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We live in a society where pop culture rules and celebrities are the royalty of our land. I suppose it should not come as a surprise to see that even global issues are migrating from the pages of Foreign Affairs to People. Artists and actors have emerged as spokespeople for some of the most pressing problems of our time, displacing the typical talking heads and pundits with the powerful glow of their celebrity. In the latest example, ABC News recently showcased Shawn “Jay-Z�? Carter on Nightline and glorified him on a Barbara Walters specialty. Its not his new album that makes Jay-Z noteworthy, but his embrace of the global water crisis as his primary cause celebre.

Jay-Z truly is a phenomenon of our time. More than an ordinary musician, he has emerged as a serious corporate executive with wide-ranging commercial interests. From his position as CEO of Def Jam to his clothing empire to his equity stake in the New York Nets, Jay Z has a diverse and thriving business empire. His business acumen and marketing savvy are at least as remarkable as his musical abilities.

Thus, when Jay-Z approached outgoing UN Secretary General Kofi Anan earlier this year and expressed an interest in leveraging his fame to assist with a major global challenge, it was a huge opportunity. Anan executed a coup to direct him toward water. The sector has never had the attention of a personality of such magnitude and star power. Many in the community were excited albeit anxious about what Jay-Z would accomplish.

Jay-Z completed a world tour this past summer, stopping in multiple spots in Asia and Africa. With the assistance of the United Nations Development Program, he augmented his itinerary with stops in rural and urban environments to observe the scarcity of clean water and sanitation services in these areas. MTV tagged along for these visits, recording his impressions for an MTV documentary. “Jay-Z: Water for Life�? then was...