Blog post: Mr. Sam and Jazzy

      In these two articles, Sam Walton and Shawn Corey Carter, better know as Jay-Z, are both examples  of a "rags to riches" story, with a twist. Both of them had fallen to the "easy road" to success, notably Jay-Z has spent a large chunk of his young life hustling and dealing illegal drugs. Walton took advantage of small towns and basically ran out the local businesses and threatening to alter their way of life, and when his company exploded, necessities such as employee wages were neglected. Jay-Z took a much more underground approach with his drug dealing, undercutting other dealers by setting a lower price and getting his "product" cheaper than anyone else. It became a symbol of capitalism, with "America had become more like Wal-Mart. It had gotten cheap. Prices were lower, and wages were lower. There were fewer union factory job, and more part-time jobs as store greeters."
      Jay-Z developed a similar method, by creating his own line of personalized products such as clothing, sneakers, vodka, cologne, and his records. His response to those who called him a "sellout or materialist", he replied that selfishness was the appropriate response to the events he faced.