Jay and Ye: The American Dream

Jay-Z (left) and Kanye West (right)

Jay-Z and Kanye West are not only two of my favorite rappers; they are also some of the best in the business. On their joint album Watch the Throne they discuss their journey to become ‘Kings.’ Both Jay-Z and Kanye have a rags-to-riches story, similar to Gatsby’s, which ultimately ends in them having the dream life: money, women, and cars. Jay-Z grew up in a Brooklyn slum with his single mother and a large family. He sold crack on the streets to make enough money for his family and he eventually hit it big in the Rap Game. From that point on he has had amazing success: winning 14 Grammy awards, he is the CEO of Rock-A-Fella Records, and a part-owner of the New York Nets. Kanye West, on the other hand, did not live the hard knock life that Jay-Z did but was certainly not privileged as a child. Kanye grew up in Chicago with his mother and gained his fame by producing beats for other local rappers. Like Jay-Z, Kanye is one of Rap’s most successful artists, claiming 17 Grammy’s and the founder of G.O.O.D Music.

 One of the duo's biggest hits is the song Otis, named after R&B star Otis Reading. 'Otis' references all the wealth that Jay-Z and Kanye have obtained over their career and how they flaunt it. In the music video (above) they take a Maybach, a $200,000 car, and trash it for no reason at all just to demonstrate that they don't have to wory about money anymore. In one of Jay-Z's verses he says:

Poppin’ bottles, puttin’ supermodels in the cab, proof
I guess I got my swagger back, truth
New watch alert, Hublot’s
Or the big face Rollie I got two of those

1920's Rolls Royce, a car much like
the one Gatsby would own

In these lines Jay-Z is exhibiting his riches by poppin' bottles and owning two big face Rollie's (Rollies is a slang term for the luxury watch company Rolex). Owning these things gives him swag and elevates his status in the rap community. Like Jay-Z, Gatsby flaunts his wealth to everyone by throwing big parties, having hundreds of exquisite shirts, having a unnecessarily large house, and by owning nice cars. Gatsby publicizes his wealth not only to gain social status but to obtain swag. At one point in the novel Daisy tells Gatsby, "you look so cool" (119). Gatsby believes that by showing off his fancy car and his enormous house that he will slide right into the culture of the "Old Money" aristocrats but in reality the people that came from wealth are more discreet about it. There was a stigma during that time period about making a name for yourself and working hard. Inherited wealth was looked much higher upon then earned wealth. Jay-Z and Kanye are proof that in today's society there is nothing wrong with doing anything possible to obtain your own piece of the American Dream.

 

Jay-Z has made it very public that when he was growing up he made his money by pedaling drugs in the street. It is a sense of pride for him and he has made a focus in his career to never loose sight of his roots. In the song "Made In America" Jay-Z references his drug career by saying phrases such as boiling water, and excuse to explain the smell of the crack to his grandmother, and choppin grams up.

Moonshiners in the 1920's

Gatsby made all of his money by being involved in the moonshine industry during the time of Prohibition. However, he tried to conceal the knowledge of his involvement in that line of work from the public and instead told people he was in the drug-store business. Gatsby didn't represent his roots like Jay-Z did because in his time he would have been looked down upon for not only making his money illegally, but simply making in and not inheriting it. A symbol of "Old Money" in Gatsby's time was to go to an Ivy League school or one of it prestigious equivalent. For this reason, Gatsby attended Oxford for a short period of time so that he could call himself an Oxford Man. Donna West, Kanye's mother, wanted her son to go to school so that he could get a proper education and make something meaningful out of his life. Kanye decided to do the opposite though and gave up college dreams in order to pursue his music career, even though he went against his mothers requests she still supported him. When Kanye became a sensation he paid homage to her and her support many times, openly talking about how he didn't go to school because while it is looked down upon in our society to not go to college, it was worse in Gatsby's time.