Dyson - Jayhova: Hustling, Poetry, and Politics in JAY-Zs America

I was honored when Michael Eric Dyson asked me to pen this foreword to his reflections on the incredible impact my dear friend and longtime collaborator JAY-Z has had on the world. Over the last quarter century, Jay has established himself as one of the most gifted artists of any genre to ever speak into a microphone. I use the idea of synesthesia to describe my approach to producing, and its especially true when Im working with Jay. Its the process of creating one form of sensory impression by cultivating another form of sensory impression. Art is at its best when you hear a lyric and it brings an image to mind, or when you view a painting and it makes you hear a sound. As an artist, JAY-Z really gets this simple aesthetic fact. He really does paint pictures with poems. I am always challenged as a producer to think with my eyes, ears, and emotions when I work with Jay.

I sincerely believe that JAY-Z is a philosopher and a poet. I have likened him to the Oracle at Delphi because of his unique ability to be a prophet, seer, and mystic at the same time. These artistic attributes translate into a godlike mythology, and that vibe is captured in one of the names Jays been given, Hova, short for JAYHOVA, a play on Jehovah. For me, it doesnt really matter who is the greatest of all MCs. That debate is arbitrary and ultimately depends on the point of view of the person arguing about the G.O.A.T. But, besides his artistic genius, there are things about Jays career that nobody can debate. How many albums hes released, how many records hes sold, the number of hit singles hes had, the number of seats hes sold in a venue, and the number of zeroes attached to his massive material wealth. These are facts. Indeed, as Jay likes to say, theyre super facts. But Jays greatness lies beyond even the metrics of rhyme skills and material success. The numbers Ive cited only matter because they represent the countless masses that greatly love and appreciate Jays gifts. Working with him up close, I can say there is truly no one like him, and that he takes his art and craftsmanship with the utmost seriousness.

In fact, I dont mind mumble rap as much as many of its critics, mostly because Ive been a witness to Jays enigmatic and utterly astonishing writing and recording process. In studio, Jay often mumbles his way through tracks as a preparation tactic for the actual recording of his lyrics. During the mumble-rap phase of Jays recording sessions, the lyrics to the song are indecipherable. Its a code to which only he has the key. Those of us who admire his craft can only gain access to their meaning after he blesses the microphone with the lyrical magic hidden in those well-rehearsed, yet incomprehensible, mumbles. Its a mysterious process. Even though he mumbles, Jay knows what those verses will be. It is, in effect, a lyrical exercisea process through which he familiarizes himself with the production so that his flow will seamlessly interact with each aspect of the beat. His unmistakable flow is born in these moments, and I consider it a privilege as a producer to have been able to see quite a bit of it. JAY-Zs unparalleled writing and recording processes shed tremendous light on contemporary popular styles of an art form that he revolutionized. That is just one more example of his huge impact and his culture-defining significance.

In 2019, Jay joined me onstage for a surprise performance of several of our most popular collaborations at the Something in the Water music festival. I am grateful for his friendship and for every opportunity to work with him. But this performance will always have a special place in my heart and mind. Something in the Water is just one way that I am trying to give back to my community; it is one of the ways that I honor where Im from, and for Jay to endorse that and support me means the world to me. But this particular performance happened in the midst of one of my home states most tumultuous political and social periods. Still reeling from the tragedy of Charlottesville, we were faced with political crises that still remain unresolved. A month after my event, on May 31, 2019, the city of Virginia Beach experienced one of its most deadly mass shootings when an armed man entered one of our municipal buildings with the intent to murder as many innocent Virginians as possibleleaving twelve dead and many more injured. The psychological trauma is incalculable. In times like this we have to rally our communities to social justice. I have been engaged in these efforts for some time now. And I must say that Shawn JAY-Z Carter has been an exceptional inspiration for me in this area, just as he has been a role model for me in the music business.

For me, and I hope for you as well, JAY-Z: Made in America is a profound reckoning with the extraordinary musical, social, and political contributions of one of the worlds greatest artists, written by one of the worlds greatest public intellectuals. Dyson not only takes measure of Jays unprecedented artistic achievements, but he uses Jays life, lyrics, loves, and lossesand of course his spectacular triumphsto say some important things about us as a people and a country. It is the book that hip hop and the nation need, penned by the man who can best understand what our contributions to the world mean. Even if we know all of the lyrics to all of the songs, and even if we have watched all of the videos and read all of the articles and reviews, Dysons amazing book shows us that we still have a lot to learn about ourselves and the world we live in from the brilliant yet improbable career of a street hustler who has become a global icon.