Question: Should the worlds of politics, entertainment, and religion ever merge? New York Gov. David Paterson; rapper, Jay-Z; and Queens, N.Y., Reverend, Floyd Flake sure think … or thought so, since the latter two recently jumped ship. The scandal involving Paterson and Jay-Z and their shady dealings with Aqueduct Entertainment Group has been widely publicized, but what was kept hush-hush was Rev. Flake’s involvement.
The story, loosely, is that AEG was trying to secure a deal with the state of New York to construct an entertainment complex, complete with gambling facilities, but they were losing in the bidding process. The group got wind of a developing relationship between the decision maker, Paterson, and rap mogul, Jay-Z, then began courting the rapper to join their team to win favor with Paterson. Jay signed on and despite their losing position in the bidding — ninth place, AEG got the deal. The twist is, the good Rev. Flake, who was also connected to Paterson in some way, also became part of the AEG team with a percentage of ownership. Not a big deal, you say?
Sure it is. Why would a reverend join forces with an organization with clear intentions of establishing the means for the good people of New York to gamble? Why would a reverend join forces with, no matter how POPular or savvy, a rapper who clearly doesn’t stand on the same principles as he and his flock? Furthermore, why would a reverend lock arms with a politician whose hands are apparently as dirty as a child’s making mud pies? He has now bailed out on the deal, along with Jay-Z, but this is only after the heat has been turned up. That’s like running out the back door during a raid … you were doing the dirt, but just didn’t get caught.
Flake, in a statement, said “he’s cutting all ties with AEG, including his 0.55 percent share of the project,” a source said. He had already been catching heat from his congregation about his involvement.
Jay-Z said he “didn’t want to put his life and business dealings through a background check for “a relatively small share in the racino project.” (enter “side-eyeing …”)
The implications here are pretty scary. There are an increasing number of elected officials with above the law attitudes, there is increasing deification of successful but morally questionable “moguls,” and clergy are increasingly allowing greed — in the name of prosperity — to transform the church into something that more closely resembles the secular world. All those entities merging together points toward a lowest common denominator collision. Be afraid. –gerald radford
