event Jay-Z
Also Playing: Young Jeezy and Trey Songz
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Thu Mar 18
7 pm
http://www.ticketmaster.com/venue/32882 Jay-Z, Young Jeezy, and Trey Songz at United Center
Jay-Z stands at a peculiar crossroads in his career: He's left the boardroom and his position as president of Def Jam after a rocky tenure running rap's premier label. Jay-Z is still a big star; it's the industry that's gotten smaller. Nowadays, rappers who used to shoot for diamond status are lucky to reach platinum. Stakes were high for last year's The Blueprint 3, Jay-Z's first album since leaving Def Jam. And Hova pretty much delivered: The album sold 476,000 copies its first week, but more importantly, it shows the rapper as reflective and in relatively fine form late in the game, particularly on the Rihanna-revved single "Run This Town." A more recent Rihanna collaboration yielded "Stranded (Haiti Mon Amour)," which Jay-Z sees as a more fitting benefit track than the untouchable, recently revamped "We Are The World" that premiered during the Winter Olympics opening ceremony.
United Center 1901 W Madison St, Chicago, IL
Jay-Z stands at a peculiar crossroads in his career: He's left the boardroom and his position as president of Def Jam after a rocky tenure running rap's premier label. Jay-Z is still a big star; it's the industry that's gotten smaller. Nowadays, rappers who used to shoot for diamond status are lucky to reach platinum. Stakes were high for last year's The Blueprint 3, Jay-Z's first album since leaving Def Jam. And Hova pretty much delivered: The album sold 476,000 copies its first week, but more importantly, it shows the rapper as reflective and in relatively fine form late in the game, particularly on the Rihanna-revved single "Run This Town." A more recent Rihanna collaboration yielded "Stranded (Haiti Mon Amour)," which Jay-Z sees as a more fitting benefit track than the untouchable, recently revamped "We Are The World" that premiered during the Winter Olympics opening ceremony.
Updated 09/01/2010
