Jay-Z w/ orchesta, Alicia Keys & Nas @ Carnegie Hall - 2/6

Fans of disposable income -- earning it, spending it, rapping about it, listening to someone rap about it -- had much to cheer about during this concert, the highest-profile hip-hop show ever at Carnegie Hall.

And there was also the matter of the income disposal, or in this case, donation: this concert was the first of a pair (the second is Tuesday night) benefitting the United Way of New York City and the Shawn Carter Scholarship Foundation, the charity founded by Jay-Z and whose president and chief executive is his mother, Gloria Carter. Most tickets cost several hundred dollars; on the resale market, some were listed for more than $1,000. [NY Times]

Jay was backed by an orchestra "conducted by Jeri Lynne Johnson (of the Black Pearl Chamber Orchestra), and also the Illadelphonics, an ensemble featuring Questlove of the Roots and the singer Bilal among others." Alicia Keys & Nas both both special guests. Beyonce was in the audience, but didn't perform.

Last night's show was the first of two. It happens again tonight (2/7). Yesterday the shows weren't sold out, but now it says "Limited Availability" for tonight's show at Carnegie Hall's site.

Some video clips and a pictures of the set list from last night (2/6), below...

Continue reading "Jay-Z played Carnegie Hall (does again tonight) -- setlist/video"

Janelle Monae @ Terminal 5 (more by Matthew Eisman)

With the dates announced for Prince's Welcome 2 America Tour, one of the touring acts, Janelle Monáe, spoke to MTV News about hitting the road with the legendary musician. To sum it up, she's pretty stoked to tour with someone as iconic as Prince.

"Well, I'm excited. We're great friends," Monáe told MTV News on Monday at the Glamour Women of the Year event in New York City. "I'm honored that he had chosen me to be a part of the tour."

Monáe may be somewhat of a rookie compared to Prince, but long before stardom came her way, touring with him was on her to-do list.

"It's definitely one of the things that I wanted to do in my career, is tour with him," she shared. "And it just means a lot that he's a mentor to me and he loves the stuff that we're doing and he's going to help out every way he can to make the show phenomenal."

So, will fans see some collaborations between Monáe and Prince? "We may [collaborate], we may," she teased, adding that she doesn't have a favorite Prince song. "And when that happens, I'll be sure to let you guys know." [MTV News]

Though not much is really known about these shows, Prince did promise the following list of openers/collaborators when he first announced: Maceo Parker, Janelle Monae, Mint Condition, Esperanza Spalding, Cassandra Wilson, Lalah Hathaway and Sheila E. Cassandra Wilson released a statement that was slightly more specific than Janelle. She said that she, herself, Cassandra, "will be joining Prince on stage at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, NJ on December 17th." Maybe Janelle will be at all the shows, or only one too? Prince did say the shows would be different each night.

Tickets for the recently added Prince show at MSG go on sale at noon.

And in slightly related news, being picked to play with Prince isn't the only thing Lalah Hathaway and Janelle Monàe have in common. They're both also, like Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings, on the For Colored Girls soundtrack.

Janelle and Esperanza Spalding also have at least one prior connection. They, along with Patti Labelle and Alicia Keys, paid tribute to Prince on the 2010 BET Awards. Video of that and the full For Colored Girls soundtrack tracklisting below...

Continue reading "Janelle Monae paid tribute to Prince & happy to be playing with him (MSG tickets on sale)"

...which is being rebroadcast online "shortly" NOW. Other performers include Amadou & Mariam, Hugh Masekela, K'Naan, Tinariwen, Vieux Farka Touré, Angelique Kidjo, Black Eyed Peas, and Shakira.

photos by V. Marc Fort (American-Statesman critic & Norushi Minx bassist)

When Jay-Z wasn't showing the Texans how his crew does it in Brooklyn, he spoke from the heart during his between song banter. "I know it sounds cliche, but don't let any haters block your dream," Hova said earnestly during one of the final breaks. Another one of the show's more intimate moments came when he brought up vocalist Bridget Kelly for two songs. After her inspired assist on "Empire State of Mind," Jigga Man smiled his biggest smile of the evening and said, "Damn...she put something extra on it for Texas...she put some extra bar-b-que sauce on it for Texas!" - V. Marc Fort

N.E.R.D. opened the show at the Frank Erwin Center at the University of Texas in Austin on Tuesday (11/10). The full setlist and more pictures below. A couple of weeks earlier Jay-Z did "Empire State of Mind" (the new 'New York, New York'?) with Alicia Keys at Yankees Stadium to kick off Game 2 of the World Series. That video is below too.

Jay-Z returns to Austin for another show on November 22nd (November 22nd was moved to November 10th). It's one of four more shows he has this month. Then in February of 2010 he'll get on the road again with a NYC-area show announced for March 6th at the Izod Center in NJ. Tickets for that show go on Citi Cardmember Presale on Tuesday, 11/17 @ 10am. That's followed by an "Internet Presale" two days later which is followed by general sale two days after that (Sat, 11/21 @ 10am). All dates, with the other stuff, below...

Continue reading "Jay-Z - 2010 Tour Dates (Izod Center) ++ pics & the setlist from the Austin show @ the Frank Erwin Center"

rainy Yankees Stadium (Kevin H.)

The lyrics to Jay'z "Empire State of Mind" are sometimes as raw as New York, but it looks like the rapper will clean up that language when he performs his city anthem at the World Series.

A source close to the rapper who requested anonymity because the person was not authorized to speak on the matter says Jay-Z won't utter curses or other raw language included in his hit, which has been blasted by the New York Yankees during their playoff run.

Jay-Z and fellow New Yorker Alicia Keys were due to perform "Empire" before Game 1 between the Yankees and the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday at Yankee Stadium. But because of rainy weather, their performance will now be on Thursday. It's not clear if Game 1 will be postponed. [AP]

On the World Series, which he'll be kicking off on Wednesday with a performance of "Empire State of Mind":

Jay-Z: I actually predicted the Yankees in six with the Angels, so I think I'm like Jigga the Greek. I'm gonna say, Phillies are a bit tougher than the Angels. I'm gonna take Yankees in seven. Dramatic A-Rod walk-off at the end of the game redeeming him for all the time the papers and the media vilified him. Is that specific enough?"

Yes, Jay-Z will be performing "Empire State of Mind" with Alicia Keys before Game 1 on Wednesday. The video for that song below...

Continue reading "World Series kicks off Wed., Jay-Z predicts Yankees take it in 7, singing 'Empire State of Mind'w/ Alicia Keys"

"With a vital role on band sensation Grizzly Bear's new CD Veckatimest and an appearance this Thursday, May 28th, backing up the band at Town Hall, the Grammy Award-winning Brooklyn Youth Chorus embarks on a six-week run of performances spanning music as diverse as indie rock and Mahler's 8th. That's business as usual for the BYC, which has sung with Alicia Keys for a Sesame Street special, backed Elton John at his birthday concert at Madison Square Garden, premiered Philip Glass's Symphony No. 5 with the Brooklyn Philharmonic, and commissioned a body of work by musicians including Nico Muhly and Fred Hersch. The BYC is an astonishingly active group of kids that performs on the highest levels of the New York music scene, whether it be symphonic, rock, hip-hop, gospel, avant-garde classical, jazz..." [press release]

Unfortunately it looks like the Chorus will only be at one of Grizzly Bear's three NYC shows. All BYC dates below...

Continue reading "Brooklyn Youth Chorus backing Grizzly Bear at Town Hall, playing w/ Nico Muhly, Holy Ghost & more "

Jack White has commented for the first time on his upcoming James Bond theme song, "Another Way To Die." The track, written, produced & performed by White and featuring Alicia Keys, is the first duet theme song in Bond movie history. The film, Quantum Of Solace, directed by Marc Forster and staring Daniel Craig as James Bond, will be released theatrically in November '08.

Describing the creative process White says:

"After a couple of years of wanting to collaborate with Alicia Keys, it took James Bond himself to finally make it happen. Alicia put some electric energy into her breath that cemented itself into the magnetic tape. Very inspiring to watch. It gave me a new voice, and I wasn't myself anymore. I drummed for her voice and she mimicked the guitar tones, then we joined our voices and screamed and moaned about these characters in the film and their isolation, having no one to trust, not even themselves. Maybe we became them for a few minutes.

The Memphis Horns were there to help us out, along with some of Nashville's finest. Might be the first analogue Bond theme in twenty years, I don't know. We wanted to push soul into those tapes, and join the family of Barry, Bassey, Connery and Craig."

Jack White kicks off a series of European festival dates with his band The Raconteurs on August 23rd. A North American tour begins on September 16th in Portland, Oregon.

Bob Dylan must be jealous. Tour dates below...

Continue reading "Jack White on working with Alicia Keys on James Bond"

In a potentially controversial chat with Blender mag, Alicia Keys, 27, says, "Gangsta rap was a ploy to convince black people to kill each other. Gangsta rap didn't exist."

Ms. Keys, sporting a gold AK-47 pendant around her neck, says she has been reading books by some of the members of the Black Panthers.

She says the feud between East Coast and West Coast rappers, which led to the murders of Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G., was fueled "by the government and the media, to stop another great black leader from existing." [Dallas News]

alternate post title: Kanye West sings tribute to his mama

Prince gave Alicia Keys an award

Daft Punk's official post-Grammy press photo below...

Continue reading "Daft Punk (seriously) & Kanye West played the Grammys"