When Swizz Beatz and Timbaland sold their coveted company Verzus, most of the world celebrated universally. The pair created a massive success within the confines of a pandemic. They didn’t even see each other at the time of the creation. It was one of the big wins of 2020, one of the worst years in human history. So, you would think that there would be a mass celebration of those that wish them well. And there was, but there was one LONE voice that stood out among all the adulation.
Tariq St. Patrick (aka actor Michael Rainey Jr.) is back! The Power actor that played Tariq spoke out against Swizz Beatz and Timbaland’s business move, calling them “sellouts.” DAMN! Now I’m gonna be real! I know what he saying because I had a similar feeling when it all went down. In the Black community, we have almost no assets and we always sell our companies to white people. The thing is, this is just business. It’s capitalism at its finest and there is not a lot of ways around it. But, part of me understands what he saying because Black owned businesses create Black wealth and Black jobs. If somebody else owns it, we know what happens after that.
Here are his exact words:
“Cool move but these n****s still sellouts. Cant ever jus have something of our own it’s always bout the money.”
Why did Michael Rainey Jr. have to go and say that? On top of it, he called out Jay-Z for the same reason because Jigga-Z recently sold Tidal to Square, which is the company that owns Twitter. So, Jay-Z is raising his personal valuation, but are the artists benefiting as well? Yes! Both of these ventures helped other people too. So all of the artists that made Verzus what it is, got a piece of the new company Triller. And the same for Tidal.
“N I feel the same way about Jay Z selling Tidal so don’t come to me with that argument.”
He said it with his CHEST. Gotta respect it.
Symbolically, however we know now that white man owns two assets that felt like they were Black, even if they really were not! They were owned by individuals that were Black, not the community.
