If you want to learn the fundamentals of business, just listen to rap music, said Claire Cain Miller in The New York Times. That’s the advice of Ben Horowitz, the powerhouse Silicon Valley investor who has minted money with companies like Facebook and Groupon. Horowitz uses rap lyrics to impart business wisdom to colleagues and readers of his popular blog. Rap has a lot of business themes, whether about the drug business or the music industry, and it “helps me connect emotionally,” Horowitz says. When he thought an entrepreneur was being too weak, he made him listen to The Game’s “superaggressive” cut “Scream on Em.” To explain why he prefers founders over hired CEOs, he cites Rakim’s “Follow the Leader,” with the lyric “you’re just a rent-a-rapper.” Rakim “could fit into two sentences what it took me three pages to explain,” Horowitz says.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
'Voters know Biden and Trump all too well'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Is the Gaza war tearing US university campuses apart?Today's Big Question Protests at Columbia University, other institutions, pit free speech against student safety
-
DOJ settles with Nassar victims for $138MSpeed Read The settlement includes 139 sexual abuse victims of the former USA Gymnastics doctor
-
The news at a glance...Internationalfeature International
-
The bottom line
feature Youthful startup founders; High salaries for anesthesiologists; The myth of too much homework; More mothers stay a home; Audiences are down, but box office revenue rises
-
The week at a glance...Americas
feature Americas
-
The news at a glance...United States
feature United States
-
The news at a glance
feature Comcast defends planned TWC merger; Toyota recalls 6.39 million vehicles; Takeda faces $6 billion in damages; American updates loyalty program; Regulators hike leverage ratio
-
The bottom line
feature The rising cost of graduate degrees; NSA surveillance affects tech profits; A glass ceiling for female chefs?; Bonding to a brand name; Generous Wall Street bonuses
-
The news at a glance
feature GM chief faces Congress; FBI targets high-frequency trading; Yellen confirms continued low rates; BofA settles mortgage claims for $9.3B; Apple and Samsung duke it out
-
The week at a glance...International
feature International