No doubt JAY-Z is one of the most powerful celebrities around. Ranked 9 by Forbes ‘The Celebrity 100′ for the Power Rank, ranked 7 for Pay Rank, JAY-Z shows them what he got – Power, Money and Fame.
Forbes says:
While most of us pine for retirement, the native New Yorker couldn’t stand the view from the sidelines following his 2003 farewell Black Album. Despite a busy schedule as chief of Def Jam, his comeback album, Kingdom Come, debuted at the top of Billboard’s pop and rap charts. Owns a small stake in the New Jersey Nets, plus two locations of his 40/40 clubhouse. In March, he sold his Rocawear apparel label to Iconix for $204 million. Did we mention Beyonce?
JAY-Z PREPARES UNPRECEDENTED RELEASE OF NEW ALBUM KINGDOM COME
“HANGAR TOUR” HITS 7 CITIES IN LESS THAN 24 HOURS
PERFORMANCE ON THE 2006 AMERICAN MUSIC AWARDS (ABC)
JOINS EXCLUSIVE LIST OF GQ’S “MEN OF THE YEAR”
The countdown has begun to Tuesday, November 21st and the release of JAY-Z’s 2-disc deluxe set, KINGDOM COME, his first solo studio album since his retirement in 2003.
On Saturday, November 18th, in celebration of the release, JAY-Z will touch down and perform 30 minute shows in seven cities within 24 hours. As part of a very unique promotion 2 lucky winners in each city will get a chance to join the entourage and continue the “Hangar Tour” journey on JAY-Z’s private jet.
JAY-Z’s “Hangar Tour,” presented by Cingular, will kick off in Atlanta at 6am for the 1st of seven shows in less than 24 hours. Touching down in Atlanta, Philadelphia, DC, New Jersey, Chicago, Los Angeles and ending in Las Vegas, JAY-Z will perform 30 minute sets and take 2 lucky winners from each show on the G3 to continue the nationwide trip. MTV will have exclusive coverage of shows in DC, New Jersey and Chicago and MTV correspondent, Sway, will bring “behind the scenes” highlights from the plane, backstage and everything in between. Fans will be able to get updates all day on MTV and online at MTV.com and, additionally, MTV will air a half-hour special highlighting the tour at 4:00pm EST on Sunday, November 19th.
On release date of KINGDOM COME, Tuesday, November 21st, JAY-Z will make his debut primetime performance of the smash single, “SHOW ME WHAT YOU GOT” on the 2006 AMERICAN MUSIC AWARDS broadcast (ABC).
JAY-Z has also just joined the exclusive list of GQ Magazine’s “Men Of The Year.” Shot by Terry Richardson, the December cover will hit stands on JAY-Z’s release date, Tuesday, November 21st.
The release of KINGDOM COME is hot on the heels of JAY-Z’s Global Express Tour. The tour hit over 20 countries on 4 continents. While on tour, JAY-Z participated in the Water For Life campaign in conjunction with the UN and MTV with the mission to raise awareness on the world’s water crisis. His trip was documented by MTV News and the program, Diary of JAY-Z: Water for Life will air on Friday, November 24th on MTV. In Tanzania and Nigeria, JAY-Z christened 2 of the first of 10 pumps he is sponsoring in the region.
JAY-Z has been banned from performing in Shanghai, Digital Spy reports.
The rapper can no longer perform at his Oct 23 concert because his music references violence, guns and drug dealers in the lyrics.
In April, the Rolling Stones were asked not to perform any tracks containing suggestive lyrics. The band agreed with lead singer Mick Jagger noting: “Fortunately we have 400 more songs that we can play so it’s not really an issue.”
In response to the cancellation of his upcoming concert in Shanghai, JAY-Z has issued the following statement:
“I look forward to rescheduling my concert date in Shanghai. This world tour has been a life changing experience and it has only been made better by touching the fans that I am seeing for the first time.”
According to JAY-Z, people should tell the truth, whether they happen to be a multiplatinum-selling rap icon, a major-label president, or a drug dealer. He should know. Born Shawn Carter 36 years ago and raised in Brooklyn’s grim Marcy Projects, JAY-Z is the only person on the face of the planet with all three occupations on his résumé. ”In life, anything, just be yourself,” he says this August evening, largely ignoring the glass of cabernet beside him at the bar of Manhattan’s Mandarin Oriental Hotel. ”You don’t have to be like that in the record business. You can be conniving and nothing happens to you. But I can’t put up a front. On the street, you had to be a straight-up guy, you had to stand by your word. Because something could happen to you…”
Yes, JAY-Z is a man of his word. Except, it seems, when he isn’t. In 2002, the rapper declared that his next CD, The Black Album, would also be his last. His future lay not in the beats but in the boardroom. And that ambition became a reality when, in December 2004, he was announced as the new president and CEO of Def Jam Recordings. How to explain, then, the news that this fall JAY-Z will release a new CD, Kingdom Come? ”It was the worst retirement, maybe, in history,” he admits. And then he launches into an impromptu a cappella preview of the title track, which was inspired by a 1996 comic in which Superman comes out of retirement to save the world. The lyrics that effortlessly roll off his tongue may help explain his return: ”Take off the blazer/Loosen up the tie/Step inside the booth/Superman is alive!”
So without further ado, let us welcome, and celebrate, the return of JAY-Z, a.k.a. Jigga, a.k.a. Hova. He is, arguably, the most powerful man in the music business — but without his music, well, he’s just Clark Kent.
Truth is, most people took JAY-Z’s retirement declaration with a shovelful of salt. For good reason: The rapper had, in fact, been threatening to stop making CDs since 1996, when the success of his debut album, Reasonable Doubt, ensured that he would never return to the hard-knock life of Marcy Projects. And yet following Reasonable Doubt, JAY-Z recorded a new studio album every year for the next seven years. Each went platinum or better, with 1998’s Vol 2: Hard Knock Life alone selling 5 million copies. 2001’s The Blueprint was an instant soul-drenched classic, while the eclectic, triple-platinum The Black Album features some of JAY-Z’s most memorable tracks, including the thunderous, Rick Rubin-overseen ”99 Problems.” So even after it became clear that JAY-Z was taking his new label role very, very seriously, there may have been only one person who truly thought he was retired: JAY-Z himself. ”I believed it, yeah,” JAY-Z insists. ”I believed it for two years.”
But at the start of this summer, his feelings changed.
”It’s more in the vein of The The Black Album than The Blueprint,” he says. ”I’ve been experimenting with things, different types of music.” In addition to Timbaland, JAY-Z has called on the production skills of Kanye West and Dr. Dre. He also hopes to reteam with Rick Rubin. ”Oh, and actually, Chris Martin produced a track on there,” he adds casually. Yes, Coldplay’s Chris Martin. ”We met at a charity dinner and just really kept in touch. He sent me these beautiful chords for this song called ‘Beach Chair.’ I had Dre put some drums on it. It’s really, really incredible.”
Kingdom’s lyrics, too, come from a wide variety of sources. A track called ”Most Kings” is inspired by a Jean-Michel Basquiat painting (which he owns). ”Lost Ones” finds the man who once rapped about his inability to shed tears dealing with the car-crash death of a beloved relative. ”One of the most crushing things that ever happened to me was losing my nephew,” he says. ”As you mature you realize that being vulnerable isn’t weak. You realize that a man is himself.”
He doesn’t yet know who will guest-perform on the CD (”I take care of that at the end”). But one candidate is Eminem. The only rapper who can claim more success than JAY-Z over the past decade did produce a track, ”Moment of Clarity,” on The The Black Album. But Eminem has kept an almost invisible profile since a spell in rehab and his short-lived remarriage to Kim Mathers. ”I speak to him from time to time,” says JAY-Z. ”He’s holding up. You know, he went through a tough time. He’s getting stronger.” Another possible guest, of course, is his frequent collaborator Beyoncé, who has also been his girlfriend since… Well, it’s hard to pinpoint when they did get together, given that both parties decline to even admit that they are a couple, despite the massive evidence to the contrary. To cite just one example, on the recent Beyoncé single ”Deja Vu,” JAY-Z raps that ”We used to bag girls like Birkin bags/Now I bag B”; the accompanying clip features the rapper being suggestively pawed by the former Destiny’s Child frontwoman.
Yet JAY-Z could not be more emphatic in his denial that the track represented any kind of official ”coming out” for the couple. ”No. No. No. No,” he says. ”’Bag’ is not having sex. To ‘bag’ someone is to court them. I don’t mean having sex.” But the rapper does concede that those who watch the clip and think ”Damn, it’s good to be Jay,” would not be wrong. ”At times, man,” he laughs. ”At times! Ha!”
Hova’s gearing up for his upcoming world tour that’s hitting up cities all over the globe. Check out some of the stops scheduled, and start making your travel plans now!
September 9 – Krakow, Poland (Coca Cola SW Live Festival)
September 10 – Bratislava, Slovakia (Incheba)
September 15 – Amsterdam, Netherlands (Heinekien)
September 16 – Mannheim, Germany (Maimarkthalle)
September 17 – Istanbul, Turkey (Refresh The Venue)
September 19 – Athens, Greece (Olympic Arena)
September 21 – Manchester, UK (MEN Arena)
September 22 – Glasgow, UK (SECC)
September 23 – Birmingham, UK (NIA)
September 24 – London, UK (Wembley Arena)
September 26 – Dublin, Ireland (The Point)
September 27 – London, UK (Royal Albert Hall)
September 29 – Paris, France (Zenith)
September 30 – Milan, Italy (Fiera di Milano) (MTV Event)
October 04 – Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (Diamond Jubilee)
October 06 – Accra, Ghana (Accra Conference Center)
October 07 – Lagos, Nigeria (Ocean View)
October 09 – Luanda, Angola (Cine Karl Max)
October 11 – Cape Town, South Africa (Belleville Velodrome)
October 13 – Durban, South Africa (ABSA Stadium Outer Fields)
October 14 – Johannesburg, South Africa (Coca Cola Dome)
October 18 – Bangkok, Thailand (BEC Tero Hall)
October 20 – Seoul, Korea (Olympic Gymnasium)
October 21 – Taipei, Taiwan (Taipei Dome)
October 23 – Shanghai, China (Hong Kou Stadium)
October 25 – Sydney, Australia (Entertainment Centre)
October 26 – Brisbane, Australia (Entertainment Centre)
October 27 – Brisbane, Australia (Entertainment Centre)
October 28 – Melbourne, Australia (Rod Laver Arena)
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He doesn’t yet know who will guest-perform on the CD (”I take care of that at the end”). But one candidate is 
