DAILY DOSE OF HOPE – BLOG – NAIMA LETT
What’s Going On?
© NaimaLett.com/blog



Chris Lighty, Tony Scott ©Getty

“What is going on?!!!!!!”, as Marvin Gaye would sing

Yesterday, as I wrote to you about hope, another entertainment heavyweight lost his.

I was running all day – back-to-back meetings – got in from my last one at 11 PM last night and crashed. So I didn’t know until this morning that hip-hop manager and mogul Chris Lighty apparently committed suicide at his NY home, self-inflicted shot to the head. He was only 44.

If you didn’t know Chris, you knew his clients, past and present: Mariah Carey, LL Cool J, Puffy/P.Diddy/Diddy (what’s he calling himself these days?), Busta Ryhmes, Nas, Q-Tip, Tribe Called Quest, Missy Elliott, Fantasia, Mya, Ja Rule, Three 6 Mafia, Soulja Boy, on and on.

Chris, a self-made, rags-to-riches entrepreneur, told his artists, “You can’t rely on just the income that you make off of being an artist”. He brokered major commercial deals for his clients including the infamous $100 million for 50 Cent when Coca-Cola bought Vitamin Water for $4 billion.

Reports state moving trucks were at Chris’ home, as he was in the process of a divorce and moving out. He had recently sold his Manhattan condo for $5.6 million to pay a $5 million IRS debt, but still owed $330,000, plus other financial pressure; yet he was reportedly worth an estimated $30 million. Yesterday, he allegedly had a heated argument with his estranged wife, said “I’m tired of this”, walked out to the patio and ended it all. Shocking.

Hollywood hasn’t fully recovered from the first shock…
Less than 2 weeks ago, famous director/producer Tony Scott, 68, jumped to his death off the 184 foot high Vincent Thomas Bridge crossing the Los Angeles Harbor on August 19th. One friend reported Tony had bouts of depression and another said he had terminal brain cancer, but his family denied it. Notes he left didn’t reveal much. Hearts are still busted.

If you didn’t know Tony, you knew his movies: Top Gun, Enemy of the State, Beverly Hills Cop II, Man on Fire, DejaVu, Unstoppable. He did 5 movies with Denzel Washington alone, not to mention executive-producing television hits like CBS’ The Good Wife and Numb3rs. He lived here in Beverly Hills and got started in the biz helping his equally famous brother Ridley Scott (Alien, Thelma & Louise, Gladiator, American Ganster, Prometheus).

Chris & Tony, two entertainment powerhouses, who some might say “had it all” by industry standards – successful careers, wealth, influence – both decided, we can only assume, that whatever they faced in life was not going to get better.

Hope is that belief that things will get better.

I pray for hope to permeate our lives today. I am deeply saddened by these tragic events and pray for the families and especially their children.

Fam, please lift up not only our entertainers, but our executives as well; and lift up one another.

If life is weighing heavy on you, tell someone, a family member, a friend, a pastor, a professional counselor, somebody. Life is hard sometimes. We all have ups and downs, especially artists, myself included. My husband and I have lost everything at one point or another- jobs, careers, health, financial security, home, church homes, cars, relationships. You name it, we’ve lost it… most times, at no fault of our own. That’s one of the reasons I don’t gamble. Not that I believe in luck, but with my track record, are you kidding?!

Losing stuff can be a downer. But we find ways to cope and each day, we make a choice to live. Things are temporary. Our hope is in an eternal home and an eternal God who loves us deeply.

I am always reminded of the honest songs in the Bible. When the singer penned Psalm 42, he said “My tears have been my food day and night… My soul is downcast within me… Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.”

There will be days when things happen that cause our souls to be downcast, but like the psalmist, we can challenge our souls to put our hope in God. And even if everything unravels in our lives – marriage, financial deals, health – God is still steadfast. I can personally attest to that.

I wish you hope and love today.
I wish you peace and great perspective.
I wish you a wonderful Labor Day weekend. Keep you head up.

Enjoy your time with those who love you…
Because be clear, there are people who love you madly (and not that scratch-up your car nonsense); but love you like “give their all for you”, for real. See the truth.

Selah,
Naima

What are you wishing for today? Got hope?

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