The Power of Crew Love

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During the period of the Blueprint album’s release, Jay-Z was at his peak as an artist and as for the Roc-a-fella’s entire roster- the whole crew was a major force in the music game. Hip-Hop culture is about many things, some good, some not so good, but one of the things that is celebrated in Hip-Hop is “crew love”. Crew love simply describes the bond between friends, partners, colleagues and associates. The concept of crew love is: tight bond= strength and loyalty. Crew love is when friends and business partners become family. There was a 5-6 year period (from ’98 to around ‘04) when there wasn’t a tighter and more dominant crew than the Roc in the rap music game. A lot has happened since Roc-a-fella’s heyday. Roc-a-fella is now Roc Nation and other than Kanye West, the artists that were apart of that dominant crew are either in decline or completely irrelevant and unfortunately, several have had very public beefs with Jay-Z.

I won’t get into all of that because I don’t know what has all gone on behind the scenes to cause the fall of the Roc-a-fella empire. To this day, I’m disappointed that the crew isn’t the way it was. But when Blueprint came out, Roc-a-fella was at the top of the rap game and the lyrics below not only explain why, they give us insight on how we can “thug our way through” the every day grind in our lives:

All I need is the love of my crew
The whole industry can hate me
I’ll thug my way through

“All I Need”

When you have people on your team that share your vision, who each bring value to the relationship, you all as a unit can be a formidable force. Crew love can be a major factor for your success in business. Crew love can be a major factor for your success in school. Crew love can be a major factor for your team’s success in sports. Crew love can have a lifestyle changing impact on communities. If the people you build and create with are all smart, skilled, have confidence and persistence and are loya... l, success is sure to come sooner than later. Never underestimate the power of support and teamwork.

I’ve been writing and marketing for years. It’s been an up-and-down process. I’ve experienced many more lows than highs. I’ve experienced some success but I’m far from where I want to be. Still, I’m in the right frame of mind and I’m confident in my ability to make things happen in spite of past failures. One of the problems I have is that I’m too reluctant to delegate to-do tasks to others. I’m the kind of guy that tries to do it all. I struggle more times than I should because I carry too much of the burden. I have people around me who give me support and those who play a role in my day-to-day grind, but I admit, I often go into life’s “battles” outnumbered or solo. Assembling and rolling with a strong, competitive and competent crew is something I need to keep more focus on.

Let me be clear here: All crews are not created equal. Friends that you’ve known since “back in the day” may not be worth knowing if they don’t believe in themselves and if they don’t believe in you. Crew love will mean nothing if those in the crew threaten to undermine progress and success. Who are you rolling with? Where are they heading in their lives? You don’t need the love or the crew if their lack of talent, confidence, discipline and perspective compromise your hustle.

Jay tells us that the love of his crew made him stronger and gave him the confidence to “thug his way through” in the music industry. You can thug your way through life without ever committing a crime. The word “thug” in Hip-Hop culture often means to be aggressive. To “thug your way through” in Hip-Hop terms means to be an aggressive go-getter, to go after whatever you want with pure passion and strong determination. Don’t underestimate your own ability to make things happen, but also don’t underemphasize the role a strong crew can play in your growth and development. Crew love is not about rolling with a bunch of hanger-ons who instead of “holding you down” (meaning: supporting you and being loyal), hold you up (meaning: keeping you from moving forward). The strength of your crew should empower you and is just another advantage you can use to accomplish great things.