Jay Z News

Fela!, the new musical based on the life and music of groundbreaking African composer, performer and activist Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, will perform on NBC's 'Late Night with Jimmy Fallon' on Tonight at 12:35am EST.

'Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief,' today announced its lineup of superstar musical performances.

'Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief,' today announced its lineup of superstar musical performances. The global telethon will feature performances by Wyclef Jean, Bruce Springsteen, Jennifer Hudson, Mary J. Blige, Shakira, and Sting in New York City; Alicia Keys, Christina Aguilera, Dave Matthews, John Legend, Justin Timberlake, Stevie Wonder, Taylor Swift and a group performance by Keith Urban, Kid Rock, and Sheryl Crow in Los Angeles; and Coldplay, and a group performance by Bono, The Edge, Jay-Z, and Rihanna in a newly added London location. All musical performances will be available for purchase for $.99 per song through the Apple iTunes Store beginning Saturday, January 23, with all proceeds benefiting Haiti relief funds managed by 'Hope for Haiti Now' charities.

Watch your skinny backs Sandra Bernhard, Margaret Cho and John Leguizamo --ERICA WATSON is coming to claim her crown as Queen of the theater/standup hybrid show with the New York Premiere of FAT BITCH! After workshops in NYC and Chicago, this new solo show written and performed by Watson will run February 11- 25, 2010 at The Laurie Beechman Theater.

After a stellar 2009, surpassing Elvis as the solo artist with the most # 1 albums, scoring a # 1 single with the anthemic 'Empire State Of Mind' with Alicia Keys, performing during the World Series at Yankee Stadium, winning American Music Awards, sitting down with Oprah and staging a sold out 2009 tour, JAY-Z has added dates for his BP3 2010 North American tour.

The 41st NAACP Image Awards nominees were announced today during a press conference at The SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills. Taye Diggs ('Private Practice' - ABC), Michael Strahan ('Brothers' - FOX) and 'FOX NFL Sunday'), Wanda Sykes ('The Wanda Sykes Show' - FOX), Kyle Massey ('That's SRaven,' 'Cory in the House' - Disney Channel), Chris Massey ('Zoey 101' - Nickelodeon) and Tatyana Ali (Young and the Restless - CBS) joined NAACP Image Awards Committee Chair, Clayola Brown, and Vicangelo Bulluck, Executive Producer of the telecast, to announce the categories and nominees. The 41st NAACP Image Awards will air live on Friday, February 26 (8:00 - 10:00 PM ET/PT Tape-Delayed) on FOX.

Current GRAMMY Award nominees Beyoncé, Fergie and the Black Eyed Peas, Lady Antebellum, Maxwell, and Taylor Swift are the first performers announced for the 52nd Annual GRAMMY Awards telecast.

Mary J. Blige, Neil Diamond, Sugarland, Rob Thomas and Usher To Ring in the Holidays with TNT's Annual Music Concert CHRISTMAS IN WASHINGTON. The event will be hosted by George Lopez and premieres exclusively on TNT on Sunday, December 20, at 8 p.m. (ET/PT).

Sting and Alicia Keys were amongst other well-known music and entertainment personalities to visit the Broadway sensation Fela! during its first week run, and the praise for this dazzling production was unanimous.

Producers Shawn 'Jay-Z' Carter and Will & Jada Pinkett Smith announced today that beginning January 6, the new critically acclaimed Broadway musical Fela! will add Wednesday matinee performances to its weekly schedule and push back Sunday matinee times to 3pm. The new schedule, beginning Tuesday, January 5 will be as follows: Tuesday at 7pm, Wednesday at 2pm & 8pm, Thursday and Friday at 8pm, Saturday at 2pm & 8pm and Sunday at 3pm (except Sunday, January 10 when curtain is 2pm).

The New York Times this week profiles the women of FELA! - the nine unnamed, almost speechless figures that decorate the stage of the Eugene O'Neill Theatre, representing the 27 wives of the Nigerian Afrobeat musician and political activist.

Two Boots Pizza and MJS LIVE, Inc. have announced it's second show for A SLICE OF BROADWAY, a celebration of Broadway's finest at NY's Pizza Pioneers Two Boots Pizza. The 'tastiest pizza in Manhattan' (yelp.com) will honor the amazing cast of Fela! With a specialty pizza offered now until mid January at its Hell's Kitchen location. This afternoon, cast from the first selected show, Fela!, now playing at the Eugene O'Neill Theater and starring Sahr Ngaujah, Kevin Mambo, Lillias White, and Saycon Sengbloh attended Two Boots in their Theater District neighborhood. The cast posed for photographs and sampled The Zombie slice (named after one of Fela Anikulapo Kuti's most popular songs). The pizza slice included African-spiced chicken, criss-crossed with jalapeno pesto, and for the first time ever on a pizza - Yam pesto.

MotorCity Casino Hotel is proud to announce the Big Boi CD Release Event, with special guest Monica at Sound Board Saturday, December 12, 2009. Doors open at 10:00 p.m.

Variety reports that Fela!,will get big screen treatment by Hunger director Steve McQueen. Like the musical, the film is based on the life and music of groundbreaking African composer, performer and activist Fela Anikulapo-Kuti as written in the book, Fela: The Life and Times of an African Musical Icon, by Michael Veal.

Fela!, the new musical based on the life and music of groundbreaking African composer, performer and activist Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, will perform on Comedy Central's 'The Colbert Report' on Monday, December 7 at 11:30pm EST.

Recording Artist & Multi-award winning Broadway Star Chester Gregory receives rave reviews in his portrayal of James 'Thunder' Early in the revival of Dreamgirls, at the world famous Apollo Theatre. The Hollywood Reporter says, 'The true standout, however, is Chester Gregory, who delivers a dynamic performance as the James Brown-like James 'Thunder' Early.'

Nominations for the 52nd Annual GRAMMY Awards were announced tonight by The Recording Academy and reflected an eclectic mix of the best and brightest over the past year in music, as determined by the voting members of The Academy.

Recording Artist & Multi-award winning Broadway Star Chester Gregory receives rave reviews in his portrayal of James 'Thunder' Early in the revival of Dreamgirls, at the world famous Apollo Theatre. The Hollywood Reporter says, 'The true standout, however, is Chester Gregory, who delivers a dynamic performance as the James Brown-like James 'Thunder' Early.'

Erica Watson - 'big, bold and beautiful' actor, comedian, director and commentator for the Oxygen Network and BET - returns to her hometown Chicago with the solo show 'Fat Bitch!' This five-night only run is a funny yet thought-provoking look at how society's obsession with weight, race and class have formed the way the world views her shape, and includes her interactions with men, from the boardroom to the bedroom.

Fela!, the new musical based on the life and music of groundbreaking African composer, performer and activist Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, opened on Broadway at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre (230 West 49th Street) last night, November 23, 2009.