subject: Jay-Z is this close to being a household name [print this page] Jay-Z is this close to being a household name
Jay-Z is this close to being a household name, an amazing accomplishment considering his humble roots in the Marcy Projects of Brooklyn. He can now hold court with Michael Jordan and Michael Jackson in the same week, so formidable is his clout. Rapper Jay-Z, a minority owner of the New Jersey Nets, says he has no intention of trying to persuade his pal LeBron James to sign with the Brooklyn-bound team."That's his decision," Jay-Z told Rolling Stone magazine. "We're friends we've still gotta hang out! I don't want to convince somebody to do something, and then have to see him and say, 'Uh, yeah, we're 4-30 ...sorry.'"Jay-Z is hopeful that Mikhail Prokhorov, the Russian billionaire who recently purchased the Nets, will be able to woo James. Jay-Z & Beyonce were to cool to be at the MTV Movie Awards, the Carters were in Paris, France taking in the French Open and watching Rafael Nadal beat Robyn Soderling to win his second French Open. Leaks from Drake's highly and hotly anticipated Thank Me Later keep dripping out, and none has made a bigger splash than the meeting of generational figureheads Drizzy and Jay-Z on "Light Up."I won't call this a passing of a torch because Jay-Z probably wouldn't like the idea of anybody taking his torch anytime soon (and we all know Jay-Z has Buzzworthy on his RSS). But there's something close to that going on here. JAY-Z has been called 'the CEO of Cool' and is one of the wealthiest rappers in the world. TV star Jonathan Ross has no shortage of kind words to say about him. "Jay's been on my show a few times and I've always thought he's a smart, reserved and cool kind of guy, but cool in a way that comes from knowing your worth and your ability, rather than cool that comes from just thinking you're cool.". Jay-Z and Beyonce represent the pinnacle in the showbiz world of power couples matched if not in earnings then definitely in ambition and made greater than the sum of their individual success by an ability to complement each other's stratospheric rise and global domination. Jay-Z provides mainstream R&B artist Beyonce with a bit of street cred, while the commercially successful Beyonce has made her husband's music accessible to a new legion of fans. Rap superstars Jay-Z and Eminem are set to perform a pair of headlining concerts together in September, according to a May 13 announcement. The two will share the stage at stadiums in New York City and Detroit, the hometowns of the two artists. On September 2, Eminem will headline a show at Detroit's Comerica Park, joined by Jay-Z; on September 13, Jay-Z will headline at New York's Yankee Stadium. The artists first announced the news during an appearance at Comerica Park, where the Detroit Tigers hosted the New York Yankees. Jay-Z and Alicia Keys will team up once again for the sequel to "Empire State Of Mind," the song performed at Game 2 of the World Series between the Yankees and Philly last week. Originally on Jay-Z's "Blueprint 3" album, "Empire State of Mind Pt. 2" will include a new Jay-Z verse and will appear on Alicia Keys' upcoming "Element of Freedom" album, slated for a Dec. 15 release on J Records. Get your Cheap Jay-Z Tickets
