does not just represent Los Angeles on the surface, but actually comes from it.

What also makes 10 Til’ Midnight significant is that it represents another major step in Snoop’s evolution as both an artist and executive. Public reporting around the project identifies it as his 22nd studio album, but the bigger story is what it represents in this season of his life. This is one of several consecutive moves he has made in his 50s that show he is still building, still expanding, and still finding new ways to reinvent what the next chapter looks like.

Snoop Dogg at the Premiere of 10 Til Midnight (CreativeLB/KreativeKapturez)

Now, as the head of Death Row Records and the newly aligned leader of Death Row Pictures, he is taking the brand into a new dimension. That is what made this moment feel bigger than music. Snoop is not just protecting the legacy of Death Row — he is stretching it. He is expanding it beyond records and into film, visual storytelling, and larger creative worlds that can continue carrying the label’s impact forward. Public reporting has noted that this project arrives as part of that broader cinematic push.

That is a major Los Angeles move because the city has always been built on the intersection of music, film, neighborhood identity, and cultural storytelling. With 10 Til’ Midnight, Snoop is leaning all the way into that intersection.

The room at The Compound reflected that. It felt like a private premiere, but it also felt like a statement — a reminder that Snoop Dogg’s staying power has never been based only on nostalgia. It comes from his ability to remain connected, remain visionary, and remain in tune with how to move the culture without losing the essence of who he is.

That is why this premiere mattered. It was not just about celebrating another album. It was about witnessing a Los Angeles legend continue to evolve, continue to unify, and continue to use art to tell stories that hit deeper than entertainment alone.

In that sense, 10 Til’ Midnight became more than a project launch. It became another example of how Snoop Dogg is still taking Los Angeles to the next level — using music, film, and legacy together to build something bigger than a moment.