It’s politics as usual for Jay-Z. In a week where the rap icon and celebrity mogul indirectly drew a response from President Barack Obama, Hov was saluted by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg in a Time cover story.
Hov was one of seven celebrities to cover Time for its Most Influential People in the World issue.
“Jay-Z embodies so much of what makes New York New York,” Bloomberg opened, toasting Jigga’s rise from Marcy Housing Projects in Brooklyn. “When no one would sign him to a record contract, he created his own label and built a music empire — before going on to design clothing lines, open sports bars and, most recently, represent professional athletes.”
The 2013 incarnation of Time‘s annual list is marked by seven different covers. Paul Rand, Aamir Khan, Jennifer Lawrence, Malala Yousafzai, Elon Musk, Li Na all share the honor alongside Hov.
This isn’t the first time Jay made the list. Back in 2005 he was profiled in the mag’s section alongside Rupert Murdoch and Steve Jobs. Hov even went on to rap about it in his Hot 97 “Grammy Family Freestyle.” “Time‘s most influential was impressive/ ‘Specially since I wasn’t in the artist section/ Had me with the builders and the titans, had me right with Rupert Murdoch/ Billionaire boys and some dudes you never heard of,” he rapped.
In an interview earlier this week with the “Today” show that quickly went viral, President Obama fielded a question about Jay and Beyoncé’s recent trip to Cuba. On his recent track “Open Letter,” Jigga claimed that he had “White House clearance” for the controversial excursion, though in actuality it was the Department of Treasury who approved it. “This is not something the White House was involved with. We’ve got better things to do,” Obama told show host Savannah Guthrie. “I wasn’t familiar that they were taking the trip. My understanding is I think they went through a group that organizes these educational trips down to Cuba.”
What do you think about Jay-Z’s placement on Time magazine’s cover? Let us know in the comments!
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