One of my favorite rappers in the world is TI. He's not just my favorite rapper because his lyrics are the "dopest" in the industry, but also because he has advocated against youth violence and seems to want something better for himself and the world. More importantly, TI's lyrics reflect a sense of wisdom that you don't necessarily get from Lil Wayne and other artists. He also seems to understand that to get through life as a survivor, you have to be intelligent and educated about the circumstances within which you operate.

The music industry is brutal for anyone who does not understand how it works. If you think that getting by in the business is all about beats and rhymes, then you are asking for a serious beating. Funk legend George Clinton has learned this lesson the hard way, as he is now working at the age of 68 to regain some of the intellectual property rights he lost over the years in a series of very lopsided contracts.

"At a time when he should be able to live off his life's work, Clinton is struggling to provide for his family and give his mother a proper burial," read a statement from ESM, a company that now represents Clinton. Clinton's mother, Julious G. Keaton, died this month in North Carolina. It is alleged that Clinton could not afford to pay for his own mother's funeral.

According to the company, George Clinton "has received little monetary gain over the past three decades from his musical works, such as "Flashlight" and "One Nation Under a Groove." Even Clinton's song "Atomic Dog," one of the most sampled songs in history, does not belong to him.


In spite of all the brilliance Clinton showed as an entertainer, his lack of foresight and understanding of his business led him into bankruptcy in 1984. He is now fighting back against former business managers, Armen Boladian (Bridgeport Music, Inc.) and Nene Montes (Tercer Mundo), who were instructed to act as Clinton's trustees after his bankruptcy.

"There were several documents that appear to have George's signature on them which turns most of his publishing and masters over to Boladian and Montes, which caused Clinton to lose all rights and financial gain to all of his songs," ESM said in the statement. "Clinton asserts that he would not be so careless as to sign over complete rights to his music for a lifetime. This brings to the forefront the ethical relationship between artist and the third parties whom they entrust to take care of their business."

I've been teaching in business schools for the last 16 years, so I've seen this story play itself out more times than you can imagine. It happens in sports, music and every other form of entertainment. It also happens quite often to African Americans. When it comes to George Clinton and the business of entertainment, here's the bottom line:

1) The industry is not here to help you: Capitalism is a beast that is designed to enslave those who are not protected. While we hope that the government protects us, sometimes it does not. At the end of the day, you protect yourself by being aware of how the system works and how to properly position yourself.

2) Your hard work means nothing if you don't own something: Did you notice that the acronym for the Oprah Winfrey Network is OWN? Do you really think Oprah is worth a billion dollars just because she is a good talk show host? I rest my case.

3) Education is always the key: I don't care if you want to do hair, fix cars, run a law firm, or dribble a basketball, you are always better off when you spend some time studying the fundamentals of business. Any entertainer who is not also a business person has set himself/herself up for failure. As the old saying goes, "A fool and his money will soon part ways." Don't let that person be you.

Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition. To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here.