‘New Jack City’ Taught Me the #1 Rule of Being a Businessperson

Photo Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures

Before we get into my reflections from New Jack City, which debuted in theaters 25 years ago this week, I will start by saying, yes I am aware it is a fictional story about crack. Nino Brown (Wesley Snipes), the drug kingpin responsible for initiating a sea of crack addicted individuals in 1990s New York City was indeed a monster. Hundreds of deaths, both old and young, resulted from the greed of Nino’s crime-ridden family empire, Cash Money Brothers.

Pookie (Chris Rock) was the greatest casualty.

The film follows Scotty Appleton (Ice T) and Nick Peretti’s (Judd Nelson) undercover investigation into CMB’s tunnel of organized crime through a multi-million dollar crack industry ran out of a rundown apartment building. Flashy jewelry, the hottest parties and seductive women, they had it all.

I don’t want to spoil the ending, if you haven’t seen the movie in its entirety. But, in the end, Nino got a dose of his own medicine as well as his “brother’s keeper”, G-Money (Allen Payne).

My parents owned the tape when I was a kid and strictly FORBID my older sister and I from watching it. You know what they say about rules.. What do they say about them? My sister and I clearly pretended like we were exempt from obedience because we watched the movie despite our parents’ protest. The film was rated “R” and they had good reason for not wanting to taint our young eyes. My dad hid the movie and my sister used her excellent PI skills to scope out his hiding place. I will never forget the day, we watched the movie during a weekday on summer break.. I was scared my mom would pop up on her lunch break and catch us, so you can imagine how my heart was already racing by the time my sister hit play on the VCR.

I immediately became terrified when I saw the kids standing in the playground listening to their teacher warn about the dangers of drugs and how to say no, as nearby drug dealers lurked just inches away from the school. Strike one. Then, I entered into extreme panic mode when Nino’s goons burst into the Carter (a local apartment building). They ransacked the units, putting women and children at harm’s way. And the men, often shot dead. Strike two. As families ran for their lives, Nino’s encounter with the building owner did it for me. When Nino made that poor man strip down in the flesh and walk around in the street with a gun to his head, forcefully taking ownership of the building, I lost it. Strike three. I screamed and cried. My sister turned off the TV, not because I was scared, but she was scared I’d tell my parents she’d made me watch a scary movie. Real talk, I was watching that movie while eating meatloaf and haven’t been able to stomach my once favorite dish since that moment.

I never watched New Jack City again until I was 23.

It depicted the rawness of the early crack epidemic in the U.S., in which my young mind was once unable to understand.

While Nino’s character was a demon, I learned a great lesson from one great line.

While he used it in the context of murder, even from a drug lord, this quote made sense. Never make decisions based on emotions or spite. Operate your business with a clear mindset and a passion to win. While you want to stray away from shady dealings, it’s smart to put your feelings aside to get the job done. Never mixed the two.

Wesley Snipes seems to agree with my reflection on Twitter.

The movie sends a strong message about putting a stop to the Nino Browns of the world, and preserving communities of colors from falling victim to widespread drug use. Definitely a classic.

Nino also gave me a lesson or two in math.

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