In case you missed it – Jay-z & Kanye West on a collaborative album – “King of Thrones” first video released is “Otis” directed by Spike Jonze. There is nothing more to say but enjoy!!!

I was not going to post this because I feel that I have been reading about this album online to the point of frustration already (feeling manipulated), as I recently discussed with Super Nova. If you do not know it by now – I am a Jay-z fan (there I said Marc R.) – Kanye  is cool but Jay is the one. This video is right because you get to glimpse the path they both have travelled from past to present, their recording styles and the bond that they share – remember Kanye chose Jay-z when he split from Damon Dash (???) – seems like he made the right decision. Lastly I heard that this video was hijacked and released, but it looks pretty official to me. Album to follow shortly they say – Enjoy.

O.W.N – stands for the newly launched Oprah Winfrey Network which debuted this New Years day. To call the launch of this network a success thus far is an understatement, with an audience of 1.2 million viewers on its first day - the power of the big O proved to be strong as OWN came in at the number 3 spot behind Espn and USA Networks. Now on to this post - Oprah has developed a show called the Master Class which will feature famous folks talking about themselves in an open honest way that I for one really enjoy. One of her first guest was Jay-z – talking about life, relationships, success, failure…the gammmit.  Check it out – see what you think. Nick B – this one is for you Sir. ENJOY!

I might not be gaga for Gaga, but Jay-z is the blueprint. In a collaboration with Absolut Vodka, Jay-z and director Danny Clinch make a very well shot documentary chronicling the days leading up to his Madison Square Gardens concert for the NYC Firefighters and the release of the BlueprintIII. 15 mins is a lifetime on a blog, but Jay says some very interesting things about his art, his passions and collaborations – also featuring John Mayer.

While the death or life of hip-hop is debated back and forth artist like Jay-z keep on making great music. Who would have thought that one of the hottest songs/albums of the year would have been recorded by a 40 year old rapper. Empire State of Mind tells the truth about New York, and if you have lived there for any amount of time you would understand. I read that Jay received the key to New York as a result of this song. Funny Jay-z  story - I wento his record release party for his first album in New York and he was wearing slacks and a beige mock turtleneck. Alicia Keys is the cherry on this sundae and cannot be forgotten when speaking of this record.