Anything for Love of Money?
I’ve been trying to write this post since the beginning of the year, tapping into the new year’s resolution hype. For me, my real yearly goals don’t come into play until February, when the rush of the new year has trickled into a steady stream of achievable tasks rather than a geyser of unreasonable expectations.
In February, only the things I truly want to accomplish have made it past the first few dispirited attempts at diving into gym time and YouTube tutorials. With February comes a more focused type of love for true passions and commitments: why yes, I will follow through with those writing assignments,faster email responses; and yes, thank you, my DIY project pile is finally dwindling and my attention to my finances is at peak.
The end of January/beginning of February also threw a doozy of a winter stomach bug my way. Which somehow helped me to separate real goals from fantasy, through what I can only describe as a process of intense bathroom self reflection and feverish sleep sweats. Once I was feeling better I started dreaming up and planning out projects that I’m really excited about this year for WoBusu and for my professional life as a Librarian.
While I do plan on talking/writing more about those goals as the year unfolds, there are two things that I wanted to share today: cultivating space for great health and wealth in my life. The healthy bit is something I’ve always sought after, prayed for, and held dear. Having lost my father quite suddenly on valentine’s day 24 years ago, I’ve long marveled at ways to be/stay healthy and never taken health for granted. The number one prayer since I was a kid has remained to look after the health of my family.
The wealth part of this year’s goals have always seemed secondary to me and were tied to a very Protestant ethos of hard-work and reward. As a kid, the shift to a single parent household was emotionally jarring, but I never felt like I wanted for anything because my mother worked hard and sacrificed much so that my sisters and I wouldn’t have to want for anything. In my mind, health and family time came first.
Yet, as I grew up I realized that this was not necessarily how the world worked. In the past year alone, I’ve been alarmed by the type of high profile exposés revealing the schemes through which millennial entitlement to vast riches— or it’s cousins: fame and power— have unfolded. For this post I’ve spent a lot of time finding, compiling and comparing how the art of the con is very much alive. As far as vision boards/goals, the stories below have helped me visualize all the irresponsible ways that I will not run WoBusu or any future endeavors.
What won’t people do for love of Money? This subject soon became my new year spiral. Money, or “Sika” in twi, is a very powerful thing even when we acknowledge that it’s power over us is often reprehensible. Below are stories of the allure of money, fame, and power even when shrouded in altruism and they are #notgoals.
Image by Viktor Forgas @sonance via Unsplash
Quadriga’s CEO- Gerald Cotton
This is at the top of the list because it’s so wrapped up in intrigue and conspiracy. Even though this is actual real life, and many people’s money has been lost due to this Canadian bitcoin maverick, I find this story fascinating. This Vanity Fair article feels like it could easily be adapted as a screen play; with each paragraph turned into an an episode of limited streaming series. In it, Cotton’s legacy as the builder of canada’s largest cryptocurrency exchange is called into question against his long history as an online conman. This history was only revealed after his death while on honeymoon in India because Cotten was the only one with the passwords to access the harddrives on which all Quadriga’s trades were stored. Speculation abounds. Near truth is better than fiction I suppose.
Image by JP Valery @jpvalery via Unsplash
New York’s fake Heiress- Anna Sorokin aka Anna Delvey
Anna’s story is a fascinating look at luxurious levels of deceit, class, and carelessness. Although she freely gave money away (not greedy?) the money she gave away literally wasn’t really hers to give (greedy?). But the keeping-up-with-the- Joneses appeal of her story is bound to be transferable on the big screen, and this The Cut article by Jessica Pressler certainly reads like a popcorn-worthy tale.
Image by Sai Kiran Anagani @_imkiran via Unsplash
Tessr CoFounder and coder— Jerold Haas.
In this Wired article about Jerold Haas’s strange past, the product Tessr— which uses blockchain to pay for higher education using bio data— isn’t the focus of the article because it has proven practical usages and as such was on the brink of million dollar investments. The article focuses more on how Haas’ long history of addiction, self sabotage, paranoia led to inconsistency in his personal life that spilled into the company. Haas as the sole architect of the code for Tessr (kind of mimicking the Gerald Cotten story) meant that knowledge was siloed such that when Haas went missing along with the technology on which Tessr was stored it brought to light all of those inconsistencies. Strictly speaking the article paints a picture of a man deeply at odds with capitalism but whose technical skills would have warranted many windfalls.
Image by Prateek Katyal @prateekkatyal via Unsplash
Fyre Festival-Billy McFarland
McFarland’s seemingly impossibly grandiose sense of self actualization and lack of culpability was the subject of two documentaries last year. The films each take a different tact in terms of finding blame for the now famous music festival that never was. With a long history of products and events run on broken promises of access to luxury and exclusivity, McFarland’s hype up was certainly aided by social media FOMO and appearances. Both films however do highlight McFarland’s entrepreneurial spirit from a young age was also aided by the allure of technology and not need unverifiable technological advances.
Image by Ramon Salinero @donramxn via Unsplash
Theranos Founder- Elizabeth Holmes
Holmes’ great performance has been that of a master magician at the helm of a multi-billion dollar funded, yet impossible to actualize, healthcare fabrication. A case of fake-it-till-you-make-it (over 12 years in this case), Theranos was able to also silo lots of information and rely on not only Holmes mythic persona but the unchecked promise of technological advance; which is kind of ironic because science is supposed to be a rigorous field. Many a think-piece and news special have been created trying to pinpoint the motivations behind her fabled rise, including an HBO documentary.
Honorable Mentions
Image by Louis Hansel @shotoflouis via Unsplash
Aladin- I finally saw the new live version and through the lens of all these damn articles and documentaries that I’ve been consuming, I was like, damn, this man was like the OG conman! Even though redeemed in the end, he really did Jasmine kinda dirty.
Catfish the Movie- I used to be obsessed with the show but only recently saw the 2010 documentary which birthed attention and gave nomenclature to the phenomenon. Perhaps the original catfisher Angela was not motivated by money, but by attention and the pursuit of love, a con is a con is a con?
Despite this list serving as an example of all the reasons why not to be led astray by money, I also realize that money warrants a certain level of awe. Ghanaian musician Pat Thomas has a dope highlife song from the 1990s in which he croons that “sike y3 mogya” or “money is blood” and as such should be respected.
WoBusu is not a hobby, and I really believe it can and will be a source of stability and artistic pride for many artisans, seamstresses, tailors , designers, writers, musicians and artists on the African continent and throughout its diaspora. In order to provide that stability, a fair amount of funding needs to go into this business, and so I hope and pray for the wealth and prosperity of all those affiliated with WoBusu LLC and the projects to come. I am here for it, I am open to it, and will seek it out in a responsible way.
Writing as Ohemaa Serwaa, like another south Bronx native, I’ve also been thinking a lot about what it means to be real and just another girl from the block. Ohemaa Serwaa is a nom-du-plume, although I don’t shy away from my given day name: Adwoa. For me, working as Ohemaa doesn’t shadow any realness but in many ways allows me to be as real and open as I can be. I definitely want to write more about that this year (January resolution that has turned into a plausible February-and-beyond goal!) and will continue to do so with integrity.
In the meantime, while you and I both await more revealing blog posts, I’ve also compiled a playlist of songs that are all about the love of money (Lady Donli’s “Cash”): from infatuation and jealousy (YBNL Mafia Family’s “Jealous”) to the practicalities of cash flow (WuTang’s “C.R.E.A.M”), flaunting diamonds instead of flaunting boys (Amindi and Kari Faux’s “Love Em Leave Em”), the hypnotic and violent effects of capitalism ( Fela Kuti’s “Zombie” and the sampling of Fela’s “Shakara” in Burna Boy’s “My Money, My Baby”) and keeping money circulating in (imaginary) communities of color (Sho Madjozi and Ycee’s “Wakanda Forever”). Full list and link to Spotify playlist below:
Give Her Some Money by Maliibu Miitch ~~ (Everybody Wanna Get Rich) Rite Away by Dr. John ~~ Cash by Lady Donli ~~ Zombie by Fela Kuti ~~ Dollar Pound Cake by T Mula ~~ Sister Girl by Juls & Wande Cole ~~ Gimme Some More by Busta Rhymes ~~ Designer by Niniola & Sarz ~~ More by Flying Lotus & Anderson .Paak ~~ Big Sixes by M.anifest ~~ My Money, My Baby by Burna Boy ~~ Love Em Leave Em by Amindi and Kari Faux ~~ 10% by Kaytranada & Kali Uchis ~~ Oshey by Juls, DJ Tunez, Moelogo & Siza ~~ Jealous by YBNL Mafia Family & Fire Boy ~~ Wakanda Forever by Sho Madjozi & Ycee ~~ C.R.E.A.M instrumental by El Michels Affair ~~ C.R.E.A.M by Wu-Tang Clan ~~ Sika Y3 Mogya by Pat Thomas ~~ Bitch Better Have My Money by Rihanna ~~Sika Ye Mogya (Freestyle) by Emcee Dyce
~Love you more than your bank account
~Ohemaa Serwaa