Jay-Z, Beyoncé, President Obama, Frank Ocean & More Make TIME’s ‘100 Most Influential’ List

BY: Denver Sean

Published 11 years ago

jay-z-time-cover

Jay-Z looks super dapper on one of seven covers of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People issue.

He along with his wife Beyoncé both make the list. Other notables include POTUS and FLOTUS Barack and Michelle Obama, Frank Ocean, Miguel, Shonda Rhimes and more.

TIME chose different celebrities to offer thoughts on their peers. Check out some highlights.

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Mayor Bloomberg on Jay-Z

[Jay-Z’s] an artist-entrepreneur who stands at the center of culture and commerce in 21st century America, and his influence stretches across races, religions and regions. He’s never forgotten his roots — “Empire State of Mind” was a love song to our city — and as a co-owner of the NBA Nets, he helped bring a major league sports team back to Brooklyn, not far from his old neighborhood. In nearly everything he’s tried, he’s found success. (He even put a ring on Beyoncé.) And in doing so, he’s proved that the American Dream is alive and well.

John Legend on Frank Ocean

How fitting that he released his “declaration” on Independence Day. I think Frank’s career will be defined by his fearlessness and his artistic freedom. He has the talent, the ability and the brilliance to have an impact for a long time. He will follow his muse wherever it goes — he’s not the kind of artist to adhere to everyone else’s schedule. That’s what makes him special.

Critic Douglas Wolk on Miguel

The survival of the black pop tradition isn’t just a matter of preserving its history — although Miguel does that too: the soul seducer’s Grammy-winning hit single “Adorn” ingeniously evokes Marvin Gaye’s “Sexual Healing” and “Let’s Get It On”. What has nourished that tradition over the past 70 years, though — what has kept it not just alive but thriving — is what makes Miguel’s recent music so special: constant innovation, formal daring, unexpected sources of inspiration, and emotional directness.

Director Baz Luhrman on Beyoncé

She and Jay Z are the royal couple of culture, and she is the queen bee. She’s gone beyond being a popular singer, even beyond being a pop-cultural icon. When Beyoncé does an album, when Beyoncé sings a song, when Beyoncé does anything, it’s an event, and it’s broadly influential. Right now, she is the heir-­apparent diva of the USA — the reigning national voice.

Hilary Clinton on President Obama

President Obama is working to create broader prosperity at home and become more competitive abroad by investing in our people, modernizing our infrastructure, building a new energy future and managing our long-term fiscal challenges. That’s the course for a better future.

 

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