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I recently saw an article on the Atlanta Post titled '5 Blockbuster Hip Hop Deals.' When I saw the title of the article, I thought about the million conversations I've had with scores of young artists who don't understand that talent isn't enough in the hip-hop industry. Not understanding business has led to the demise of quite a few artists, most of whom don't have nearly as much money as they pretend to have in their excessively materialistic videos.
But then I also thought about the fact that the black business experience can be incredibly one dimensional when it comes to conversations about wealth building. Most of the discussions about wealth in the black community start and stop with the basketball court, the football field or the studio where the rapper busts his latest rhymes. While one must certainly be proud of the achievements being made in each of these arenas, we should realize that by relegating ourselves to being athletes and entertainers, we are missing the bulk of the opportunity that exists in our great country.
First, when it comes to sports, athletes are getting the short end of the stick. NBA collective-bargaining agreements are structured to ensure that the bulk of the wealth generated by the league goes into the pockets of team owners. LeBron James is a pauper compared to the owner of the Miami Heat. It's even worse in the NFL, where the average career span is less than four years. Most NFL stars could make more money in their lifetimes by putting the energy they used to play football into going to law school, medical school or business school. Instead, too many athletes trade in their educational future and end up as 25-year-old retirees with a fifth-grade reading level. This is hardly the life of a man expected to provide for a family.
Second, entertainers are consistently misled into signing contracts that are skewed in favor of the manager, agent or record label. When entertainers don't have an education, they become the prey of those seeking to exploit them. The group New Edition, for example, after doing a world tour and having several number-one hits on their first album, came home to a royalty check of just $1.87. If entertainers and athletes are not educated about business, they are typically going to be used up and thrown out like yesterday's trash.
Generally speaking, African Americans must steer our kids away from the idea of believing that sports and entertainment are the way out of poverty. There are quite a few other professions in which you can make a great deal of money without having to be chosen as one out of a million to get there. At the top of the pile, Wall Street executives can easily earn tens of millions of dollars over a 30- or 40-year period, which would dwarf any NBA or NFL contract. In fact, a few hedge fund managers have earned over $1 billion per year, more than Oprah Winfrey, Tiger Woods or any other entertainer on earth. More realistically, there are surgeons who earn several hundred thousand dollars per year, entrepreneurs who earn millions with their own businesses, and attorneys who earn quite a bit of money as well. But what is the average income of the kid who throws away his education in exchange for a hoop dream? It ends up being close to zero for nearly every child in America who is NOT named LeBron James.
We must learn to be smarter than the systems that are designed to exploit us. We are destined to do more than simply dance, sing, run and jump for everyone else. Our brains are more valuable than our bodies, and we cannot allow them to be wasted.
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. 
Comments: (14)
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By: AL on 1/03/2011 9:43AM
One episode of the Maury Povich show will show you why some do not succeed.
All some do is yell as loud as they can as they have been conditioned to learn that most times a loud mouth drowns out anything sensible that others may have to say.
It's funny to watch as DNA (maternity) test results are revealed and woman after crazed loud mouth woman jumps up and down as though they're proud of the fact that some drug selling wannabe broke ass rapper is the father of their child.
If I were on the receiving end of that type of unrestrained insanity I'd leave the relationship too. Unfortunately child after child is left to the insane woman who fills their child full of shi* as the child grows older without a male role model to look up to other than LiL wayne.
Pathetic!
in re
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By: Pink on 1/03/2011 9:55AM
I'm glad for the rappers, singers, entertainers, etc. that r making miliions; but where are the other (real) business representation?? We talk about entertainers, athletes, etc. much 2 much. In 2011 we need to uplift, and talk about African American doctors, lawyers, teachers, professors, business owners, CEO's, etc. We r not setting examples for our kids by constantly uplifting entertainers, but not uplifting professionals on an ongoing basis.
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By: Coach Liz on 1/03/2011 1:14PM
Thank you for encouraging black parents to educate their children about ALL the opportunities to advance financially. I would, however, suggest that rather then the sports/entertainment systems having been designed to "exploit" blacks, they have been designed to advance those who created them. There is a significant difference in mindset in looking at it this way. The former is of a victim mentality, the latter has the potential to be very, very empowering.
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By: Kalynn on 1/04/2011 6:34PM
Amen to that!
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By: bluerobin on 1/03/2011 1:38PM
Mainstream media is very negative towards blacks and the only reason blacks are in the media is because many non-blacks think we're only able to entertain (sing, dance, play ball). While these are not bad professions, blacks can own businesses (outside of entertainment); we are professional writers, scholars, business owners, self-employed, etc.! But, most of the world will never know that--that we are intelligent, too as well as many people of color in the world!
In the media, blacks are only highlighted when we are fighting, involved in some under-handed dealings, drugs, violence, rap...the list goes on. It also seems that the only way blacks or people of color can make any money is by singing/rapping, playing basketball/football and then when that fails, by doing their own clothing/perfume/whatever. I don't know where people get the money.
We don't see the many accomplishments of blacks that are not entertainers. They're out there but people just don't take the time to find them. They'd rather watch tv with the types of stories that highlight blacks in an unsavory light or watch the videos that make it seem as though the only way to make it in the world is via big balling, bling, rapping, video-hoe-ing or something to that extent.
Our own black entertainment stations, the few that we have, highlight these images of blacks! We need to start early with our kids by teaching them about blacks that are bank owners, business owners, self employed, etc. There are many kids who know this but then there are many more that don't.
It is still a struggle for blacks. A lot of people don't see us as intelligent human beings. Whites have ruled the world from the beginning of time and look at the mess!! I'm not racist; I love people and learning about other cultures/people. I am just tired of seeing people fall all over a rapper or seeing these rappers/'singers' make all this money but then the public/media puts them in this light or pedastal like they are the greatest people in the world because they make a lot of money. Blacks need to stick together (or we should have stuck together hundreds of years ago!)maybe that way we could have had more than what we have today.
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By: venthiros on 1/12/2011 6:00AM
You sound pretty racist to me, look at that mess!!!!!!
Whites haven't ruled the world forever. I am white and have no power nor do I wish to have any. A few elite families control power and earn it through brain washing other human beings, it has nothing to do with race. And this is probably why you continue to separate yourselves because you always see everything as RACE.
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By: bluerobin on 1/03/2011 1:47PM
@Coach Liz and Pink: I think the both of you said it all in your posts! I just took the long way round with mine! LOL
Thank you!
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By: ooozzzzz on 1/03/2011 4:41PM
Quotes from article: "Most of the discussions about wealth in the black community start and stop with the basketball court, the football field or the studio where the rapper busts his latest rhymes"..."First, when it comes to sports, athletes are getting the short end of the stick. NBA collective-bargaining agreements are structured to ensure that the bulk of the wealth generated by the league goes into the pockets of team owners. LeBron James is a pauper compared to the owner of the Miami Heat. It's even worse in the NFL, where the average career span is less than four years. Most NFL stars could make more money in their lifetimes by putting the energy they used to play football into going to law school, medical school or business school. Instead, too many athletes trade in their educational future and end up as 25-year-old retirees with a fifth-grade reading level. This is hardly the life of a man expected to provide for a family.
While I agree with the previous post entries on this subject the dynamic of the Black business model of rappers, entertainers and pro athletes are not really that explotive in regards to what they offer: the ability to make multi-million of dollars made quickly over a short career span that would not be gained in terms of life time dollars otherwise in other professions such as physicans, lawyers, corporate business and many business occupations that would take many more years to obtain those dollars as opposed to the pro sports/entertainment fields that allows those dollars to be quicky made over a 10 to 15 year period and as business goes regardless of the business model via professional occupation, Black, White or whatever, the busines model since the beginning of time was set up and created for the owner and/or organization to make the majority bulk and share of money and not the employee....and where is the exploitation?...it lies mainly with the employee because he/she is not educated: employee...physically or musically competent while at the same time employee.. educationally and business incompetent.
The employee does not have the basic education and business skills or acumen needed to understand the who, what, when, where, how and why they are getting the short end of the stick.
The L'il Waynes and LeBron James of the world don't really understand the professional system, that they are in in order to improve their positions financially because all they have going in is raw physical talent and a severe lack of a basic education.
You look at a Lebron James or Michael Jordan and you see success but that success is based on the job and environment that was purposely set up for them to susceed....owners, agents, lawyers, accountants, adminstrations..the entire NBA environment for the purpose of the owner and the league to make multi-billions and who controls all aspects of the environment that the professional employee works and resides in and psycholigically will convince the fan that these employeee know exactly what they are doing when in essence they are being led with a carrot.....and the end result?..when the careers are over within a 5 year span, the employee athlete, 78% of the time ends up in massive debt, massive tax bills, broke and files for bankruptency with little or nay knowledge of what happened to them so the Black business model that earned millions attacks in reverse due to that lack of a basic education.
Do you think that if Michael Jordan handeled business himself without Nike, his agent and the NBA marketing machine, he would be almost a billionaire? Tiger Woods?...no because the systems are set up to make athletes and entertainers "rich" but not "wealthy" like the owners and there is a huge difference between the two.
The league and music industry and their owners paid them scrap multi-millions for the ability and services and the pro employee, not having an adequate understanding of business and an education, blows all his money and ends up with nothing.......you cannot blame the employer and owner for that...he paid you millions, accomodated you and due to stupidity, you spent it all on useless bullshit that you decided to involve yourself in....and not from the advice of the employer or owner.
The short end of the stick rest with the professional employee and not the employer or the owner and also realize that all the entertainer or athlete has to do is create, practice and perform, the owner has to spend money; ensure everything else in order for you to practice and perform at yor peak is readily available and all that cost a lot of money that the employer has to pay it back and is eventually owed to the employer...the very thing that the employee does not realize or understand when he blowing his/her millions.
The business model is perfect....it's the professional employee is the one that's lacking in the equation.....the employee gets paid and eventually throws away all the money.
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By: adub8715 on 1/03/2011 8:51PM
heres an idea, instead of worrying about entertainers becoming businessmen,, if you don't like it, create your own business, become wealthy and tell others about how you did it so they can do it. don't just be made about these people being the only people to look at as business moguls.everybody has a dream to be a sports star or a famous entertainer. but what parents should be telling their kids is that doesnt happen to everybody, so always have a back up. you can use that line that where set up to be rich and not wealthy, but but before anyone becomes wealthy they gotta get rich first, the question is what track are you on to become either status. people always say what they would do if they had it, but why don't you have it yet, could it be that your to worried about why lil wayne brought a new car instead of land? it's his money he can do what he/they please. and if your still bringing up the New Edition situation which was in the 80's, lol, we came a long way from that. now there are a few artists and entertainers who probably are still stuck on the whip, house and chain effect, but like i say your only as strong as your weakest link. people arent rich or wealthy because of what they do but what the team can do. if your team is weak then your weak, and the money you make will show from it. bottom line.
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By: Peter D. Slaughter on 1/04/2011 1:44AM
This is a joke and it's old news.
These clowns most of them have not started one major business in a black community.
I am not talking about a chicken shack or some wack barber or hair shop or some beer and wine'drive thru. A real business where they are getting resources from Afrika.
I don't even worry about none of these updated minstrel slaves no more.
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