S. Samuel
Rap mogul Jay Z proved he might be a hip-hop icon but not too big for public transportation while traveling throughout London during his Magna Carter Holy Grail tour this week.
Photos and footage of Jigga at Waterloo Train Station in the United Kingdom have started to scatter across the Internet and sparked widespread reactions.
Traffics off the hook. No, big deal! We’ll take the train. Earlier today, Jay Z caused a stir as he arrived at the Waterloo Train Station in London and hopped on the Tube to O2 Arena for his sold-out Magna Carta Holy Grail tour. He was accompanied by Chris Martin, Timbaland and good friends Ty Ty and Atlanta Records executive Michael Kyser. After he got off, Twitter exploded with messages like: “Coming off the tube and I see Jay Z casually walking up the next escalator next to me… EVERYONE GOES NUTS!! WTF??!” “So jay Z gets on a tube to his own concert LOOOL about 500 ppl just ran after him” (Necole Bitchie)
Last year, Jigga journeyed underground from Manhattan to Brooklyn for his final Barclays Center inaugural concert series performance.
R you going my way? Rapper Jay-Z had subway riders gawking in New York on Saturday as he took the R train from Manhattan to Brooklyn for the last of eight shows at the new Barclays Center. If the stadium takes off, it deserves to be known as the House that H.O.V.A. built. The Brooklyn born-and-bred hip-hop prince arrived for his concert via public transportation escorted by police and other security personnel, and waiting fans swooned for the man who has become the public face for the new home of the Nets, even though he owns only one-fifteenth of one percent of the team. (The Daily Beast)
Rap mogul Nas credited New York’s iconic subways for reminding him of his early pre-fame days earlier this year.
“My upbringing, it is what it is: New York City, it’s the Big Apple, it’s Queens, it’s the subway, it’s all of that,” he said. “Those are the moments that are part of the fiber in me, that’s my DNA. And those are the things that I always go back to. When I look at how far I’ve come, I think about where I’ve come from, and those things will never leave me. … On my album, there’s a song called ‘Loco-Motive,’ and I talk about the subway times in my life. I love the subway; it’s forever.” (MTV)
The New York native even revealed he had not had the luxury of riding on a New York subway in nearly 20 years.
But forever, though? It’s no secret that platinum records typically give way to chauffeured cars, and straphangers aren’t holding their breath for another Shawn Carter sighting, so when was the last time Nas actuallyhopped on the subway, we wondered? A brief hush fell over the suite as Nas, elegant in a black silk suit and heavy knit scarf, tried to suppress an embarrassed smile. “Man,” he said, nervously rubbing the bridge of his nose, “I ain’t been on the subway in maybe 17, 18 years, you know? He let out a sigh: “Wow.” (MTV)
