Media Outrage » Alicia Keys

Jay-Z Performs At Carnegie Hall

Media Outrage — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 15:40:30 +0000

Jay-Z is all about breaking down those barriers and ascending to heights not yet realized in Hip-Hop. Although Wyclef was the first Hip-Hop artist to perform at Carnegie Hall, it’s still a big deal that Jay took over the place last night and performed “Glory” for the first time.

Watch for yourself

NEW YORK (AP) — As Jay-Z transitioned from hit song to hit song at a Carnegie Hall concert Monday night, so did the lighting, changing from red to white to blue.

The veteran rapper then performed his latest hit, “Glory,” about his 1-month-old daughter with Beyoncé, Blue Ivy Carter.

“I didn’t think I was going to make it through that one,” he said, sounding emotional. “That was tough.”

It was one of the many jams Jay-Z performed at New York’s famed venue, his latest achievement in music domination.

The rapper is the second hip-hop act to perform at Carnegie Hall. Wyclef Jean did so in 2001 with Stevie Wonder, Eric Clapton and Whitney Houston.

Jay-Z was joined by fellow New Yorkers Alicia Keys and Nas. He was backed by an orchestra of 30-plus and a band that included Questlove of The Roots and neo-soul singer Bilal. It was one of two shows for charity planned this week.

The Grammy-winning rapper, born Shawn Carter, started off in a black-and-white tuxedo, bowtie and black sunglasses, commanding the stage with confidence in a somewhat unfamiliar territory: The audience was mostly men in suits or tuxedos, and women in conservative dresses. About 2,800 people filled the hall.

Though some tickets were sold to the public, most were offered in a private sale, going from $500 to $2,500. The proceeds will benefit the United Way of New York City and the Shawn Carter Scholarship Foundation, which helps low-income students cover college costs. Students from Jay-Z’s foundation also attended the show.

Jay-Z, who released his debut album in 1996, performed more than two dozen hits including “Hard Knock Life,” ”99 Problems” and “Dirt Off Your Shoulder.” Classic New York anthems also entertained the audience. The orchestra played a medley of Billy Joel’s “New York State of Mind,” Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York” and Gil Scott-Heron’s “New York Is Killing Me.”

Changing into a black tux, Jay-Z performed “Empire State of Mind” with Keys, who wore similar attire. Nas followed with his song “N.Y. State of Mind.”

“Make some noise for the Giants,” yelled Jay-Z, giving a shout-out to the recent Super Bowl champions.

Jay-Z changed outfits once again, this time to a black T-shirt, black pants and a black cap. He traveled to the second floor and began to rap songs from the top of a chair.

He gave shout-outs to some of those missed in music, from the Notorious B.I.G. to Aaliyah to Don Cornelius. He also gave a shout-out to Liza Minnelli, who waved to the audience before Jay-Z hit the stage.

Alicia Keys, Swizzy, & Egypt Catch A Flight

Media Outrage — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 19:23:24 +0000

Alicia Keys, Swizz Beatz, and baby Egypt were down in Hawaii for a little family vacation and were spotted at the airport getting ready to catch a flight back. So nice to see this family going nice and strong and we really hope the Hollywood Divorce Demon doesn’t invade their warm talented home.

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Alicia Keys Hits Up The 2012 Producers Guild Awards

Media Outrage — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 14:29:53 +0000

Alicia Keys was in Beverly Hills rockin’ out at the 2012 Producers Guild Awards over the weekend in all black attire.

MO how does Swizzy’s wife look???

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Top Earning Women In Music: Guess How Much Bread Alicia Keys Made In 2010

Media Outrage — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 17:50:16 +0000

Not only is Alicia Keys fine as all got damn but she’s also plenty of paaaaaid! Forbes has released their annual list of the top earning women in music and Mrs. Keys/Beatz is definitely on the list.

Find out how much Alicia pulled in for 2010 when you

Alicia Keys gave birth to her first child in October 2010, but she barely skipped a beat in the year that followed. In 2011, the “Empire State of Mind” songstress co-directed a short film called Five, co-produced the Broadway debut of Stick Fly, grossed nearly $700,000 per night for a string of live concerts, and still was able to contribute time to Keep A Child Alive, the charity she co-founded.

“A lot of times, people make far more money than they could probably ever even think about what to do with,” she told FORBES this fall. “If you have the opportunity to be able to encourage someone to do something great for somebody else … I think that’s the right way to do business.”

Keys did plenty of business last year—$10 million in earnings, by our estimates—placing her among the ten highest-earning women in music. Yet she finished far behind this year’s Cash Queen.

That title belongs to Lady Gaga, who led the pack with a staggering $90 million total boosted by strong album sales, endorsements and an extremely lucrative world tour. Gaga’s total was more than the combined earnings of No. 2 Taylor Swift ($45 million) and No. 3 Katy Perry ($44 million), both of whom also benefited from heavy touring and popular albums.

The earnings estimates were compiled with the help of data from Pollstar, RIAA and others, as well as extensive interviews with industry insiders including lawyers, managers, concert promoters, agents and, in some cases, the musicians themselves. The totals encompass all pretax income earned from May 2010 to May 2011, before subtracting agent and manager fees.

Among the top ten earners, there were both newcomers and veterans. Soul sensation Adele pulled in $18 million—a number that only captures a few months of sales for her breakout album 21, making her a likely candidate to return to the top ten next year. Celine Dion may not be quite as popular as her British counterpart, but she banked $19 million on the strength of a wildly popular run in Las Vegas, where her nightly gross ticket sales exceeded $2.3 million.

Yet there remains something of a pay gap in music’s upper echelon. Just five of the women on this list were among the overall 25 highest paid musicians, a list that included 13 male solo acts and 7 bands (only one of those acts, The Black Eyed Peas, had a female member). The time demands of motherhood are commonly listed as a reason for the inequality, but according to entertainment attorney Lori Landew, there’s more to it than that.

“Women artists seem to be less likely to diversify their holdings and to build multi-tier enterprises to take advantage of their success and celebrity,” she says. “What remains unclear, however, is whether this is because these women have less of an entrepreneurial spirit than their male counterparts, which I doubt, or whether they are simply presented with fewer opportunities.”

Landew believes that male artists are approached more for such ventures, as well as movie roles and lucrative endorsement deals. The latter two options, she adds, become even more unattainable to female stars as they age, especially compared to men.

Still, bright spots abound.

“There are several notable exceptions,” she says. “One need only look at Oprah or Madonna to know that it doesn’t take a Y chromosome to be a successful entertainment visionary or entrepreneur.”

Another terrific example: The aforementioned Keys, who out-earned entrepreneurial super-producer husband Swizz Beatz by $3.5 million last year.

Mediaoutrage- Lady Gaga is killing the F’in Game right now!

Alicia Keys & Swizz Beatz Celebrate “Stick Fly” Opening Night

Media Outrage — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 17:40:22 +0000

Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz were on hand last night in NYC for the Broadway premiere of “Stick Fly” which is produced by Alicia Keys. Don’t they look oh-so-happy together? Always…

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Alicia Keys, Swizz Beatz & Russell Simmons

Media Outrage — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 17:30:15 +0000

Alicia Keys, Swizz Beatz and Russell Simmons attended the NYC launch of Lotus Cars last night. Swizz Beatz hosted the event. We must say that Alicia and Swizzy still seem to be burning hot for one another.

Your boy Carmelo Anthony was in the building as was Melyssa Ford…

Alicia Keys Brings Her Fine Ass To The “Keep A Child Alive” Documentary Private Screening

Media Outrage — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 17:50:21 +0000

Alicia Keys was looking nothing-but-fine last night at the Tribeca Grand Hotel in NYC during the “Keep A Child Alive With Alicia Keys” documentary private screening. Bono joined her for the festivities. All we see is beauty up top.

More of that when you

Alicia “Curly Haired” Keys Attends Broadway Cast Meet & Greet

Media Outrage — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 17:17:27 +0000

Alicia Keys and that stringy, curly hair of hers attended the “Stick Fly” Broadway Cast Meet & Greet last night at the Cort Theatre in New York. It’s rare that you’ll ever catch Mrs. Keys slippin’ and this time is no different. She still has that glow of happiness after all these years in the industry. So pretty.

More Alicia Keys y’all

Happily Coupled Up: Alicia Keys & Swizz Beatz Attend “Keep A Child Alive’s 8th Annual Black Ball”

Media Outrage — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 16:40:27 +0000

Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz looked happy-as-ever last night as she hosted the “Keep A Child Alive’s 8th Annual Black Ball” in NYC at the Hammerstein Ballroom. Alicia definitely has that glow and wonderfully thick thighs to go along…

Serena Williams, Carmelo Anthony, LaLa, Usher, Tyra Banks, Will.i.am and others were all in the building

Alicia Keys Visits The Professional Performing Arts School In NY

Media Outrage — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 17:44:28 +0000

Alicia Keys hit up the Professional Performing Arts School for Western Union’s “World Of Betters” program last night. That girl is nice and thick. Looking good Alicia!

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