S. Samuel
Hip-hop mogul Jay-Z is reportedly making more history this week as new reports claim he will become the first rapper to headline renowned New York City showroom Carnegie Hall next year.
Jay will take over the iconic concert venue with intimate shows scheduled for early February.
Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter will become the first solo hip-hop artist to headline Carnegie Hall on Feb. 6 and 7, playing a pair of charity concerts benefitting the United Way of New York City and Shawn Carter Scholarship Foundation. Carter made the announcement at Carnegie Hall Thursday alongside key execs like Clive Gillinson, executive and artistic director of Carnegie Hall, Gordon Campbell, president-CEO of United Way of New York City and Dania Diaz, executive director of the Shawn Carter Scholarship Foundation. Tickets for the shows will begin with a private sale geared toward corporations and high net-worth individuals, ranging in price from $500 to $2,500 apiece. A public sale will tentatively kick off on Jan. 30 to minimize ticket scalping. (Billboard)
Jay has confirmed the show dates and elaborated on their importance.
On February 6 and 7, Hov will play the famed Carnegie Hall — and it’s all for a great cause. “Any time I get a chance to expand and broaden the reach of hip-hop is a great thing for me on a personal level,” Jay said after announcing the shows Thursday (December 8). “When we were looking at hip-hop, we were just happy to play club dates,” Jay told MTV News. “And then Run-DMC started doing arenas, and you’re like, ‘Man, this is possible,’ and it just keeps going further and further.” (MTV)
In the past, Jay has talked about moving away from the standard “black music” stereotype in hip-hop and pushing rap’s boundaries.
“On the show as well were Third Eye Blind and Kelly Clarkson,” Jay explained talking about a 2009 Arizona concert. “I thought that to be the oddest pairing ever but, soon realized, it’s what I’ve always professed. There is no such thing as black music or white music only good or bad music. It’s stupid cool to like things that are not like you, and that goes for outside of music. If you’re an African American you can have a Jewish friend…I think concerts like this should happen more often…I’m putting that into the universe..next up Taylor Swift and Uncle Murda!!” (Statement)
This week, Young Hov also made history by becoming the leading hip-hop artist with the most achieved Billboard Top 10 hit records.
With the jump, “Throne” generates its first Hot 100 top 10 after “H*A*M” (included on the album after its January release) reached No. 29; “Otis,” featuring the late Otis Redding, rose to No. 12; and, “Who Gon Stop Me” peaked at No. 44. The set has sold 1.1 million copies. As “Paris” climbs, Jay-Z nets his 18th Hot 100 top 10, passing Lil Wayne and Ludacris (17 each) for the most top 10s among rappers in the chart’s archives. Kanye West tallies his 14th top 10 with the advance. (Billboard)
Check out some recent Jay-Z footage below:
