Jay-Z to play two benefit shows at New York's Carnegie Hall
Rapper, producer and entrepreneur Jay-Z is holding a pair of benefit concerts at Carnegie Hall in February to raise money for college scholarships and a United Way program aimed at reducing the dropout rate among New York City teenagers.
The concerts take place Feb. 6-7 and will mark the first time the Brooklyn-native has played the famed venue. Most tickets, which range in price from $500-$1,500, will be offered privately to philanthropists and wealthy fans, with a small number being reserved for sale to the general public on Jan. 30.
According to a recent New York Times blog post, Jay-Z -- who discovered and mentored singers such as Rihanna, Kanye West, and Ne-Yo -- has yet to decide whether or not to include guest artists at the shows.
Since 2002, Jay-Z (real name Shawn Carter) and his mother, have run the Shawn Carter Foundation, a charitable organization that provides college scholarships to over 120 new students from impoverished backgrounds. Until this year, the rap mogul financed the entire operation from his own pocket, but in September, the foundation held its first ever fund-raiser and collected over a million dollars. Jay-Z is hopeful that the February concerts will raise an even larger total for his foundation as well as the United Way.
6, 7 - New York, NY - Carnegie Hall
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