The rapper Jim Jones now says he enjoys teaching kids, which isn't something you'd expect to hear from a rapper. Apparently, Jones has been teaching a six-week course at a New York high school, where he is helping students learn about the music industry. I'm impressed.


"I just love to teach the kids and see their faces light up," Jones said in an interview with the Daily News. "It's just cool to me to be able to teach them different aspects of the industry so that they can learn about it before they decide to jump in."

One of the reasons I respect what Jones is doing is because I applaud any situation in which black men are embracing intellect over ignorance. Many hip-hop artists are incredibly brilliant, and it irks me to no end that many of them make their money by Bo Jangling (as my friend and rapper, Vigalantee calls it) and behaving in an ignorant way.

I am hopeful that when Jones teaches students about the music industry, he's really teaching them what matters. Hint: Being an artist doesn't really matter all that much, and most artists simply don't have much power. If African Americans are ever going to control their own destiny, we shouldn't simply try to become singers and dancers. Instead, we must train our children to be the executives and financiers who control the performance itself. Rather than creating the next MC Hammer (who shined for a couple of years then went broke), we should be creating the next Oprah Winfrey (whose star will never cease to shine because she controls it).

The same is true for any industry in which African Americans make major commitments but receive few of the results. While we are quick to complain that Hollywood doesn't create work for black actors, we rarely put ourselves in a position to actually green-light the films being made. The truth is that power in entertainment doesn't come from possessing the talent; instead, it comes from going to business school, understanding corporate models and putting yourself in a position of power. That's how you end up being a player and not simply being played.

Good job, Jim Jones, I'm proud of you.

Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition and a Scholarship in Action resident of the Institute for Black Public Policy. To have Dr. Boyce's commentary delivered to your e-mail, please click here.