The writer is a very lost man.
Right you are. From the article: "While Jay-Z made many mistakes growing up – as a drug dealer he undoubtedly hurt many people — none of us are perfect."
No. A mistake is writing 1+1=3. Deciding to sell drugs is not a mistake. It can be forgiven, but it is not a mistake. It is a conscious decision to hurt people for personal gain. Anyone who sees such a criminality as a simple "mistake" is indeed lost.