Jay-Z is Oprah's New Best Friend

Oprah is calling Jay-Z her ‘New Best Friend’ during an interview on Gayle King’s radio show. The two were pictured together at Marcy projects in Brooklyn recently.
"Oh, Jay-Z, my new best friend," she said.
"He was so charming and delightful, and he smelled so good," Winfrey said. "And it's that kind of thing where you hug a guy, and the scent is sort of buried in them. When we went to the second location, I could still smell him on me. It was like, 'Oh, this is wonderful.' "
She also said that she’s interviewed him for her O magazine but he won’t be appearing on her show.
"It was really a conversation, and at the end of the day, you feel like you get to know someone," she said. "I feel like I met a new friend. It was really great." Source
I know she doesn’t agree with his kind of music but I guess money loves money and those two are rollin’ in it.

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Jay-Z to Open Up about Beyonce in New Book

Jay-Z’s new book will be the first time that he talks about his relationship with his wife Beyonce.

The main purpose of the book is to talk about they lyrics behind some of his biggest hits.

A source said: "It's going to cover everything from his days on the streets as a drug dealer to his fairytale wedding to Beyonce.

"He'll also be revealing his rapping secrets."

Source

I’d be interested to see what Jay has to say about their relationship. The small bit that Beyonce has revealed has been as dry as burnt toast. Snores…

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50's Goin After Jigga

50 Cent wants to battle jay-Z in album sales. He plans on releasing his new album ‘Before I Self Destruct’ on Sept. 11th, which happens to be the same day Jay is dropping ‘Blueprint 3’. Source
Apparently Fiddy has severe memory loss. He apparently forgot how Yeezy obliterated him in sales when he challenged him two years ago. This is Jay we’re talking about. He needs to just bow out gracefully.

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Jay-Z Working on Book Deal

Jay-Z is close to signing a book deal.
According to the New York Observer, Jay-Z's literary agent, Matthew Guma, is in final negotiations a book where he’ll explain what’s behind some of his songs. Source
There go a few more dollars at his pocket…not that I’m hating or anything.

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More Jay-Z Baby Rumors

So rumors about Jay-Z having a son have been circulating for YEARS. He’s always denied it, and continued to do so the beginning of the year when the rumor reared its ugly head again. But, as always the rumor got snuffed. Well this time more details are coming out about his supposed child and baby mama. The mother is reportedly a Trini model named Shenelle Scott who lives in a $2.5 million home he purchased. She also brings their son to NY to see his father when she has modeling jobs there and Beyonce has supposedly accepted him as her own. Source
Why he would deny this darling child is beyond me. If this is really his son, how’s lil’ Jay supposed to feel when he is old enough to understand that his father refused to publically claim him?

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Rocawear is Heading to China

Jay-Z is expanding his Rocawear brand by taking it to China. Though he sold rights to Rocawear to Iconix Brand Group, he still has a stake in the company as well as overseeing the development and marketing of it. He signed a deal with Bosideng International Holdings to produce Rocawear products and distribute them throughout China.
Jay-Z says in a statement, "When Iconix purchased the Rocawear trademark two years ago, Neil Cole (Iconix founder) and I made a commitment to building Rocawear into a global lifestyle brand. "Our expansion into China is a validation of our joint efforts to bring an authentic interpretation of American fashion to young people around the world." Source
He’s proven to be quite a shrewd businessman. I hope this venture proves to be as lucrative as his others.

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News on Jay's New Album

I am pleased to let you know that there will be no autotune on Jay-Z’s new album Blueprint 3.

Kanye who produced some of the album revealed this,“Jay is in control of everything in his domain. He’s just been working on it, and it’s gonna be amazing when he drops it. I think it’s good he’s taking his time to give people the best product possible and not being rushed by this fast-food, media-outlet, Internet, everything-is-getting-leaked, people-stealing your-songs-before-you-can-mix-them-and-put-them-online world we’re living in right now.” Source

I can’t remember…did his last album sell? I wonder if he should have retired for real. I’m not saying I don’t like Jay. I’m just not that into geriatric rappers. He better come with fire if he still wants respect.

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Jay-Z Goes Indie

Jay-Z has bought out his contract with Def Jam for $5 million.
"I can honestly say, working with Doug Morris and L.A. Reid has been a unique and fulfilling experience, and I respect them immensely," Jay told RapRAdar.com. "I've been in the family for almost my entire career. Doug and I spoke directly and had one of the most unique 'negotiations' ever.
Jay said there was also a coin toss in the negotiation. "Doug won the toss, but we both won in the end," Jay said. "I thank him for allowing me to be a completely independent artist. Not every artist can say they own or are given the opportunity to own all of their music." Source
I’m surprised this didn’t happen sooner. He’s bankin enough to have full control over his career, no?

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Jay's Ridiculous Demands

Apparently Jay-Z is quite the diva when it comes to his rider. He requests:
- A chauffeured black Maybach
- His dressing room heated to 72 degrees Fahrenheit and “adequate” relaxed lighting
- Booze: Sapporo beer, vodka, tequila, two bottles of $300 champagne, two bottles of 2005 Sassicaia red wine, one martini shaker and 12 shot glasses.
- A pack of Marlboro Lights cigarettes
- Food: Good Quality” peanut butter and grape jam, two fruit platters, chicken and cheese.
Source
While recently performing at the University of Arizona, for which he was paid, $750K for, the organizers refused to supply him with alcohol, cigarettes or a luxury car.
Way to go! That’s just dumb.

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Rocawear to Include Shoes

Jay-Z is expanding his Rocawear empire by adding footwear to the line. The new sneaker is called the R+Evolution.

"The R+ sneaker from Shawn and Rocawear is set to debut in June and if you can't tell after looking at the picture, it resembles various other sneakers out there," said fashion blog ImFlash.com. "Don't you agree? I'm seeing a Supra with a Yeezy, throw Nike in there somewhere and then you have the R+." The branding is minimal and decidedly a little more grown up," writes HypeBeast

Eh, they’re OK…it’s nothing we haven’t seen before.

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Bey Talks About Jay-Z and her Extensive Wardrobe

Beyonce talked about her hubby in a recent interview with Marie Claire.

“We try to sync our calendars. I started working on my tour a year ago, just to make sure that I had time at home. But, you know, that’s part of it. Any other woman who has to go to work and pick up the kids and make dinner — that’s way harder than what I have to do. At least I can say, ‘I’m taking two weeks off,’ and really take two weeks off.”

She also says that she puts Jay’s face on her nails to keep him close to her. “It’s just a silly thing that makes me smile,” she told the magazine.

She also talked about how her closet is so extensive that she’s turned her old apartment into a giant closet. ‘My wardrobe is big. Put it this way, I’ve turned my old apartment into a closet.

‘I probably get about 15 bags sent to me a month. Armani gave me this croc bag, which was huge – I could only imagine how much that thing cost. It would be so expensive that even I wouldn’t buy it.’There are some bags that are pretty hot. But then I haven’t bought myself a Hermes Birkin bag because I think they are just too expensive.’ Source

I must admit I’m jealous. I could care less about expensive clothes or shoes. EVERYONE knows I’m a target shopping, chuck wearing kind of girl. But my kryptonite is bags. I need to get famous fast so I can get the same kinda treatment.

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Jay's Collegues Skip Out on A Heavy Tab

Michael Kyser of Atlantic Records and UMG exec Shawn Costner apparently ran out of a bill when entertaining Jay-Z.
“Jay-Z ordered a bottle of Patron Platinum and some expensive champagne, and everything was going great,” M2 man- ager Dan Develin tells Page Six. “The waitress has known him for five years, and he’s a good friend of Joey’s, so we ended up comping a lot of their bill.”
But when the check came for $1,500 (less than a third of the actual tab it got ugly in there
“Kyser and Costner were making a big show of wanting to take Jay-Z out, so they started arguing over who got to pick up the check,” Develin says. “Jay-Z ended up tipping the waitress $500 and going outside to wait.”
Costner’s card was declined so Kyser picked up the entire tab.
“Before we could get him to sign the receipt, he left the club,” Develin says. “Of course, we still have his card, so we called up his office, and his assistant told us someone would come by to sign. Weeks went by, and no one ever did. Finally, we got a call from AmEx and were told that Kyser was disputing the charge. When we called him up again, his assistant said, ‘Oh, Michael says he doesn’t actually remember being there’ — which is crazy because we have his card and photos of him and Jay-Z.” Source
I know it’s a recession and all but I’m guessing their mamas never taught them not to live beyond their means. SMH.

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Jay-Z is Playing Matchmaker

Jay-Z and Khloe Kardashian are suck food friends that he’s trying to play matchmaker for her.

“Jay thinks Khloe is a good girl,” and insider says. “But she can’t seem to pick out the players from the good guys.”

“Jay is all about substance so seems like things could work out,” the source explains. Source

This is weird…not so much that Jay is trying to help out a friend…more so that they ARE friends.

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Jigga Says Hip-Hop Helps Race Relations...

Jay-Z was recently quoted as saying that hip-hop has helped race relations in America.
He explains, “It has changed America immensely… Hip-hop has done more than any leader, politician, or anyone to improve race relations. Racism is taught in the home… and it’s very hard to teach racism to a teenager who idolizes, say, Snoop Dogg. It’s hard to say, ‘That guy is less than you.’ The kid is like, ‘I like that guy, he’s cool. How is he less than me?’ That’s why this generation is the least racist generation ever. You see it all the time. Go to any club. People are intermingling, hanging out, enjoying the same music”. Source
Nice try Jay, but I just don’ think that Chad suburbia and Faheem Hood are going to be chillin’ in the same circles. Let’s not even mention the fact that rap music has been responsible for perpetuating stereotypes.

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Listening to Bey Makes You Dumb

Virgil Griffiths, a PhD student, compared students scores in SAT exams with their favorite musical acts and genres to see if one’s musical tastes reflects intelligence. At the top of the scale were people who listen to Beethoven, Indie music, Radiohead, U2 and Bob Dylan. On the low end of the scale were listeners of Lil’ Wayne, Justin Timberlake, Jay-Z and his wife, Beyonce.Griffiths introduces the test on his site Music That Makes You Dumbby saying: "I've listened to artists who after listening to I thought to myself 'Wow... loving this rubbish says a lot about someone and how much they got going on in their head'. Source
I checked out the site and Virgil’s findings…they’re interesting to say the least. What do you guys think about his results? Make you want to go pic up a Beethovan for Dummies book.

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Bey Says Jay was her First Boyfriend

Beyonce is trying to make us all believe that Jay-Z was her first relationship. She told LA Confidential magazine that she’s never had a break up.
“Well, fortunately I haven’t had any break-ups! This [her marriage to Jay Z] is my first relationship,” stated Bey when asked whose songs help her get through heartache the way her songs do for her fans.” Source
I know she’s a busy girl but, um, didn’t Marquis Houston tap that? I’m just saying.

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Jay and a Kardashian?

Word is that Jay-Z and Khloe Kardashian were jumpin’ off recently. They were supposedly drankin it up at M2 in NYC and Jay left a $2,000 tip on the way out. Khloe later denied the rumore. Source
Yea, I don’t see Jay trying to creep with the likes of Khloe. No offense Khloe, I’m just bein’ real.

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Updates 9-17: Chris Brown Arrested

Update 9: Rapper T.I. spoke out about the Chrihanna situation. He said that he had a convo with Chris on Monday.
“Yeah, I spoke to him today," said the rapper. "He cool, you know. I guess he a little concerned about the situation, but he’s still the same Chris.”
Tip even offered him some advice. “I told him this too shall pass."
He also doesn’t want people to judge CB. He said, “Hey man, you people gotta remember, we celebrities and we entertainers but we still human. All of us. Don’t expect us not to make mistakes ‘cause we will.”Source
‘Mistake’ is an interesting word to use to describe this.

Update 10: Photos (Chris): INF DAILY
I saw these photos over at Sandra Rose. They’re pictures of Chris Brown in the SUV that took himi to the police station to turn himself in. The blown up picture of his hand shows what appears to be marks on his knuckles. Molly Wop anyone lately Chris…

Update 11: Earlier that night at Clive Davis’s pre-Grammy party
The couple was supposedly fighting all weekend. A source reveals, “I saw Chris Brown and Rihanna fighting at the Verizon party at Boulevard 3 Nightclub. They were in this room and they were just screaming at each other, totally cussing each other out. They were screaming ‘F**k you!’ ‘No, f**k you!’ at each other, back and forth. They were right in each others face. It was scary”.
Another source talks about fighting at Clive Davis’ party the next night.
“Inside the party they were very lovey-dovey, but later on they were arguing.” Rihanna is now doing a lot of soul searching over whether their relationship can last. Only time will tell”.
Moments before the altercation

Update 12: The ‘Got Milk’ folks are pissed. Chris recently did an ad for them and they’re pulling them. The Milk Processor Education Program are “taking the allegations against Chris Brown very seriously”.

Update 13:
Everyone is wondering what sparked the fight between the two and one of the latest rumors is that Chris got a text from another woman seding Rihanna into a rage.
A source told the NY Daily News, "He got a booty call. He got a text. Rihanna saw it and she got upset. They started to argue. She got out of the car. He wanted her to get back in, so he grabbed her. "She pulled away. That's when she told people he hit her." SourceUpdate 14:
Chris’s ex stepdad, Donelle Hawkins, denies Chris’ allegations that he abused his mother.
When asked what he thought about reports his former stepson had attacked his girlfriend, Hawkins tells Usmagazine.com, “I wouldn’t be surprised,” adding, “He has to take responsibility for his own actions.”
He adds, “There was a lot of arguing between his mom and I (but) I never raised a hand at his mom. I spanked Chris one time. I became the bad guy. Chris was really mad at his mom for leaving his dad, so I became the scapegoat. No matter how much I tried to be a father figure, nothing worked.”

Update 15:
Jay-Z, who has been Rihanna’s mentor since discovering her a few years ago is supposedly livid over this whole situation.
A source tells Us Weekly magazine, “He hit the roof. Chris is a walking dead man. He messed with the wrong crew.” Source

Update 16:
The LADA’s office want police to do more investigating before they file domestic violence charges against CB
Detective Deshon Andrews said that to keep photos and documents from leaking to the media, he has kept the case file closely guarded and allowed no copies of the material to be made. Police have refused media requests to hear the 911 call that led to their investigation early Sunday, but Andrews said it mostly recorded the sound of "a screaming woman." Source

Update 17: Folks think that the ‘other woman’ could be Leona Lewis.
Apparently Chris was peeped flirting with her and this pissed Rih-Rih off.“At one point, Rihanna caught Chris flirting with Leona,” says a source. “They were carrying on and laughing, and Rihanna saw Chris with his hand on the small of Leona’s back. It may have been innocent, but that set Rihanna off.” Source
That sounds ridiculous…actually this whole situation is crazy. I still don’t know who or what to believe.

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Jay-Z Teams Up with Radiohead

Jay-Z is teaming up with Radiohead to create the “Jaydiohead” album. It’ll be a mash up of Jay-Z’s Black and “American Gangster” albums with multiple Radiohead albums.
This isn’t the first album of this kind. In ’07 he teamed up with Coldplay to create a mixtape titled “Viva La Hova”.
He should team up with Samwell, the genius behind “What? What? In the Butt!” and make a remix called “Z-Hole”.
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Jay-Z's Hotel is Struggling to get Funds

Jay-Z has been developing a New York hotel, however, the future of said hotel is in doubt because he and his partners cant seem to get anyone else to contribute to the financing of it.
He’s already got $66 million for it but he needs another $370 million.
Charles Blaichman, one of Jay-Z's partners, tells The New York Times, "A year ago it would have seemed a reasonable amount. Not now. Even the banks who want to give us money can't."
Source
He may have to stall this project until Barack can figure something out to pull this economy out of the crapper.