PRESIDENT CARTER
To kick off our preview of the
best live music of the autumn
we take a peep at probably the
biggest name on the list. You
might know Shawn Carter as
the self-styled Donald Trump
of hip hop, celebrated squeeze A? of R&B empress Beyonce or front man for that snazzy new , laptop advert, but here are 21 a other things you never knew 0 about hip hop’s man of many "' pseudonyms, the mighty Jay—Z. a;
‘I. With tnore pseudonyms than Sean 'l)iddy' (‘ombs. Shawn (‘arter‘s .lay-'/. alias is an abbrey'iation of his neighlmurhood nickname .la//y. appropriated for his smart dress sense. His Reebok S (‘arter was the lirst line ol' non- athlete training shoe and remains the ltlslc‘sl selling in Reebok history.
2. He Used to be a drugs hustler in Brooklyn's .\lacy projects. and .lay-'/.‘s co-l'ounded Roc—:\- liella Records maintained a similarly rags to riches story. starting out in an alley on the edge ol' Manhattan‘s financial district. He is also now head of seminal hip hop label Def Jam.
3. ('urrently belieyed to be worth $330 million. Brooklyn‘s l-‘inest met Roc-.-\-l"ella rapper Memphis Bleak whilst working at Kl"(‘.
4. The Roc-.-\-l‘ella franchise also distributes Scottish Vodka .-\rmadale in the VS.
5. According to street legend, the nine-year- old Shawn. a high school chum of Notorious BIG, shot his own brother in the shoulder for stealing his ring.
6. Abandoned by his lather when he was l2. Jay-7. absoly'ed him while writing his autobiography. He later shelyed The Black Book dtte to priyacy concerns.
7. The prolilic Coach Carter released nine solo albums seven years before ‘retiring‘ in 2004. he racked tip the Grammy awards l‘rom l8 nominations. He was recently \‘Ulcd .\lT\”s best MC of all titne.
20 THE LIST .31 SUD—5‘ Oct 3096
8. Such is his l'rcestyling prowess (the ability to improyisc rhymes without written cues) that .l-Hoya claims his second album The Blueprint was written in only two day s.
9. A spectacularly l‘erocious ongoing lead with fellow .\'ew' York rapper .\'as lead to him dubbing his l‘reestylc How ‘smartcnupnas'. 'l‘he grudge which was borne ottt oyer scyeral .lay -/. releases was later put to rest at a guest-tastic
loye-in ol~ a track curiously billed 'l Declare \Var'. \tts is now signed to l)eli.lam.
10. :\ll lH—liillcd "Best Hi Hull] \thl'ltH. arena tottr with R Kelly ended abruptly with Kelly storming oil—stage mid—set and being pepper spray ed by one ol~ .lay --/.'s entourage. While [he
.liggaman questioned Kelly‘s prtil'essionalisin.
the Rtkli supremo trumped him with a \75 million lawsuit.
With on line touts becoming a real concern for punters and promoters alike we took a peep on eBay to find just what tickets you‘re really shelling out your hard earned cash for.
I eBay ticket price I Face value
George Iron Andrea Scissor Michael Maiden Bocelli
22 Nov 15 Dec 4 Oct 'Face name {TCC‘S from
19 Nov
\
Snow Sisters Patrol 16 Dec 31 Oct
H.551 bet/ll ultirnllit} u
ASIA'
Pink 24 Nov
Muse 7 Nov
Kasabian Paul 7 Dec Weller 25 Nov
Tom Jones