Jay-z
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Beyoncé and Jay-Z continue to prove that they’re Hollywood’s most iconic couple. The duo recently purchased a more than 30,000-square-foot home in the Paradise Cove area of Malibu, Calif., and they paid $200 million for the property, according to TMZ. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news With that […]
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Jay-Z and Roc Nation have their sights set on gambling operations. They are currently trying to garner support from New York City residents so they can bring a casino to Times Square.
As spotted on Blavity the music mogul and his entertainment firm recently spent a nice chunk of change to promote their newest business interests. This week they booked advertisements throughout several high profile New York City periodicals including The New York Post, The New York Daily News, and The Amsterdam News to gain local support to bring a Ceasar’s Palace to The Big Apple. The open letter makes it clear that they sincerely believe the project will ultimately deliver immense value to “The City That Never Sleeps”.
“Caesars Palace Times Square will benefit all of New York—the hotel and restaurant workers in the area, retailers and surrounding neighborhoods,” the statement reads. “Our bid commits $115 million for diverse theater programs that include daycare for Broadway workers and their families.” They also call out that the town is in good hands with Roc Nation and Jay-Z. “The winning licensee must always put the well-being of New Yorkers at the top of their agenda and do right by its residents,” the letter continues. “This is too important of a moment in our city’s illustrious history. Times Square, the epicenter of entertainment with a palpable energy, is unmatched. Roc Nation and our partners are here to ensure Times Square remains connected to all facets of culture. There’s no better location for a Caesars Palace entertainment destination than the Crossroads of the World.”
They also claim the casino will provide a better way of life as it “gives back to all surrounding businesses, benefits mass transit, invests money into sanitation and security, … develops and delivers a much-needed transportation plan, protects the interests of the actors, producers, theatre staff, writers, and patrons that represent the true heart and soul of Broadway, [and] provides opportunity for all.”
You can read the open letter below.
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While LL Cool J’s Rap legacy is undisputable he doesn’t get enough credit for his sense of humor. He recently discussed not getting an invite to the Roc Nation Brunch and it is pure comedy.
As spotted on Complex the Hollis, Queens native paid a visit to Big Boys Neighborhood to discuss the launch of his F.O.R.C.E. Live tour. During the near hour conversation he discussed a variety of topics including his Rock The Bells brand, his beef with Ice-T and more. To close out their sit down Big Boy asked Cool James to play ‘For Real For Real For False For False’, a game where he confirms or denies a story.
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Here he was asked if it is true he once laughed at Jay-Z trying rap back in high school. “I love everybody. I don’t have no problems with none of these guys, man. If I laughed, okay, so what” he said. “Laugh at me. How many people have you laughed at or snapped on in the lunch room? Come on, B. Give your man a pass on that nonsense, man. This is ridiculous. I don’t even remember it.” He then went to take hilarity even further when he added “I laughed at you so now I can’t have no brunch? I can’t have no finger food?”
Jokes aside LL Cool J also revealed that his former hype man E-Love is the silhouette in the iconic Public Enemy logo. You can see the “Hey Lover” discuss the Jay-Z interaction starting at the 43 minute mark below.
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Over the weekend the gawd MC Jay-Z rocked an exclusive show at the Louis Vuitton Fondation’s Auditorium for the foundation’s Basquiat x Warhol retrospective in Paris and while he was out there reworked one of his classic hits to incorporate the work of Jazz poet, Gil Scott-Heron into his cut.
Combining Gil Scott-Heron’s “New York Is Killing Me” with his classic Alicia Key’s assisted “New York State Of Mind,” Jay-Z released the new remixed track dubbed “New York (Concept de Paris)” which gives the multi-platinum rap song an artsy vibe with the hand-clapping and jazzy horns integrated into the song.
While Jay introduced the song during his performance at the show in Paris, he also churned out some renditions of other classic hits such as “Can’t Knock The Hustle,” “Never Change,” and of course, “Ni**as In Paris” sans Kanye West. Y’all know Hov wasn’t going to do a show in Paris and NOT perform “Ni**as In Paris.”
Whether or not fans prefer the “New York (Concept de Paris)” to “New York State of Mind” remains to be seen, but at this point it’s not about the hits for Jay-Z, it’s about the art, and we ain’t mad at that one bit.
Check out “New York (Concept de Paris)” below and let us know if you like what you hear in the comments section below.
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Jay-Z is holding a very rare one-off concert. The Brooklyn rapper and mogul will be performing at a Basquiat x Andy Warhol exhibit in Paris.
On Wednesday, April 12, Roc Nation announced that Jay-Z will be holding a tribute concert for the Louis Vuitton Foundation on Friday (April 14) at 9pm. Tiffany & Co. is also a sponsor of the event, so you know the bag the “N*gga In Paris” rapper secured is serious. The man born Shawn Carter has a well-documented affinity for Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat and that connection is the basis for the performance.
The concert will be going down at the Auditorium of the Fondation in Paris. Jigga’s show serves the purpose of bringing more attention to Louis Vuiton’s “Basquiat × Warhol. Painting four hands” exhibit which features hundreds of the renowned artists’ collaborations. Between 1984 and 1985 they created around 160 paintings together.
Find out more information about the exhibit—which opened April 5 and runs through August—and show right here. Recently, Jay-Z was notably the only rapper to make the cut for Forbes’ 2023 Worlds Billionaires list.
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Jim Jones is never short on opinions. In a new interview he claims that Drake should be considered the GOAT.
As spotted on Complex the Harlem, New York native recent chat with Rap Caviar podcast he discussed his new album with Hit Make Back In My Prime. While promoting his newest effort he also discussed a bevy of other topics including who he thinks is the greatest of all time. When Kev assumed his GOAT pick was Jay-Z CAPO was quick to correct him. “I can’t agree on that. … [Jay is] at the top of the barrel when it comes to what he’s done” he explained. “He’s a billionaire, he has done some sh*t for dope boys that people never even thought could be. He’s put himself in rooms that you couldn’t imagine.”
The Diplomats member when on to justify why he feels Drake is more impactful. “I haven’t heard too much Jay-Z music in the last six to seven years that was really hitting out here in these streets on the lit side of things,” he stated. “In the past 12 years everything that Drake has put out has hit like 2Pac was hitting. No matter if you like it. No matter if n****s don’t like it cause he’s light-skinned, no matter if n****s don’t like it cause he’s singing… No matter what n****s like, he always seems to be in these n****s’ playlists.”
You can see Jim Jones discuss Drake, Jay-Z and more below.
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The culture just got more evidence that Jay-Z is breathing rare air. He is the only rapper slotted into Forbes’ 2023 World’s Billionaires list.
As spotted on Hip Hop N More the Brooklyn, New York native continues to put up numbers that his peers dream of. This week the American business magazine released their annual collection of entrepreneurs who have entered the three comma club. In total the staff estimates that there are only 2,640 billionaires throughout the world and the “Holy Grail” MC was slotted at 1,217 with an estimated net worth of $2.5 billion dollars which is about $1.4 billion dollars up from last year. The publication affirms that much of Hov’s wealth is attributed to his success in the wine and spirits industry; namely Armand de Brignac. Back in 2021 luxury goods conglomerate LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton purchased a 50% stake in the champagne brand with hopes of extending its global reach.
Speaking of LVMH, owner Bernard Arnault is ranked at number one with an estimated earnings of $211 billion. Other titans of industry round the top ten list including Jeff Bezos, Warren Buffet, Michael Bloomberg and Bill Gates. From a popular culture lens we also get some usual suspects holding a spot for themselves including Oprah Winfrey, LeBron James, Rihanna, and Kim Kardashian. Kanye West did not rank in 2023 due to losing several lucrative partnerships because of his behavior last year. The World’s Billionaires is an annual ranking by documented net worth of the wealthiest billionaires in the world, compiled and published in March annually. The list was first published in March 1987
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Many have been impressed with Damson Idris on the hit series Snowfall, but his uncanny impression of Jay-Z once again has people buzzing.
The 31-year-old British-Nigerian actor was a guest on The Drew Barrymore Show, and the host queried him about his friendship with Jay-Z and Beyoncé. After he answers with a laugh, Barrymore excitedly asks, “Oh my God! What is that like? They’re very embracing of you, right? Like, he’s paternal, basically, with you a bit.”
Idris admits that it’s true and shares a memory. “Yeah, I’ll be in Miami, it’s late, and I’ll call them up, and I’ll be like, ‘Hey, I can’t get a reservation at Carbone,’” he says, before delivering a spot-on impression of Jay-Z replying, “He’ll be like, ‘Damson, you gotta win a couple more Emmy’s before you can call me at 11:30.’”
It’s not the first time the actor has done it – his recollection of an awkward Zoom call he hopped on with Jay-Z and others during an appearance on Good Morning America in 2021 had many entertained.
After the crowd erupted with applause and laughter, he went on to describe his interactions with The Carters. “They’re the sweetest,” Idris said. “We’ve connected in many ways, but the Super Bowl was really great because it was really the first time I really connected with Bey, and I had just walked with Prada, and it was a huge, huge moment for me.”
The actor also spoke about his relationship with his sister and discussed his time auditioning for the lead role of Franklin Saint in the FX series with the late John Singleton – which led to him being dropped off in the middle of South Central Los Angeles.
“By audition number 8, Singleton took me to South Central, opened the car door, and said, ‘If you survive, you’ve got the role,’” he said to Barrymore. “And it really was an experience. You know, I was walking around South Central, I had to stay in character, so I wasn’t allowed to be British. And I said to his mother, ‘Oh, how lovely your hair looks today. I’m just gonna go, and you know, put this in a bin.’ And she goes, ‘John! He ain’t from here, huh?’ Nearly lost the part, but hey, six seasons later…” he concluded.
Check out the entire interview below.
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While he may not have a presence on social media Jay-Z doesn’t miss a beat. He sent flowers to an senior home who redid Rihanna’s Super Bowl performance.
As spotted on Bossip the residents at Arcadia Senior Living in Bowling Green, Kentucky got major respect from the legendary MC. It seems they were left very inspired viewing Rihanna’s game changing performance at the Super Bowl Half Time show. So much so they replicated her performance but gave it a more mature flair. They shared the clip on social media and the footage quickly went viral on TikTok. Their hilarious rendition eventually landed on Jay-Z’s radar prompting him to thank them with a spread of fresh florals.
WNKY spoke to some of the residents at the facility to detail how the idea came about. “My grandchildren and I watched and there were flips and flops and I was standing there thinking wow I wish I could do that…and then I did do that,” said Dora Martin. “I went to the doctor the other day and the nurses as soon as I walked in there, knew who I was”. The troop also made it clear that they were very flattered by Jay-Z’s gesture. “We thought about pressing them in a book but we haven’t got a big enough book,” said resident Ora Rampenthal.
You can view their rendition of Rihanna’s Super Bowl performance below which has been viewed over 30 million times, below.
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It seems there was no limit to Jay-Z’s rapport with the Miller family in the 1990’s. Silkk The Shocker recalls Hov declining payment over a verse.
Contrary to popular belief the legendary MC wasn’t always about the almighty dollar. As spotted on Vibe Magazine Jay-Z apparently told “Give Me The World” talent to keep his coins after doing a verse for him. Silkk recently sat down with the Art Of Dialogue platform and discussed his career. Midway he revealed his interaction with Jay over “You Know What We Bout”.
“Our relationship was dope because when I did the song with him, I thought I had a budget for him,” The Shocker shared. “I was like, ‘Yo, I got a hundred racks’ — that’s a lot of money back in the day too! I’m sure he could’ve used the extra $100,000; who ain’t gonna use that? When I hit him up, I’m like, ‘Yo, the song is dope, you killed it. Where I should I send that bread to?’ Jay was like, ‘Nah, it’s good, man. Just keep it and we’ll figure out something later on down the line.’”
Silkk also detailed why the gesture speaks volumes about Jay’s character when we fast forward to today. “What I came to learn was that it’s bigger than [money] for him,” he explained. “To me, that’s consistent with [where he is] today — if you look at him, it’s not a fluke that he’s successful.” He went to also reveal that he went on to repay the favor. “I don’t care how rich you are, you going [to] be like, ‘Man, send my bread.’ But he was just dead cool. He ain’t even second-guess it like, ‘Yeah, send me half of it.’ The good part about it: down the line, I kind [of] did something for him and I just thought it was solid.”
You can see Silkk discuss the situation below.
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