Jay-Z, fresh off of the release of his latest album, The Blueprint 3 [click to read], sat down with the Associated Press to discuss his new work.
“This album was actually supposed to come out last year, but for some reason it didn’t, and whatever happened and however we got to this place, we’re here now,” said Jay of the timing of his release. “So it just made sense for me to grasp the moment and make it a bigger thing because the first one wasn’t planned to come out on September 11, right? There was no ‘September 11.’ We didn’t know that that tragic event would happen that day. So now with that knowledge, we should never forget and we should always move past it and be strong but never forget.“
Jay-Z also discussed how working with Kanye West this time around differed from the experience on the first installement of the series in 2001, when West was a relative unknown. “The most interesting thing in the studio was Kanye because of Kayne‘s growth. You got to figure on the first Blueprint he was a new producer, so he was just putting in the beats and moving out the way. On this one, he had an opinion about how the songs should sound and it was just great energy that we had in the studio.”
Jay also touched on the topic of ticket scalpers via statement, criticizing them for mass purchases for his 9/11 charity concert. “We are truly disheartened that certain individuals would choose to benefit from what is meant to be a 100% charitable event,” read the statement. “We do not support any profits made from reselling any ticket that was meant to be purchased by honest fans.“
The tickets were purposefully set low at $54.50 so that fans could afford them regardless of economic status. “I couldn’t even get seats in the nosebleeds,” said Hov fan Maureen Brown, according to the New York Daily News.
In other news, the New Jersey Nets‘ Atlantic Yards arena desgin was unvieled yesterday (Sept. 9). The design for the arena, which is set to be built in Brooklyn, is somewhat triangular in shape and will hopefully be ready for the 2011-12 season, according ot the New York Post [click to read].
