Tuesday 20 December 2011
Jay-Z to Play United Way Benefit Concert
Jay-Z to Play United Way Benefit Concert
Jay-Z has announced that he will be playing two benefit shows at Carnegie Hall on February 6 and 7 to help raise funds for the United Way’s scholarship program, according to AllHipHop.com. It will mark the first-ever solo hip-hop performance at the famous concert venue.
“Jay-Z says performing at Carnegie Hall is a big deal for hip-hop, and he’s happy to bring the genre to greater heights,” reported the Associated Press.
“Any time that I get a chance to expand and broaden the reach of hip-hop is a great thing for me on a personal level,” said Jay-Z. “I feel like they bent the rules so that it could make sense for me [to play] right now, but I’ll take it.”
In addition to helping out the United Way, proceeds will also go toward Jay-Z’s Shawn Carter Foundation non-profit organization in an attempt to reduce the high school dropout rate in New York City.
“Education is super important,” Jay-Z told the Associated Press. “I don’t have a high school diploma or a college diploma, but still for me to articulate, I had to have some form of schooling to articulate my thoughts.”
There was a ton of blue-collar jobs that no longer exist, and the gap is wider than ever,” he continued. “The kids need to really know that and be prepared, to really succeed in this new America they are going to need an education. Not everyone can be entertainers and hit the lottery – that’s what I call it.”
The tickets range in price from $500 to $2,500 per ticket, and are geared toward wealthier people and private philanthropists, according to the Times. They go on sale Dec. 12.
“It’s every artist’s dream to play a venue as legendary as Carnegie Hall,” said Jay-Z. “The fact that I can use the arts and my talent to benefit the education of the next generation of artists, entrepreneurs and great thinkers makes for a legendary night.”
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