Results tagged “Jay-Z”

Jay-Z's 40/40 Club in Manhattan has seen some trouble in the past, but nothing compared to what his Atlantic City branch is about to see. His club's security beat down two patrons over the weekend, and of course it was caught on tape (by DJ Zeke who performed at the club that night):

             

The crisp and clear weather was perfect for a Yankees 27th World Series Championship ticker tape parade—so perfect that the streets along the Canyon of Heroes were teeming with excited people celebrating the Bronx Bombers victory. In fact, check out the Gothamist Newsmap and see the incidents of "large crowd," "unruly crowd," and "airmail" (things larger than confetti/streamers being thrown) in the area.

Jay-Z and Beyonce are spreading the wealth. The Daily News reports that the couple "ran up a $1,200 bill at the Upper East Side Italian restaurant Nello's last week" after savoring their Dom Perignon, white truffles and lobster salad. If they liked it so much why didn't they just put a ring on it! (Sorry.) They were so pleased with the service and food, however, that they dropped a $500 tip. That's over 40%! The News calls out another Nello's diner, a Russian billionaire, for being relatively stingy with a 15% tip of $7,328 tip on a $47,221.09 lunch.

              

"I've got a song for those people hiding in the caves," Jay-Z laughed before launching into "99 Problems." A solemn 9/11 benefit this was not. But perhaps it's time to let ourselves celebrate, and at his Answer The Call benefit at Madison Square Garden last night, Jay-Z was all about celebration. He struck the perfect balance between giving respect for all those who gave their lives at Ground Zero, and honoring a city that couldn't be torn down.

This Friday Grizzly Bear fan Jay-Z is performing at the 9/11 charity concert at Madison Square Garden, but as expected, the scalpers are harshing the vibe. The Daily News reports that the rapper slammed the scalpers himself after the reasonably priced tickets (starting at $54.50) were being jacked up and sold online. He released a statement saying, "We are truly disheartened that certain individuals would choose to benefit from what is meant to be a 100% charitable event. We do not support any profits made from reselling any ticket that was meant to be purchased by honest fans." The proceeds go to widows and orphans of New York City cops and firefighters who died in the line of duty, which makes it's particularly disheartening to see tickets being sold for up to $45,000 (!) online. At this rate, scalpers will see more money than those who the event was meant to benefit. While not much can be done, Jay-Z has reportedly taken steps to "head off ticket brokers." Meanwhile, fans who missed out can watch the show broadcast live on Fuse... or as one fan suggested as an alternative form of entertainment, "go down there Friday and see who is getting these tickets."

    

Click through the gallery for more on Shudder to Think, Sound Fix, TV on the Radio, and Jay-Z.

Sigh, as today's weather hints at: summer is nearly over. This means that the outdoor concerts are coming to an end, with the Pool Parties having their last hurrah on the waterfront yesterday afternoon. Brooklyn band Grizzly Bear helped send off the season, providing a soundtrack with sounds from their latest release Veckatimest as well as their previous effort Yellow House.

       

Ideally every good summer music festival is filled with one or two moments where everyone there can't help but shake off the cobwebs of cynicism and think to themselves, "Now this is what it's all about." It's pretty safe to say that Jay-Z did just that for a few thousand people last night at All Points West, performing the takeover just as the rain cleared to begin his first American festival appearance with a cover of "No Sleep Til Brooklyn." We admit to needing a video like the one below to do just that for those of us stuck listening to APW coverage on rock radio stations suddenly caring about Jay, accompanied by DJs using it as a chance to show off their emcee skills and explain the rapper's importance due to his collaborations with The Killers, Jack White and Linkin Park. Alas, Jigga to the rescue:

This weekend marks the 2nd annual All Points West festival, and Jay-Z (filling in for the Beastie Boys) is set to headline the first night at the Liberty State Park venue. What's the best way to warm up for a mostly indie crowd? Secretly join the lineup tonight for the pre-APW Diesel party going down at Webster Hall; the lineup features The Roots, Passion Pit and Drake. Blackbook says they have it on good authority this rumor's got legs, providing a detailed list as to why (Lykke Li fans, they also say she'll be stopping by)—#5 on that list claims, "an unnamed source close to the event says that Hov’s showing up to jam on a few songs at the end of The Roots’ set.“ Oh, and his sister-in-law, Solange Knowles, was already announced as a special guest. And a quick note for those heading to APW this weekend: the Observer talked to organizer Paul Tollet, who says the kinks should all be worked out this year—regarding the lines, he told them, “We felt there were a lot of things we didn’t like about last year. I walked around as a fan and stood in those lines, and when you go stand in that line, you get mad."

It only took the folks behind the All Points West Festival a few days to find a replacement for their Friday night headliners. Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys announced on Monday that the band would be canceling their upcoming tour, which included the festival date, while he undergoes treatment for throat cancer. So, upon hearing such somber news who does one get to replace the legendary trio? The fest booked another Brooklyn-born boy, of course, and his name is Jay-Z. The APW press release says this is, somewhat unbelievably, the U.S. festival debut for the rapper; choosing a fitting quote from one critic that declares: “his mouth is one of the most nimble in the genre's history, and he uses it to present thoughts that are sharp, funny and resonant." Sounds about as close to the Beasties as one can get, and hopefully he'll do a cover or two to fill the void. For those not interested in Jigga, single day Friday tickets are now refundable (the rest of the fest's lineup is here).

Rapper Tru Life has been arrested for last week's stabbing death of a teenager in Manhattan. The Daily News reports that the rapper—whose real name is Roberto Guzman Rosado Jr.—surrendered to police Wednesday night along with his brother, who also faces murder charges. Police say the pair were looking to avenge a drug dealer's death when they chased the victim into an East 26th Street apartment lobby before fatally stabbing him in the face and chest on June 15; another man, Jason Black, was also stabbed but survived. Sources say that the fatal shooting of a drug dealer just hours before the stabbing may have been due to an ongoing dispute between Black and Tru-Life's brother. Tru Life had been recently working on an album for release this year under Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella Records label. He also appeared in 2003's film Beef, a documentary of hip-hop rivalries that included Tru Life's feuds with other New York rappers.

       

Maybe the local teams should have skipped breaking in their new ballparks with preseason exhibition games. After winning both of those unofficial affairs a couple weeks back, the Yankees today joined the Mets in earning a 0-1 home record in their opener. The Yankee bullpen burst apart at the seams today in a 10-2 loss to the Indians.

At a press conference today Mayor Bloomberg showed a surprising command of Jay-Z's music. The pair were on hand to discuss the start of the vehicle-free "Summer Streets" program, per the Observer's Azi Paybarah someone noted how one of the hip-hop mogul's song "describes how his mother taught him to ride a bike at a young age." Bloomberg cut in, "This is from, 'Mother I Made It?'" surprising even Jay-Z, who confirmed the Mayor was right. Bravo, to the staffer who briefed Bloomberg on Jay-Z's discography! You can see video here--Jay-Z says he bikes, but declined to say where, or else the paparazzi would be on his tail.

Last Sunday marked the first of many epic Sundays this summer at McCarren Pool. Despite some crazy weather all afternoon, with beautiful sunny stretches interrupted by apocalyptic monsoons, the skies stayed clear for the Hold Steady's headlining set. While there are persistent rumors about an eventual pool renovation, which would relocate these free parties, this summer will go off as planned. Upcoming shows include sets from The Breeders, MGMT, Liars, Deerhunter and a whole bunch more to look forward to.

Jay-Z's Manhattan nightclub 40/40 is under scrutiny for screwing over the little guy. The NY Post reports that a Manhattan judge has ordered the club's management turn over records of all employees in the past three years, for a class-action lawsuit filed by former waitress Celeste Williams. She claims that workers never received overtime or minimum wage, and now could have hundreds of others joining in on the suit (which already has around 20 bartenders on board). This isn't the first lawsuit against the club.

It wasn't very long ago...like last year? Panic! at the Disco was an over-stylized, super-popular circus/emo band who, believe it or not, had some pretty great songs under their young white belts. Not satisfied with their remarkable success, however, they decided to take things in a completely different direction in 2008. The exclamation point and the Moulin Rouge antics have been dropped, and their new record sounds more like a dumbed down, Walrus-era Beatles knockoff than Fever 2.0. But while the sound had changed, the set design at Roseland this week was the capper. Pseudo-psychedelic paper cut video backdrops, foliage crawling up the mic stands and untucked oxford cloth shirts and vests. This was no longer the same band -- in fact, it's hard to even see these guys as a band, in the traditional sense; they're a performance act. Their job is not to create music people can relate to and embrace, but to put on a show. (pic via Fueled by Meghan's flickr)

Fans of Phish, the Clinton-era jam band road hogs, had high hopes for a reunion last night when the band appeared at the Theater at Madison Square Garden to accept a Lifetime Achievement award at the 7th annual Jammy Awards. But instead the four members gave polite acceptance speeches and walked off without so much as an a cappella “Freebird.”

As David Letterman joked to Jay-Z about getting married on his show last night (previously recorded), in real-time the rapper was partying in Tribeca, possibly in celebration of his wedding. While there's no confirmation, all signs point to he and Beyoncé finally tying the knot -- something that has been speculated they would do all week.

Unless Ashton Kutcher is punking the media again, it appears Jay-Z and Beyoncé may be getting married after all.

Is a big May wedding just around the corner? People is reporting that Beyoncé Knowles and Jay-Z have taken out a marriage license in Scarsdale, New York this morning. The happy couple hasn't commented on the incident, but since the document is only valid for 60 days, time will tell.

This advertisement for an Urban Outfitters store opening tomorrow among the antique shops and Middle Eastern markets of Atlantic Avenue, in Brooklyn, is rather befuddling.

Team Obama can breathe a sigh of relief, they officially got the Russell Simmons endorsement. From a letter sent out this weekend, Simmons declared:

Today I am announcing my personal endorsement of Senator Barack Obama for President of the United States. During the last nine months, I have closely observed the presidential campaigns, analyzed the issues and platforms of the major candidates, and have had substantive discussions with Senator Clinton and Senator Obama. From the sidelines of the primaries and debates, I have been particularly inspired by the fact that Senator Obama has built an unprecedented, national movement comprised of people from all ethnic, racial, political, social and economic backgrounds.

Bronx legend Clive Campbell, who as DJ Kool Herc is widely credited as one of hip-hop’s founding fathers, is not suing Jay-Z, developer Bruce Ratner and Barclays bank, as previously reported by the Observer online. The $5 billion lawsuit is being brought by a much less famous Brooklyn activist also named Clive Campbell, and the mix-up is probably a big publicity boon for his lawsuit, as it echoed far and wide across the internets before the Observer corrected it. Campbell is demanding the money as slavery reparations because of Barclays’ history with the slave trade; the bank has secured the naming rights for the controversial Nets stadium Ratner is trying to build at Brooklyn’s Atlantic Yards, which would be part of a bigger residential development.

There’s usually not much mystery to a Be Your Own Pet show. You get about a half-hour of nonstop, rapid-fire post-adolescent punk, with lots of shouting and shimmying from Jemina Pearl. There are far worse ways to spend an early evening in February. This Wednesday, however, things went down a bit different. About halfway through the set, some older creep started talking back to the charismatic young front woman between songs. It seemed all in good fun, with the tiny singer (jokingly?) bragging about how she’s been kicked out of bars in Nashville for fisticuffs. The dude then gets up on stage, makes some sort of kissy move towards her, and promptly gets smacked across the face HARD as the rest of the band jumped in to take him down. So yea, it Got Awkward real fast. The band brushed themselves off, shook hands with the pervy perp to call a truce with the intruder, and continued on with the rest of their set. Interesting night, to say the least. (pic via Ryan Dombal's flickr)

MUSIC: Merkin Concert Hall is reopening, and to help celebrate some of the piano greats will be on hand for a free, six hour concert. Philip Glass and John Medeski will be amongst those who will perform. Get more details here.

Earlier this month, Sarah Lewitinn (Ultragrrrl) brought her label, Stolen Transmission, back to the bedroom after leaving Island/Def Jam. This was just one of many things that signaled more changes for the major, and now it turns out that the president of Def Jam, Jay-Z, is stepping down from his position. The NY Times reports:

Jay-Z made the announcement with Def Jam’s parent, Universal Music Group, as his employment contract was expiring. Under a separate long-term recording contract with Def Jam, Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, still owes the company one or more albums.

In November, Charlie Rose sat down with rapper and entrepreneur Jay-Z. The musician is originally from Brooklyn and late in the interview Rose queries about the expected success of the Nets once they move to Kings County. Jay-Z is very enthusiastic about the potential of the team and the virtues of the borough, as he prefaces every statement about Brooklyn with the words "we" and "ours." It is unintentionally comedic then when Rose immediately follows up with the question "And where do you live now?" The answer is a terse "In Manhattan, uh." The exchange begins around 48 minutes and 45 seconds into the interview and a quick transcript is available at the Atlantic Yards Report site here. It reminded us of the first time that we heard that director Spike Lee had moved to the Upper East Side.

Jay-Z Around Town With a new, critically acclaimed album out and a refocused approach to his craft, Jay-Z took the stage twice this week in the Big Apple. For the relatively intimate events at Hammerstein and The Apollo, there was no shortage of friends and guests out to show support for Hov's return to form. Diddy, Nas, Lil Wayne and...Lebron James (?!?) all made appearances between the two shows. Lebron skipped a game to attend...

This weekend Kanye West's mother (and manager), Dr. Donda West, died after surgery - which the BBC is reporting was cosmetic (UPDATE: she was warned prior to getting the surgery). West was very close with his 58-year-old mother, often speaking publicly about their bond and even writing a song for her. Just this summer the two were at Borders to promote her new book, Raising Kanye. Kanye was in London when told of the death,...

Two movies set in New York are coming out today, and both are getting a lot of press, promo and opined upon.