Jay-Z decided to ride the subway to a concert at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center causing MASS PANDEMONIUM I TELL YOU among us mere plebs. He ended up chatting with a 67-year-old artist named Ellen Grossman, and the adorable encounter was conveniently caught on camera for his documentary Where I’m From, but more importantly, for the Internet to obsess over.
Grossman didn’t recognize who he was and upon noticing all the fandemonium asked if he was famous.
“Yes. Not very famous, you don’t know me,” he replied. “But I’ll get there.” Then he introduced himself as “Jay” and shook her hand. When he tacked on the “Z” she realized who he was. ”Oh you’re Jay-Z! I know about Jay-Z.”
Of not recognizing him right away, she told The Washington Post: “I was aware Jay-Z was famous and existed, but I didn’t know how famous.” She added: “I’ve become much more aware of what he’s done and who he is… And as I checked him out, I realized, how embarrassing that I didn’t know who he was!”
Grossman shouldn’t be embarrassed as I’m guessing it was actually pretty humbling for the rapper to have a normal conversation, without the person having any preconceived ideas about him. How often does he get to introduce himself to someone like that?
Watch it here
Jimmy Kimmel decided to play an audience game the other night called “Hipster or Hasidic?” He sent a cameraman to Brooklyn and zoomed in on the facial hair of super cool hipsters and Hasidic Jews. The audience had to guess who the beard belonged to — are they hip or Hasidic?
Tip: The thicker the beard, the more likely it seemed they were Hasidic. The segment is perfectly timed for Movember and maybe it’ll give you a couple grooming ideas.
How many did you get correct?
Watch it here:
Not too long ago, we talked about our very own high school bullies (amongst other high school pains.) I always thought that television host Jimmy Kimmel had a pretty awesome life — it turns out that he’s just like the rest of us. Like Jimmy, I had a few run-ins back in the day with some cruel, cruel peeps. This video may or may not have given me inspiration to confront them.
In last night’s episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live, Jimmy travels back to his hometown to confront his high school bully. Tommy Black a.k.a The Black would rub Jimmy’s face into the cement. That poor soul.
Ultimately, Jimmy proved himself to be a total hero in this video. Not only did he stand up to his arch nemesis (on television!) but he ended the confrontation with a heartwarming hug.
Watch the video here:
After seven sold out shows, Jay-Z closed off the final show of his opening run in style. Playing in his hometown of Brooklyn, New York, Jay even invited his wife Beyonce to join him on stage.
Surprising the crowd during the duo’s hit “03 Bonnie & Clyde”, Jay even let Bey take the stage on her own to perform her hit “Diva”. Soon after, he joined her to sing “Crazy in Love.”
When Beyonce left the stage, Jay had to give his wife a playful slap on the behind to tell her a job well done. ”Of course I had to let BK touch the stage in BK– well BKC now,” he joked.
Proving once again that they are Hip hop’s finest, Bey and Jay have amazed us once again. Seriously, they are JUST WAY TOO COOL.
And below, they sing Forever Young together.
Jay-Z is going home to Brooklyn to perform in the new Barclays Center arena that opens in September 2012.
The Daily News is saying Jay will perform eight shows in the facility next fall. He also formally announced that the New Jersey Nets will officially be known as the Brooklyn Nets when the NBA team moves into arena next year.
“It’s great,” Hov said of the move to BK. “I have a reason to come to Brooklyn often, which is fantastic for me because this is my foundation.”
Jay’s routes are in Brooklyn as he started as an underground rapper in the 1980′s living in the borough’s Marcy Projects.
Sleigh Bells is a band that received a ton of hype even before they released their first album. With that much press and exposure about the band, you would think Sleigh Bells would be feeling some pressure. Jordan spoke to Sleigh Bells about the good and bad of the hype machine.
Victoria Beckham is denying reports that she knows the sex of her forthcoming child.
The former Spice Girl has openly announced that she has no idea whether her next child with David Beckham will be a boy or a girl, but she seems excited either way.
When asked what the Beckham children thought of her pregnancy, Victoria said “They’re excited about having a little brother to teach how to play soccer. But, if it’s a girl, we’d be over the moon as well.”
Beckham added that they may decide to leave the baby’s gender as a surprise for labor.
A boy would be delightful, but we’d love to see a little baby Posh Spice running around!
Former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham and her soccer star hubby David had some happy news to announce this weekend. They’re pregnant! Again!
“David and Victoria Beckham are delighted to confirm they are expecting their fourth child in the summer,” the couple’s rep announced. “Brooklyn, Romeo, and Cruz are very excited about the arrival of their new brother or sister.”
And what flawless timing! The baby announcement must be a happy break for David, who’s been receiving lots of negative press regarding his alleged extramarital activity. Beckham has been accused of sleeping with a prostitute, who was quickly sued by Beckham’s crack legal team, and with a married woman, whose millionaire husband cited the affair in their divorce proceedings.
We sure hope all’s well in Beckhamland and that this new baby isn’t a last-ditch effort to save the high-profile couple’s marriage.
When you have a unique act and sound, not everyone is necessarily going to get it. Especially if you are playing a dive bar in a some rural town and some pricks start heckling you on stage. But when you think outside the box like Growing, that’s the cost of doing business. Hailing from Olympia, Washington and now based in Brooklyn, Growing is yet another band hailing from Brooklyn doing something cool. Known for an amazing live show that is very loud, and going straight through without breaks, they are definitely passionate about their craft.
According to Diddy, the late Notorious B.I.G. deserves his own national holiday – and he’s making it happen.
Last night, Diddy rounded up hiphop artists Rick Ross, Fabolous, Red Café and Busta Rhymes to throw a memorial party for the iconic rap star, reports MTV.
B.I.G., who died on March 9, 1997, was commemorated through performances in his home of Brooklyn, N.Y..
If Beyonce isn’t flawless enough, she is now. On Friday she and her mother, Tina Knowles, unveiled a project they have been working and dreaming about for years: the Beyonce Cosmetology Center. She spoke in downtown Brooklyn, New York, at the Phoenix House, which is a nonprofit recovery centre for drug and alcohol addiction, reports MTV News.
The press release states that the program is “a seven-month cosmetology training course for adult men and women.” L’Oreal will be donating all of the products used, as the superstar is a spokeswoman for the beauty company. The star and her mother have pledged to donate $100,000 annually to the program.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg attended the unveiling and after remarks from him, Tina and others, Knowles gave a gracious speech explaining both her ties to the house and her hopes for the program. In 2007, she first visited the house while researching for her role in “Cadillac Records”, where she played Etta James, a legendary blues, R&B, rock and roll, gospel and jazz singer/songwriter.
Jerry Fuch, a drummer who played with bands such as Maserati, !!!, and The Juan MacLean, died on Sunday, Nov. 8 after falling down an elevator shaft, according to CHARTattack.
Fuch and a friend were invited to a posh benefit party in Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighbourhood, and were in the building’s elevator trying to get to the fifth floor. The elevator stopped three or four feet above the fifth floor.
The two men opened the elevator door and decided to jump the few feet down to the fifth floor. Fuchs’ friend made the jump, but when Fuch tried, his clothing got caught on the elevator. He was yanked backward, falling into the space between the elevator and the fifth floor.
Fuchs fell down five stories and landed at the bottom of the elevator shaft. He was taken to Brooklyn’s Bellevue Hospital but died at 3:30 a.m.
After TV on the Radio topped year-end lists the world over last year with their sophomore release, Dear Science, the band have announced they are taking time off.
Lead singer Tunde Adebimpe told MTV last week the band will be taking some indefinite time off.
“This was the last show for us, for a while,” he told MTV following their set at the Outside Lands Festival in San Francisco. “We decided to take, well, the going theory is to take about a year off, because you have to go and live a life and change things up.”
The changing bit is already well underway, as the band have dispersed in various directions to pursue other projects.
Adebimpe teamed up with Massive Attack to record “Pray for Rain”, a track from the long-awaited EP Splitting the Atom slated for release Oct. 6.
