Sunday, September 28, 2008
Quick, Opinion

More bang for the buck

People much, much wealthier than you or I are also feeling the financial pinch.

By Kevin Forest Moreau

Worried about the economy? You’re not alone. While you’re sitting at the kitchen table, figuring out which bills to pay this month, or deciding whether to take your life’s savings out of the bank and stuff them under your mattress, people much, much wealthier than you or I are also feeling the financial pinch.

Young Jeezy’s so worked up about the recession, he named his latest album after it. Ludacris, fresh off of being inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame, learned last week that a fire destroyed the pool house at his Fulton County estate.

T.I., meanwhile, was just ordered to increase his monthly child support payments to LaShon Dixon, the mother of two of his children, from $2,000 to just over $3,000 per month. That’s in addition to bankrolling the kids’ private school tuition, medical bills and other expenses related to extracurricular activities. He was also awarded joint custody of the two boys, which, assuming a 50-50 division of time with the two parents, means Dixon must somehow manage to feed and clothe a 7- and an 8-year-old for around $1,500 per week. Given the rising price of groceries lately, she can be forgiven for wondering if that’s going to be enough.

And then there’s media mogul Tyler Perry, who was so moved by a TV news report about a food shortage at Hosea Feed the Hungry and Homeless that he dropped by the local nonprofit last Tuesday with a truckload of supplies—enough to feed at least 1,000 families for a couple of weeks. Perry, as everyone familiar with his mythology knows, was once homeless, and although he’s risen from those humble beginnings to lead his own multi-million-dollar entertainment empire, he hasn’t forgotten what it’s like to wonder where one’s next meal is coming from.

There were plenty of TV cameras on hand to record Perry’s generous donation, which, I must admit, made me a little skeptical at first—the guy’s syndicated sitcom “House of Payne” airs twice a day on TV stations across the country. How much publicity does he need?

But that small-mindedness isn’t the attitude that’s needed to help pull the country out of a financial crisis. When banks are failing and Atlantans are lining up for gas, causing flashbacks to the fuel shortage of the Carter Administration, that's not the time to pull away from our fellow men, to fan the flames of envy and class warfare (although it’s still OK to snicker at the idea that Clay Aiken coming out of the closet constitutes “news”).

No, friends and neighbors, what’s needed during times like these isn’t petty bickering, but more of the can-do entrepreneurial spirit that made Perry and Jeezy the successes they are today. If our celebrities are serious about helping out during this rough patch, there are ways they can give back to the community while still fulfilling their primary role as entertainers.

Laudable as Perry’s act of charity is, I can’t help thinking he could take it so much further. Why not start his own charity—Madea Feed the Hungry and Homeless—and deliver parcels of food to Atlanta’s needy each week, dressed as his famous pistol-packing grandmother? He could distribute these goods in a truck adorned with ads for his latest movie, play or TV series. Even better, he could bring the cast of “Payne” or his latest sitcom venture, “Meet the Browns,” for the ride, and give performances at each stop—that’s what we call a “value-add.”

Let’s have Young Jeezy record a quick-and-dirty series of topical mix tapes expanding on the themes of “The Recession,” and invite other performers—T-Pain, Ne-Yo, Akon—to help explain the current economic climate for confused listeners. Imagine Ludacris retooling one of his more famous songs into “Bailout (My Business),” or adding new lyrics to “Money Maker” that explore the different investment options available to the average fan. T.I. could aid underprivileged children and clean up the streets at the same time by offering to send a kid to school for every unregistered gun brought to his house—OK, maybe that last one isn’t such a good idea.

But I think we’re on to something here. Let’s challenge our entertainers to add a little bang for our devalued bucks. And it doesn’t have to be limited to the hip-hop community. Can somebody ask Widespread Panic to temporarily change their name to Don’t Panic?

Kevin Forest Moreau is Editor in Chief of The Sunday Paper.