I have to confess, I have no idea why the Cuba trip by Jay-Z and Beyoncé caused such controversy. And I say that as a guy who lives in South Florida and is married to a Cuban woman.
Whatever your politics, and whatever your opinion on the Cuban embargo, who really cares if a rapper and pop icon pay a visit?
I suspect the outcry had everything to do with Jay-Z and Beyonce’s ties to Obama. It was yet another chance for Republicans to cause a distraction.
Clocking in at #5 on the Pazz & Jop poll is ‘Niggas in Paris’ from Watch the Throne, the much-anticipated collaboration between Jay-Z and Kanye West.
Everything I’ve read about this album suggests that these two are more out of touch than Mitt Romney with America in 2012. They rap about their wealth, their fame, their bling, their women — dick-grabbing egotism at its finest.
Perhaps it’s ironic? Does it even matter if it is?
The week ends, as all weeks should, with Beyoncé.
Well, more accurately, it ends with Jay-Z’s hit ‘Young Forever,’ which on his album The Blueprint 3 features accompanying vocals by Mr. Hudson. But why give more publicity to some limey flash in the pan when I have access to a video of Beyoncé singing in a hat and jean shorts?
If they would release a feature film consisting of nothing but footage of Beyoncé singing in a hat and jean shorts, Avatar‘s box office record would be short-lived and there would be absolutely no suspense come Oscar season.
So far as I know, the only song performed at the Hope For Haiti Now telethon that was written specifically for the event was ‘Stranded (Haiti Mon Amour).’ It also boasted the star-studded night’s star-studdiest lineup, with Jay-Z joined by Rihanna and U2’s Bono and The Edge.
Now there’s a collection of people I never would have guessed I’d see on the same stage. Rihanna and Jay-Z have been frequent collaborators, of course, but U2 has never been mistaken for a rap act (despite The Edge’s spoken-word vocal performance of ‘Numb‘).
Meet Me In Montauk 