Jay-Z

Jay-Z's Great Gatsby Soundtrack is a Failure

When the first trailer for Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby was released a year ago, it was set to the music of Jay-Z and Kanye West's "No Church in the Wild," from the sometimes duo's incredibly self-important Watch the Throne album. On the surface it made sense. Jay-Z -- who retired as a rapper in ... More >>

Sorry, But Kanye Is the GOAT

Kanye West is the greatest hip-hop artist of all time. He's made the best albums and changed the game the most, and his music is the most likely to endure. One thing before we get going: This isn't one of those arguments meant to piss people off or "start a conversation." We really mean it. And, c ... More >>

Rakim+Raekwoon

The Ten Best Concerts In New York This Week

These are the 10 best concerts in NYC this week.

What the Not Jay and Ye Members of Roc-A-Fella Records Have Been Up To

Tonight Gramercy Theater is hosting a Roc-A-Fella Records reunion concert. (Although, ummm, considering the notable absences, it seems maybe unauthorized.) It's been just over eight years since Jay-Z and Dame Dash split, ending one of the most influential and dominant labels in rap. While the long-r ... More >>

Memphis Bleek+Freeway+Young Gunz

Barclays Center's Security Put Jay-Z Fans Through The Wringer. Streisand Fans, Not So Much.

Here's the easiest quiz in the world, and not just because we gave you the answer in the title of the post. If you had to guess, which artist's fan base had to deal with much tighter security at Barclays Center? A) Jay-Z's B) Barbra Streisand's If you guessed A), congratulations, you live in the ... More >>

Counterpoint: Jay-Z Saved Brooklyn

Sean Carter has always let it be known that he is a ruthless cultural capitalist, a man who's out for success for himself and his own. Now that he's achieved that success, it's worth thinking about what his single-minded pursuit of the American dream means to his native borough, where he just perfor ... More >>

Jay-Z - Barclays Center - 9/29/2012 (Day 2)

See Photos From Night One: Hello Brooklyn: Jay-Z's First Night at the Barclays Center Jay-Z Barclays Center 9/29/12 Better Than: Seeing Jay-Z on the third night at Barclays Center. Brooklyn has quickly become New York City's most popular borough, amassing a cult-like following (and real estate e ... More >>

President Obama Arrives In New York Today To Drink Champagne With Jay-Z And Beyonce (And Appear On Letterman)

President Obama is heading into the city to attend campaign events today including an appearance on David Letterman and a fancy party at the 40/40 Club with hosts Beyoncé and Jay-Z. The New York Post reports that there will be a custom-designed 350-bottle champagne tower with $800-per-bottle bubbl ... More >>

The Top 3.5 Hip-Hop Songs Of The Week

The worst result of 21st-century technological advances, at least from a musical point of view, is the dual proliferation of DIY recording equipment and social media, allowing millions of—notice the quotation marks—"musicians" to flood inboxes, festival backpacks, Facebook timelines and ... More >>

LORD KNOWS

Just Blaze heats up THE RUB

Jay-Z Adds Two Shows To Barclays Center Run; Tickets Go On Sale Friday

Jay-Z has added two more shows to his run of gigs at the Barclays Center, the Brooklyn arena that will serve as home to his imminently-of-the-borough Nets. A presale going for American Express cardmembers will last until 10 p.m. tonight; the rest of the tickets, including a bunch priced at $30, go o ... More >>

Large Professor, Bigger Than Life

The legend continues with Professor @ Large

Phil Mushnick Offers The Voice A (Poor) Explanation Of "New York N-----s" Column

Since our prior post about New York Post columnist Phil Mushnick's column suggesting the Brooklyn Nets should change their name to the "New York Niggers," Mushnick sent us an explanation of his offensive column.It's pretty lame -- he basically says we can thank rappers (read: black people) like Jay- ... More >>

New Logo for the Brooklyn Nets

The new logo was set to be unveiled on Monday but Jay Z--who owns 1% of the team--couldn't wait, unveiling this t-shirt yesterday

Baby's First Feature: Hear "Glory," By Jay-Z And B.I.C.

​It's been about 36 hours since Beyoncé gave birth to Blue Ivy Carter, her first child with Jay-Z, so why shouldn't he release a song dedicated to his new offspring? And so, here's "Glory," credited to Jay-Z and "B.I.C.," who apparently is an up-and-coming young star responsible for the coos ... More >>

Hey, Bono, Here Are Five Songs You Might Want To Consider For This "Song Lyrics Of Literary Excellence" Contest You're Judging

​The New England branch of the literary society PEN has announced that it's bestowing its inaugural award for outstanding achievement in song lyrics in February (hat tip: Dave Bry/Maud Newton). Lyrics from all stripes of popular music can, of course, be utterly banal, but they can also employ ... More >>

Beyond Jay And Kanye's Throne: Ten More Regal Seats In Hip-Hop

Coming to an arena near you this weekend: Jay-Z and Kanye West. ​Kanye West and Jay-Z's grandiose Watch The Throne tour comes to the New York City area tomorrow, and sticks around through next week—the pair perform at the Izod Center on Saturday and Sunday, and at Madison Square Garden o ... More >>

Live: Wale Brings Lots And Lots Of Friends To The Highline Ballroom

Wale Highline Ballroom Wednesday, November 2 Better than: watching next week, when the show will air on MySpace. The line had packed itself six-deep, turning the long sidewalk from the Highline Ballroom to Ninth Avenue into a traffic jam of Wale fans. Or maybe just fans of events. Or maybe sheep. ... More >>

THE KING’S TWO BODIES

Jay-Z and Kanye conquer Jersey

Jay-Z And Kanye West Will Be At Madison Square Garden Next Month

​Jay-Z and Kanye West will follow up their Izod Center performances as The Throne with two shows at Madison Square Garden, November 7 and 8. Tickets go on sale to those people who have an in with Citibank on Wednesday at 10 a.m., and the rest of the world can get tickets on Friday at 10 a.m. ( ... More >>

The "Otis" Video Debuts Tomorrow Night; Get Ready For Lots Of Smoke And Broing Down

The press release announcing tomorrow night's debut of the "Otis" video (on MTV, MTV2, mtvU, BET and Centric, at 8:56 p.m. ET) has a bit of a boxing-ring flair to it; Watch The Throne, the Jay-Z and Kanye West collaboration that the track comes from, gets dubbed "the Undisputed Number One Album in ... More >>

Ten Trends That Watch The Throne Could Kickstart

​It's way too early to have a critical judgment on Watch The Throne; didn't you read the rules? But since Kanye West and Jay-Z's colossal collaboration plopped into the raging waters of Internet opinion early Monday morning, I've been watching for ripples. Here are ten new things that Watch Th ... More >>

The Watch The Throne Trailer: Twenty Seconds Of Footage That Will Tell You Pretty Much Nothing At All

​ After lots of speculation, and singles, and events you weren't invited to, Jay-Z and Kanye West's collaborative album Watch The Throne comes out Monday, with a tour following later this year. For some reason, someone (maybe Live Nation? maybe Roc Nation? maybe a superfan with too much time o ... More >>

Those Jay-Z/Kanye West Concerts At The Izod Center Have Been Pushed Back To November

​Jay-Z and Kanye West's Watch The Throne Tour has been shuffled around a bit, and the two concerts at the Izod Center originally scheduled for the end of September are now taking place at the Meadowlands' arena on November 5 and 6. The presale starts at 10 a.m. on August 2 (yes, that's today!) ... More >>

Live: People Gather To Watch Jay-Z And Kanye's Throne, See The Stars

​ The Throne (Watch The Throne listening session) Hayden Planetarium Monday, August 1 Better than: any listening session I've ever been to. Album listening parties have almost always existed as excuses to drink on the record company's dwindling dime, the music itself largely ignored; backgro ... More >>

Live: Jay-Z Cheers Up Kanye West At MoMA

​Kanye West Museum of Modern Art Tuesday, May 10 Better than: The obscenely long line outside. (There may still be people waiting to get in.) Even if you're put off by the tortured, why-so-serious vibe underpinning Kanye West's performances these days, it's hard to deny the charisma of the p ... More >>

Q&A: Singer Angela "Mecca" Scott, Star Of Jay-Z's Reasonable Doubt, On Working With Jay, Big L, And A Real Housewife Of Atlanta

"I was before my time, as the record labels would say." ​At 17, Angela "Mecca" Scott was beckoned by producer Ski Beatz to fly from her Virginia home up to New York City to sing on a track for an up-and-coming Brooklyn rapper named Jay-Z. Over a beat based around a sample from jazz pianist Ah ... More >>

Top Ten Greatest Rap-Acronym Anthems

​Kanye West and Jay-Z's Lex Luger-produced "H.A.M." is a creative union of the two biggest currently recording rap stars in the world -- as the lead single to the duo's upcoming Watch the Throne project, it's a feisty statement of intent. But more importantly, it's a fresh edition to the canon ... More >>

The Jay-Z Fast Food Jukebox at Brooklyn's Buffalo Boss

While waiting for my fiery chicken wings at Buffalo Boss (read the review here ), the new wing joint at least partly owned by Jay-Z, I got to wondering, What should the music be at a place owned by Brooklyn's most respected hip-hop artist and businessman? Rap, of course, but what kind of rap? The ... More >>

Week In Review: The Love and the Wizardry

We are all Jay-Z's children,. Photo by Jori Klein.​In the week we told you why you can't hate Kanye West and love My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy at the same time, we made similarly bold claims about Girl Talk--ten worst moments on that record, right here--and the Beatles, who along with a c ... More >>

Big L's Unfinished Business

The young rapper had a killer sound. Then the street rubbed him out.

Decoding Jay-Z's Decoded

Why the rapper's memoir is definitely not Shawn Carter's

Jay-Z Talked About Magic and Wizardry at the Box on Friday Night

​Tonight, he's at the New York Public Library, talking with Cornel West about his excellent new book, Decoded, but Jay-Z held a different sort of event on Friday night at the Box. Invitations sent out less than 24 hours in advance asked guests to something called "The Turn"; the email said som ... More >>

Jay-Z To Talk Decoded With Charlie Rose at the Brooklyn Museum

The Decoded cover​To celebrate the release of Decoded, the "narrative journey through the lyrics and life" of Jay-Z, which will be published by Spiegel & Grau on November 16, the rapper will sit down for an interview with PBS host Charlie Rose in front of a live New York City audience. The eve ... More >>

See Jay-Z and Cornel West Talk About Rap Music at the New York Public Library on November 15

​Yesterday, we brought you a brief but compelling excerpt from Decoded, the autobiography-slash-annotated-lyric-sheet of a book Jay-Z will be releasing through Spiegel & Grau on November 16th. Now comes word that one day prior, on Monday, November 15th, Shawn Carter will be at the New York Pub ... More >>

Q&A: Tanya Morgan's Von Pea Shares His High School Memories of Fabolous, Biggie, and Jay-Z

​Boys & Girls High School in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn--once home to both the Notorious B.I.G. and Fabolous--has long since become a legendary spot for New York hip-hop. Von Pea, one third of the indie rap group Tanya Morgan, also attended its hallowed halls--a move which inspired his new b ... More >>

Jay-Z Is The Miami Police Department's Poster Boy For Gang Activity

​So yesterday, our friends at Miami New Times made an amusing discovery: Seems the cops down there unveiled a new "Report Gang Activity" banner on their official website, featuring a drawing of a totally hypothetical and not even remotely menacing five-person gang with, uh, a few faces you mig ... More >>

Glee's Ten Most Cringe-Worthy Rap Moments

​The phenomenally successful Glee kicked off its second season earlier this week, with Jay-Z and Alicia Keys' home-town anthem "Empire State Of Mind" showcased in the opening song spot. But while entire episodes of the show have been effectively hooked around the music of pop icons Madonna, La ... More >>

Drake

Week in Review: Sit Down, Man

​​​​Behold the amazing talents of Ryan Dombal.​In the week someone introduced us to the term "rap sabbatical," we got investigative, bringing news of the newfound hip-hop ban at Savalas (which sent DJ Ayres packing), HARD Fest's harsh words for M.I.A., Lil Wayne's prefe ... More >>

Jay-Z Throws Fashion Week Party, Pals Around With Adrian Grenier, Deploys Inexplicable Metaphors, Offers to Let Reporter Try On His Shoes

​Burgeoning advice-rap guru Jay-Z spent the early part of the week parading famous people onstage at Yankee Stadium; last night, he relaxed by throwing a Fashion Week party at Provocateur. The Observer was there, and their report is kind of amazing.

Jay-Z vs. The New York Observer's Feet

​In what might be the most high-profile victory -- or feat -- for both media reporters and The New York Observer in recent weeks, the feet of a New York Observer media reporter intimidated Jay-Z into putting his foot back in his loafer.

Jay-Z Vs. Girly-Blog Crushable: Tradition of Trashed Media Reporting Rises to Occasion

​We spoke too soon: Either every media reporter in town was at last night's GQ/Jay-Z fashion week party, or he was just in an...interesting...mood. Whatever the case, another awesome story from the party has emerged, and it involves a reporter getting drunk and not realizing she was talking to ... More >>

The Golden Age of Advice Rap Starts Now

"When you've run out of peaks," Jon Caramanica wrote in yesterday's Times, by way of reviewing Monday's ridiculous Jay-Z extravaganza, "all that's left are ridiculous, sublime stunts, new ways to climb old mountains." This is counterintuitive but true: a guy like Jay-Z has been a ... More >>

This Week's Voice: The Gathering of the Juggalos, Pavement's New York City, Jay-Z and Eminem in Detroit, Sonny Rollins, and More

Jay-Z and Eminem kick-start Detroit's recovery. Photo by Kevin Mazur.​In this week's Village Voice, Camille Dodero reports live from Insane Clown Posse's Gathering of the Juggalos, Michael D. Ayers compiles an oral history of Pavement's New York City, Tom Breihan heads to Detroit to see the fi ... More >>

Jay-Z's Ten Most Shameful Rock and Roll Moments

​Yesterday, it was announced that Jay-Z would be joining U2 on the band's five-date tour of Australia come November. It makes sense: in addition to commingling at the top of the Forbes 2010 Music Earners List, Jay-Z and U2 have performed together before--more than once, in fact. (Never forget ... More >>

Kanye West's "OFFICIAL POWER REMIX" Has Arrived

​It's here. Jay-Z's on it. But Swizz Beatz runs away with it. Believe it.