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Jay-Z… accepted in Africa, rejected in Asia
By Eric Orji
American hiphop superstar Jay- Z is happy that through his world tour he’s enjoyed that opportunity of meeting new people, especially fans he never knew existed.
The rapper, who’s concert in China was cancelled by Chinese Ministry of Culture, had excellent shows in Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa. At his October 7 performance in Accra, Jay-Z had thousands of enthusiastic fans jumping, screaming, clapping and throwing their hands in the air. The superstar rapper performed beyond expectation.
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Though there was this disappointment of the failure of the organisers to produce Jay’s girlfriend Beyonce at the show as advertised, the fans got morethan enough from the multimillionaire singer. Indigenous acts such as 2006 Best African Act MOBO Award winner Batman Samini and Obrafuo blended the show with African own style. Jay-Z’s concert in Nigeria pulled out Senators, Governors and ministers. There were Senate President, Ken Nnamani, Lagos and Delta State Governors, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and James Ibori. Others were Senator Udo Udoma, Senator Adolphus Wabara, Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Bayo Ojo, Presidential Adviser on National Assembly, Senator Florence Ita-Giwa. The concert was hosted at the Polo Club in Ikoyi, Lagos. Tickets were as high as $800 for a VIP seat and $200 for regular place. |
From Nigeria Jay-Z flew to South Africa. He was billed for three concerts and the leading lines on the advert was that he will be accompanied by the two most important women in his life. Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Corey Carter, told the South African organisers that he would be coming with his fiancée, Beyoncé Knowles and his mother Gloria Carter for the three-day show, which were scheduled at Bellville Velodrome on 11 October in Cape Town, Absa Stadium 13 October in Durban and Coca-Cola Dome 14 October in Johannesburg.
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Jay-Z was billed with Caribbean hottie Rihanna, who’s been a bit of a controversy in Jay-Z and Beyonce’s relationship. Some international tabloid magazines have reported that the former Destiny's Child lead singer is jealous that her fiancé is spending so much time with Rihanna. Signed by Jay-Z at the age of 16, Rihanna's debut album, Music of The Sun, was nominated for 2005's Record of The Year, with the first single, Pon De Replay, debuting at Number 2 on the charts. Her second worldwide phenomenon, SOS, hit Number 1 on the charts worldwide, driving her latest album, Girl Like Me, into platinum
status.
The concert in Cape Town absorbed 8000 strong audience; that explains the huge followership of Jay-Z’s style in Africa. Kwaito legend Kabelo was the main supporting act. |
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Kabelo, who started out in the early '90s with TKZ, has come on as a solo artist, winning two consecutive SA Music Association awards for best kwaito artist.
Other African countries where Jay-Z performed in the week included Angola and Tanzania. With worldwide album sales of over 33 million, Jay-Z has raked in a number of Grammy awards, a Billboard music award, and a whopping three MTV video music awards since his third album, Hard Knock Life Vol. 2 propelled him to international stardom. His professional career saw Jay-Z hooking up with Damon Dash and Kareem Biggs to form the now multi-million dollar empire Roc-A-Fella Records, and later becoming president of the Island Def Jam label. Jay-Z became one of the most respected rappers in the music industry for crafting songs from memory. He has recently featured on a number of Beyoncé's songs, including her latest offering Déjà vu.
Surprisingly the Chinese government announced the cancellation of Jay-Z’s scheduled performance in Shanghai when his Asian fans were already in the euphoria of a chance to meet their music hero.
According to local promoter Sun Yun, China’s Ministry of Culture denied Jay-Z’s performance because of the “vulgar language” in some of his lyrics. Jay-Z was confident he would soon land on China’s mainland to give a concert for his fans. “I look forward to rescheduling my concert date in Shanghai,” Jay-Z said in a statement. “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.”
During his international tour, the rapper has travelled to several countries affected by water crisis and is being filmed for an upcoming documentary special, ‘Diary of Jay-Z: Water for Life’. Jay-Z’s comeback album Kingdom Come is due in stores November 21, while ‘Diary of Jay-Z: Water for Life’ debuts on MTV on November 24, reaching 179 countries on 50 of MTV’s local channels.
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