Jay-Z
Jay-Z’s NYC Show Will ‘Shut Everything Down,’ Memphis Bleek Says
by on Mar.01, 2010, under Jay-Z
Hov is returning to Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night.
By Shaheem Reid
Memphis Bleek
Photo: MTV News
By this time on Tuesday, Jay-Z and Memphis Bleek should be preparing to go on in their house. Hov’s BP3 tour hits New York’s Madison Square Garden that night — a place where the Jiggaman has astounded thousands of fans with a multitude of guest spots, surprises and even a “farewell” concert. While no one knows what Jay will pull out of his bag of tricks, Memphis Bleek — who always performs with Jay in concert — says to expect an evolution of sound.
“This run is gonna shut everything down, because everything is live now. No more playback. The band plays everything. You gotta come check it out,” Jay’s former neighbor in the Marcy Projects revealed.
Bleek also said that while Hov parades out an endless array of classics, there are some songs he himself wants to hear that didn’t make the setlist.
“Now that’s what I don’t have,” Bleek said about input on what Jay performs. “Jay, he don’t be listening to me. He clips a lot of records, a lot of records Jay don’t do that I be wanting him to do. If Jay did ‘Imaginary Players’ — you know what will happen in that building? ‘Streets Is Watching,’ records like that, they don’t come on. That boy’s hit catalog is crazy.”
Over the weekend, Jay, Bleek and opening acts Young Jeezy and Trey Songz hit the Philips Arena in Atlanta. The sold-out crowd saw Jeezy bring out surprise guest Plies; Trey soothed the ladies and Jay threw knockout blows such as “D.O.A.” and “On to the Next One.”
Bleek says traveling with Jay from city to city is a lot different for him this time.
“For me it’s a new movement,” he said. “They ain’t let me bring my bus out, my Gs out this time — they clipped my bus! They say I gotta ride on the G5 this time everywhere. Usually I’m stuck on the middle of the road, nowhere with my peoples. Now, I’m riding with the A group.
“Catch me after tour, I might be acting different,” he added with a laugh. “I’m moving up. I might act different: They say when you blow up, you act different.”
After the BP3 tour finishes in Los Angeles late this month, Bleek said he wants to embark on a solo tour to promote his upcoming album, The Process.
“We gotta get the music out first,” Memph determined. “Once we get the music out, the shows will come. I turn down a lot of shows because I don’t want to perform old records. I’m tired of singing ‘Is That Your Chick,’ ‘Do My …’ I been doing that. I need to add to the catalog. That’s what The Process is gonna do.”
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Bun B Talks Pimp C Tribute With Jay-Z
by on Feb.26, 2010, under Jay-Z
He also gives it up for French Montana: ‘If you know French Montana, that means you been somewhere.’
By Shaheem Reid
Jay-Z, Bun B and LeBron James
Photo: Johnny Nunez
NEW YORK — Bun B gives all the credit to Jay-Z for their onstage tribute to Pimp C earlier this week in Houston. During a stop of the Blueprint 3 Tour in H-Town, Bun joined Jigga for “Big Pimpin’,” and the two let the crowd recite the late Pimp C’s rhymes.
“It was Jay’s tribute,” said Bun, who was in NYC on Wednesday night filming the video for French Montana’s “Bad Habits.” “I don’t want anybody to get it twisted. Jay-Z was a very good friend of mine and Pimp C. He makes sure every time he comes to Houston, it’s a big thing, and we can really give it up to Pimp. He doesn’t want to do it for himself, and it’s not about giving me shine. At the end of the day, we have to make sure in Houston, when that song is performed, at the end of the day, Pimp C gets the biggest moment. The biggest moment was when everybody in the audience and ourselves had to give it up to the Pimp.”
Bun sees the close kinship he shared with Pimp in French Montana and incarcerated MC Max B.
“French knows everybody,” Bun said about why he wanted to work with one of the newest signees to Akon’s Konvict Music. “If you know French Montana, that means you been somewhere. French is everywhere. All the big parties, all the cities, Super Bowl, All-Star Weekend. Whenever somebody got the fly release party or some celebrity debutante has the big birthday party, French is in the building. I respected that about him. I met him in Miami, I was like, ‘I like your grind. You getting out here. You not just representing for yourself, but for your man Max B. as well.’ For me, to see somebody hold their man down while they’re locked up, to me, that’s special. I guess I’m a little bit biased.”
French’s video is for a track from his mixtape Mac Wit Da Cheese II. Montana’s debut LP is slated to be called Excuse My French. Meanwhile, Bun has gone back in the lab to work on his next LP, Trill O.G.
“Unfortunately, we’re going to end our relationship with Asylum,” Bun explained of his Rap-A-Lot distribution deal.
Bun does credit executives at Asylum, such as Joie Manda and Todd Moscowitz, for “success in later years.”
“The Warner Bros. building is changing a little bit, but we have some good friends at Fontana Music as well as Universal,” he said. “It’s looking like we may do that. While J. Prince and the big people are taking care of the paperwork, making sure the money is right, it’s giving me a chance to go in, fine-tune the music and work with people I thought I wouldn’t be able to work with on this album. Now I have the opportunity to go back in. I told [J.] that wherever he wanna go, I’m riding with him.”
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Eminem, Jay-Z To Headline Ireland’s Oxegen Festival
by on Feb.23, 2010, under Jay-Z
Black Eyed Peas, Vampire Weekend and John Mayer also set to perform at Ireland’s largest music festival.
By Jayson Rodriguez
Eminem and Jay-Z (file)
Photo: Activision
Eminem and Jay-Z will be among the marquee acts participating at the Oxegen 2010 music festival this summer in Ireland, it was announced on Tuesday (February 23).
The multi-platinum rappers are the standouts on a bill that also includes the Black Eyed Peas, Vampire Weekend, Empire of the Sun, Muse and John Mayer.
Em is scheduled to close out the multi-day fest, which takes place July 8 to July 11. The Detroit MC will rock the main stage and be joined by D-12 and a live band backing the performance. There are no details regarding Jay-Z’s set date or location as of press time.
The annual spree is Ireland’s largest music festival. Oxegen was founded in 2004 and in the past has featured a range of artists including the Killers and R.E.M. Last year, Nine Inch Nails were among the headliners.
In addition to Em and Jay, the 2010 line will include Muse, David Guetta, and DJ A-Trak.
Recently, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones suggested Eminem and Jay-Z should headline a concert at the NFL magnate’s new stadium, which hosted the record-setting NBA All-Star game earlier this month.
“Those are the kinds of stars or the kinds of individuals that people are so interested in seeing,” Jones told MTV News. “We’ve got a venue there that can show them and their skills and talent. We could put a crowd in there to watch them.”
The “Renegade” collaborators, Em and Jay, have hooked up a few times already in the past year. They both consulted on the “DJ Hero” video game and later performed in Los Angeles during an event sponsored by the gaming company. The event featured one of the last performances by DJ AM.
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Jay-Z Rocks Tour Opener Despite Hoarse Voice
by on Feb.22, 2010, under Jay-Z
Beyonce, Diddy, Alex Rodriguez in crowd for Miami show.
By Hillary Crosley
Jay-Z performs in Miami on Saturday
Photo: Larry Marano/WireImage
Jay-Z opened the North American leg of his BP3 tour at Miami’s BankAtlantic Center on Saturday with wife Beyoncé, Diddy and New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez in the audience, according to the Miami Herald. The show’s lineup included opening act Trey Songz as well as Young Jeezy, who is billed as a special guest for the tour.
Backed by a 10-piece band, including live horns to accentuate tracks like “Roc Boys,” Jay sported an all-black outfit, topped with a black baseball cap, and began the show with his hit “Run This Town.” As images of the New York City skyline flashed behind the stage on an expansive screen, the rapper tore through his recent (and first) #1 hit, “Empire State of Mind,” with singer Bridget Kelley filling in for Alicia Keys’ vibrant alto.
Unfortunately, a bit further into his set, Jay-Z lost his voice and was obviously straining to spit his lyrics. Then the horn section was muted during the poignant tracks like “D.O.A” and “Show Me What You Got.”
Jeezy took his special-guest spot in the middle of Jay’s set and performed for almost 30 minutes, giving Jay-Z a chance to rest his voice. The Brooklyn native re-emerged for the pair’s Obama-honoring collabo “My President.”
Ending the show with a rendition of “Encore,” Jay-Z told the audience, “I’m not jaded, I appreciate every one of you being here.”
Jay-Z’s tour continues through the end of next month, and wraps with a performance at the Coachella festival in April. He’ll also perform at the Bonnaroo festival in Tennessee in June.
Jay-Z’s tour dates, according to Pollstar:
» 2/22 Houston @ Toyota Center
» 2/23 Dallas @ American Airlines Center
» 2/25 New Orleans @ New Orleans Arena
» 2/27 Atlanta @ Philips Arena
» 2/28 Greensboro, NC @ Greensboro Coliseum Complex
» 3/2 New York @ Madison Square Garden Arena
» 3/3 Washington, DC @ Verizon Center
» 3/05 Uncasville, CT @ Mohegan Sun Arena
» 3/06 East Rutherford, NJ @ Izod Center
» 3/07 Norfolk, VA @ Norfolk Scope Arena
» 3/11 Boston @ TD Garden
» 3/12 Uniondale, NY @ Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
» 3/13 Atlantic City, NJ @ Borgata Hotel, Casino & Spa
» 3/14 Auburn Hills, MI @ Palace Of Auburn Hills
» 3/16 Pittsburgh @ Mellon Arena
» 3/18 Chicago @ United Center
» 3/19 St. Louis @ Scottrade Center
» 3/20 Indianapolis, IN @ Conseco Fieldhouse
» 3/22 Denver @ Pepsi Center
» 3/24 San Jose, CA @ HP Pavilion at San Jose
» 3/26 Los Angeles @ Staples Center
» 4/16 Indio, CA @ Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival
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Jay-Z Takes Credit For Beyonce’s ‘Single Ladies’ Dance
by on Feb.22, 2010, under Jay-Z
Jay cracks jokes on BBC show about his wife stealing her most famous moves from him.
By Jocelyn Vena
Jay-Z and Beyoncé
Photo: Evan Agostini/ Getty Images
Jay-Z doesn’t really like to open up about his personal life and rarely talks to the press about what he and Beyoncé do together in their off-time. But when he stopped by BBC One’s “Friday Night With Jonathan Ross” across the pond last Friday, Jay decided that he’d just roll with the personal questions and have a good-natured laugh about the whole thing.
“You’re my guy,” he joked to Ross about how he loves to talk to him about life with his pop superstar wife, ranking his confidantes: “Obama. You.” (He had just shared with Ross that he had been invited to the White House by President Obama.)
Hova explained that Beyoncé was too busy with previous engagements to join him in the U.K., and then he seemed to take advantage of her absence to declare that he was the mastermind behind her famous dance moves. “She’s actually in Trinidad,” he said. “She has a concert. [We go to each other's shows] all the time, of course. She’s a magnificent performer. I steal routines from her. She stole many things from me. You know, I see it onstage … the ['Crazy in Love'] ‘Uh-oh’ dance, I started that. You probably don’t know what that is.”
Then Jay decided to take credit for her most famous dance to date: “I actually created that dance [from 'Single Ladies'],” he deadpanned. “That was me again. [I said], ‘You should do this [the hand-wave motion],’ and she did it. I wouldn’t really tell anybody. It’s what you asked me, so I don’t want to make it seem like I’m making myself more important.”
Jay-Z remained in a jocular mood when Ross asked how he spent Valentine’s Day with Beyoncé. “Well, I’m not gonna tell you that,” he said after a pause. “I’ll give you a little bit of information. She was in Peru, and I was in Denver, on my way to here, and … it was very romantic. … Skype.”
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Jay-Z Wants To Shoot Two More Videos From Blueprint 3
by on Feb.19, 2010, under Jay-Z
However, he says he probably will not film one for ‘Stranded (Haiti Mon Amour).’
By Shaheem Reid
Jay-Z
Photo: MTV News
“On to the Next One” is Jay-Z’s current single, but that doesn’t mean he’s ready to move past his latest hit LP, The Blueprint 3. Hov said he’s thinking about two more videos from his opus.
“I wanna shoot ‘Venus vs. Mars,’ ” he told MTV News last weekend in Dallas. “I may shoot two — I shot ‘Run This Town’
[and 'D.O.A. (Death of Auto Tune)'], I been shooting two at the same time. I’ll probably shoot ‘Venus’ and maybe ‘A Star Is Born.’ But I definitely wanna shoot ‘Venus’ — I got an amazing concept in my mind.”
However, he said he doesn’t think he’ll shoot a clip for “Stranded (Haiti Mon Amour),” which he, Rihanna and members of U2 performed during MTV’s “Hope for Haiti Now” telethon.
“I don’t think there will be a video,” he explained. “The number is ridiculous as far as the [money generated by the Hope For Haiti Now] album. I’m excited about the whole effort we put into the telethon. I don’t think it’s entertainment, I think it’s a real thing. It’s helping real people through a real tough time, and we’ll just move on from there.”
While out in Dallas for the NBA All-Star Game, Jay also told MTV News that he wasn’t sure when a new album is coming, but he did have one song for it already.
“I don’t know,” he said. “I didn’t really start yet. I got a couple of scraps and I got a couple of ideas. I didn’t really go into the studio yet. I’ve been toying with ideas and direction and things like that.
“I got one crazy record,” he added. “To be honest with you, it’s crazy. I got one and we’ll build from there. Whether it comes out this year or next year, it depends on the music and how it’s coming out. I don’t really have any dates.”
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Jay-Z: President Obama Was Playing The Blueprint When I Called Him
by on Feb.19, 2010, under Jay-Z
‘I’ve been invited to the White House a couple of times,’ Hov tells the BBC.
By Jayson Rodriguez
Jay-Z
Photo: Gareth Cattermole/ Getty Images
Jay-Z has dropped Barack Obama’s name in his rhymes, and Obama referenced Jay’s lyrics when he dusted his shoulder off during a campaign appearance before he ascended to the White House. But it turns out the pair have more than just a passing appreciation for rhetorical flourishes.
In an interview with Jonathan Ross airing on the BBC Friday (February 19), Jay-Z revealed that the president has invited the rapper to the White House a number of times since Obama’s inauguration.
“I’ve been invited to the White House a couple of times,” Hov told Ross, although he said he hasn’t taken up the president on the offer just yet. “Hopefully we’ll keep him in for eight years, so I’ll have time to get there.”
The Brooklyn MC was an avid supporter of Obama during the presidential campaign and referenced him in a series of lyrics, most notably for Young Jeezy’s hit “My President.”
“Rosa Parks sat so Martin Luther could walk/ Martin Luther walked so Barack Obama could run/ Barack Obama ran so all the children could fly,” he raps on the track. “So I’mma spread my wings/ You could meet me in the sky.”
“It’s just the progression. … You sat, you walked, you ran, you ran to fly,” Jay told MTV News about his Obama rhyme last year on the eve of the inauguration. “You know, just the progression and how far we’ve come as a nation. It feels good to say that, ’cause I never had that type of feeling to say ‘as a nation,’ like I was part of the American dream. And I believe a lot of people didn’t feel like a part of the American process for so long.”
Although Obama has professed a love for an eclectic playlist of music that includes Stevie Wonder and Bob Dylan, he also said he is a fan of Jay-Z.
Jay-Z confirmed Obama’s admiration when he told Ross the president was playing one of the rapper’s albums when answered a phone call from Hov.
“Barack loves hip-hop,” Jay said. “When I called him he was playing [The] Blueprint in the gym.”
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Mixtape Daily: Jay Electronica, Jay-Z, Eminem, More
by on Feb.19, 2010, under Jay-Z
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Mixtape Daily: Jay-Z, Beanie Sigel, Memphis Bleek, Eminem, More
by on Feb.18, 2010, under Jay-Z
Memphis Bleek says Jay-Z will never respond to Beanie Sigel’s dis.
Photo: MTV News
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Jay-Z Will Never Respond To Beanie Sigel’s Dis, Memphis Bleek Says
by on Feb.18, 2010, under Jay-Z
Former Roc-A-Fella rapper calls Beans’ recent comments ‘pointless,’ in Mixtape Daily.
By Shaheem Reid
Memphis Bleek
Photo: MTV News
The O.D.: A Mixtape Daily Exclusive
By the time you read this, Memphis Bleek will have flown out of New Jersey and landed in Florida to meet Jay-Z. The two are rehearsing for the next leg of the Blueprint 3 Tour for the next couple of days, and the real thing kicks off this weekend.
Although we haven’t heard a lot of Memph’s music the last three years, he has constantly been performing at Jay-Z’s shows and keeping a close bond with the cat he used to borrow sugar from in the Marcy Projects. When Bleek drops his next album, The Process, later this year, things will be different. The independent release will be his first album not coming through Roc-A-Fella records.
“It was mutual,” Bleek said about not signing with Hov’s Roc Nation and choosing to go independent. “It was a conversation … I was asking him his next move. What is he gonna do? Where is Blueprint 3 coming out, since he had just left Def Jam. He was telling me he was doing this Roc Nation thing. He was trying to start a whole new venture, new label, new brand — a whole new everything. I was like, ‘Damn. What’s next for me?’ He was like, ‘Whatever you wanna do.’ After a little bit of thinking, I came to a decision: ‘It’s time for [my company] Get Lo to breathe. I can’t be under that umbrella forever.’ The conversation was more or less mutual.
“He’s giving me the free will to do whatever I want to do,” added Bleek, who said Just Blaze produced two songs on his upcoming LP. “Time for me to prove myself on my terms.”
Obviously, with Bleek and Jay, their relationship is based on more than music. Bleek said he thought Beanie Sigel and Jay had that same bond. Just like many fans, Memph said he was shocked that Beans came out dissing him and Jay. Just this week, during a live show in Philadelphia, Beans spit his flames at Jay and Bleek again, rapping, “Memph Bleek pee the sheets/ Leave the bed all wetty.”
“My thing is, what’s the purpose?” Bleek said about Sigel’s outburst. “You said all you had to say. You said you wasn’t gonna say no more until Jay called you. He ain’t call. Everything you said ain’t adding up. It becomes a point, what are you doing it for? Are you doing it to get you a deal? Are you doing it to get you hot, doing it to get you back on the radio? That’s all I wanna know. Anybody knows if you come at Hov, you’re not stopping his movement. C’mon, it’s stupid. We been there before. We seen this movie. I hate to elaborate on it, because it’s like I’m breathing life on a situation that really don’t need no life to it.”
Bleek said he spoke to Beans the night before the Powerhouse show in Philadelphia last year, and the Broad Street Bully gave him no indication that there was any ill will.
“For it to come out the blue like this, it was like, ‘Oh, this is what you really was thinking?’ ” Bleek said. “When Ice Cube left N.W.A, it was automatic dis records. Automatic. They was coming at each other. The Roc had split up in 2003. We in 2010. Seven years later, you wanna dis? It’s pointless. It’s no truth to it. ‘Jay is this, Jay is foul.’ Jay is not foul. This is what I tell everybody: Opportunity is worth more than a check. So that’s what people need to understand. He gave the opportunity to get rich. It ain’t about the check he didn’t give you. I didn’t get it. The check you waiting for, I’m waiting for too then. My opportunity is to be able to do this interview with you, still be relevant, be onstage with that man and even be a part of history and what we did. That’s more than any dollar amount. You can push it however far you gonna carry it.”
With all that has transpired lately, Bleek said the chances of mending any fences with Sig are less than bleak.
“Could it ever be mended? Jay is gone,” Bleek said. “I could sit down with Beans. You wanna holla with me, he knows how to get in contact with me. I’m out here. Jay’s gone. Ain’t no time to look back. Where [Jay's] at, no time to look back. If Jay looks back, it’s the back of the G5 [jet], luggage. He’s gone. We don’t need that. Where’s the problem? When [all the Roc-A-Fella artists] signed their release paper and went their separate ways, it was no problem. Now it’s a problem. Why do you need to talk?”
As for the footage that recently hit the Net of Bleek and former Roc co-CEO Damon Dash showing each other love in Europe, Bleek said that video was old.
“That was almost three years ago,” he clarified. “We was on the Water for Life Tour. I knew all that was gonna come out. I thought it was gonna come out before. Like I say to anybody else, Dame is a cool dude. Dame did things for me in my career I could never take back. I could never down him for nothing.”
For other artists featured in Mixtape Daily, check out Mixtape Daily Headlines.
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