Jay Z Confirms Barneys Deal Is Still On After Racial Profiling Claims—and Now His Foundation Gets All Sale Proceeds

Jay Z is still planning on taking Barneys' Benjamins. The rapper and businessman announced today that he is moving forward with the launch of his BNY SCC line for Barneys New York amid an investigation into claims that the high-end department store engaged in racial profiling and needlessly called law enforcement on two black customers who were just going about their shopping business. And while he's drawn heat from critics who said that he was in a perfect posititon to take a stand against the company, Beyoncé hubby insists that walking away would have been the easy thing to do. In a statement posted to his Life and Times website, the Magna Carta Holy Grail artist says that he was privy to information compiled by a third-party inquiry and, while he does not yet know the outcome of the New York State Attorney General's investigation into the incidents, he feels that he is in a "unique position" to flex his muscle with the company because he now has a leadership role on a council "specifically convened to deal with the issue of racial profiling." "I am in a unique position to use my voice to affect change to this disturbing issue," Jay Z stated. "The easy position would have been to walk away and leave policy making to others hoping that someone addresses the problem. I will not leave the outcome to others. I will take this into my own hands with full power to recommend, review and revise policies and guidelines moving forward. I am choosing to take this head on." Not to mention, his Shawn Carter Foundation, which originally was going to receive 25 percent of sales of the BNY SCC merchandise, is now going to get 100 percent. And if you're a Jay Z supporter, go shopping on Nov. 20, when his collection launches, because on that day Barneys is going to give 10 percent of all retail sales from Barneys.com and stores nationwide to his foundation. Now that's showing some leadership.

Source: http://www.eonline.com/news/481914/jay-z-confirms-barneys-deal-is-still-on-after-racial-profiling-claims-and-now-his-foundation-gets-all-sale-proceeds

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Beyoncé and Jay Z Top Vanity Fair's List of Power Players, but Are They Really the Most Powerful Couple?

Vanity Fair recently released its annual ranking of "The New Establishment," a list of "25 members of the power elite...[who] are not going anywhere soon" that includes politicians and CEOs, designers and Hollywood execs. But the No. 1 spot belongs to Beyoncé and Jay Z, up from No. 8 last year. Are '03 Bonnie and Clyde really the most powerful couple? To answer that, we must look at the very definition of power itself: Kanye West defines "Power" as, "At the end of the day, god damn it I'm killing this s--t / 
I know damn well y'all feeling this s--t." Let's break it down further. "I'm living in that 21st century, doing something mean to it / Do it better than anybody you ever seen do it." Jay-Z, Beyonce Getty Images She has a record-breaking 17 Grammy Awards. He has 17 as well. Two of which were for their "Crazy in Love" collaboration. Which brings the total to: 34. Do it better? Yep. Where do they have room for that many golden gramophones? Beyonce GIF "Screams from the haters, got a nice ring to it." Beyonce GIF Haters (you, you, you, you and you in the comments) can sit down and politely STFU. Any questions? NEWS: Beyoncé and Jay Z top Forbes' highest-earning celeb couples list "Huh? Motherf--ker we rolling
/ With some light-skinned girls and some Kelly Rowlands." Beyonce GIF Kelly Rowlands?! They got the original! (Michelle Williams need not apply.) "My furs is Mongolian, my ice brought the goalies in /
 And I embody every characteristic of the egotistic / 
He knows, he's so f--king gifted." Beyonce GIF Upgrade: The tuxes is Tom Ford and the ice is hanging on the neck of "the hottest chick in the game" (aka the modern day Mona Lisa with better features aka his "wife that f--ks him like a prostitute"). As for "f--king gifted," see point No. 1. "I just needed time alone with my own thoughts
 / Got treasures in my mind but couldn't open up my own vault." Beyonce GIF The former, in this case, could refer to the fact that Beyoncé headlined the Super Bowl not to mention a world wide tour and—uh oh!—still hasn't put out a new album. Because she's taking her time to make it perfect (PUT OUT A NEW ALBUM ALREADY, BEY). The vault in the latter could refer to "the official Beyoncé archive, a temperature-controlled digital-storage facility that contains virtually every existing photograph of her, every interview she's ever done, every video of every show she's ever performed, every diary entry she's ever recorded while looking into the unblinking eye of her laptop." That vault. "Colin Powell, Austin Powers /
 Lost in translation with a whole f--king nation." Beyonce GIF Uh, we don't know about all that lost in translation business (Bey and Jay are international—they even got into Cuba), but Beyoncé was in Austin Powers in Goldmember? Close enough? Beyonce GIF Let's wrap this up. "Where the bad bitches, huh? Where you hiding?
 I got the power to make your life so exciting." Beyonce Birthy GIF Oh! Here she is. Life = exciting. Conclusion: Yes, they are the most powerful couple. Kanye said so. Beyonce GIF 'Ye does warns, "No one man should have all that power." So it's a good thing that man splits it with Queen B.

Source: http://www.eonline.com/news/468086/beyonce-and-jay-z-top-vanity-fair-s-list-of-power-players-but-are-they-really-the-most-powerful-couple

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Beyoncé's Mediterranean B-Day Bash Continues With Hubby Jay Z and Blue Ivy

Beyoncé's 32nd B-Day celebrations continue! Yes, she's on a boat, extravagantly yachting her way through the Mediterranean with hubby Jay Z and bundle of joy Blue Ivy. And looking damned fine doing it, we must say. Although the mean old internet did get its meme on at the expense of the hip-hop mogul's diving prowess, or lack thereof, with meme-Jay's questionable form going all wrestlemaia and jumping into Miguel's fan kick and in general going for the gold. Etc., etc., etc. We're having some funnies, but not gonna lie: It sure looks like they're having the better time. After starting the yacht party in Spain on Wednesday, the happy family and some friends are currently cruising Italy, soaking up the sun and fun. But traveling in style can be a tad bit pricy. The type of triple-decker Galactica Star yacht favored by Bey and family on this trip would set the music star couple back more than $350,000 a week, the owner of SuperYachtFan.com tells E! News. Our yacht expert estimates the purchase price of the brand-new Galactica Star to have been around $50 million, noting that the boat isn't listed among charter companies as an acquirable rental, so Beyoncé and Jay-Z likely pulled some insider strings to gain access. PHOTOS: Beyonce's hottest looks We're told this particular yacht is "super fast" and boasts a helicopter "touch and go" landing pad, a two-deck beach club, a sauna and a glass-bottom pool on the main deck. It's got to be hard to return to the mainland after living on that for a few days, right? Congrats again to the B-Day girl!

Source: http://www.eonline.com/news/456461/beyonce-s-mediterranean-b-day-bash-continues-with-hubby-jay-z-and-blue-ivy

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Jay Z Debuts Picasso Baby: A Performance Art Film—Watch Now!

Remember that time Jay Z rapped his track "Picasso Baby" at a New York art gallery for six hours straight? Well, that was for a reason. Yes, Hova contributed some epic performance art and became yet another musician to go out-of-the-box when it came to marketing, but the motive behind the stunt was to ultimately make a short film and music video hybrid. Picasso Baby: A Performance Art Film debuted on HBO on Friday (but no worries if you missed it—just watch the video up top!). "The truth is, as far as hip-hop and arts, we were like cousins," Jay Z said during an appearance on Real Time With Bill Maher before the broadcast. "If you think about those days when Fab Five Freddy was with Madonna and Basquiat and everything. We all went to those clubs, that's when hip-hop was more underground. The arts and hip-hop really partied together. But when art started becoming part of the gallery, it was this separation. But we pretty much came up together." The nearly 11-minute long, Mark Romanek-directed video centers around the rapper's marathon performance, which shows Jay's interactions with local guests and celebs, including Marina Abramović, Judd Apatow, Fab Five Freddy, Cynthia Rowley, Wale, Michael K. Williams, Adam Driver, Dustin Yellin and actual Picasso baby Diana Widmaier Picasso. No word on whether Jay finally got a Picasso of his own.

Source: http://www.eonline.com/news/445653/jay-z-debuts-picasso-baby-a-performance-art-film-watch-now

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JAY Z and Justin Timberlake Dedicate "Forever Young" to Trayvon Martin at Concert

They don't call this the Legends of the Summer tour for nothing. JAY Z and Justin Timberlake rocked the first of their sold-out shows, taking over Yankee Stadium in New York City Friday night and paying tribute to Trayvon Martin while they were at it. The "Suit & Tie" duo saved the last song of their concert for the tribute, with JAY Z and Timberlake performing a rendition of "Forever Young" in honor of the late teen. "This is for Trayvon, so light up your cell phones New York!," JAY Z yelled, with Timberlake adding, "One more time for Trayvon New York!" In addition to their tribute, the pair brought along a couple of surprise performers, with Alicia Keys popping up during JAY Z's performance of "Empire State of Mind," and Timbaland hitting the stage for Timberlake's "SexyBack." And after the show was the after party. JAY Z, Beyoncé, Neyo, Meek Mill, and Fabolous all arrived at about 1:30 a.m. to the rap star's 40/40 club in New York City, with the crew sipping JAY Z signature tour cocktails courtesy of D'Ussé Cognac at their VIP table to celebrate JAY Z's first stop on his U.S. tour, a source told E! News exclusively. Beyoncé was dressed very casual at the club, rocking curly hair, and sporting a button down long sleeve shirt with shorts and Christian Louboutin stilettos. The husband-and-wife duo was spotted grabbing some food before the night was done, and Beyoncé got her groove on throughout the night, dancing with friends.

Source: http://www.eonline.com/news/440990/jay-z-and-justin-timberlake-dedicate-forever-young-to-trayvon-martin-at-concert

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Beyoncé Posts Photo of Jay-Z As a Kid After Rapper's Album Goes Platinum

Beyoncé is giving props to her man. On the day his latest album Magna Carta Holy Grail was released to the public, Jay-Z was presented with a platinum plaque for selling a million copies. So, to properly congratulate her beau on his big accomplishment, Bey went to Instagram and told everyone to—yep, you guessed it—bow down. Queen B posted a throwback photo of Hova (an adorable school graduation photo, to be exact) and wrote the famous line from her recent track along with the caption, "Platinum #MagnaCarta." Jay stayed true to his #newrules slogan after selling a million records to Samsung in an unprecedented deal that forced the Recording Industry Association of America to rewrite their own rules, now counting digital album sales. The RIAA posted a photo of Executive VP of Communications Jonathan Lamy, Executive VP Mitch Glazer and Director of Communications for the Gold & Platinum Program Liz Kennedy presenting Hova with his plaque on their Facebook, making this his 12th platinum album. However, Billboard was not on the same page when it came to counting Jay's million copies sold to Samsung, and the magazine's editorial director, Bill Werde, explained why. "Our role as the chart of record is to set the rules, and hopefully even raise the level of play. It is in this spirit that I say it wasn't as simple as you might think to turn down Jay-Z when he requested that we count the million albums that Samsung 'bought' as part of a much larger brand partnership, to give away to Samsung customers. "True, nothing was actually for sale—Samsung users will download a Jay-branded app for free and get the album for free a few days later after engaging with some Jay-Z content. The passionate and articulate argument by Jay's team that something was for sale and Samsung bought it also doesn't mesh with precedent." But, Billboard will definitely still be monitoring his album sales and say they anticipate large numbers for his latest release. "I've been told that label sources expect first-week sales of the album to be in line with the 400,000-450,000 his recent albums have shifted. That will almost certainly give Jay his lucky 13th No. 1 on the Billboard 200." Guess we'll be bowing down again soon.

Source: http://www.eonline.com/news/437634/beyonce-posts-photo-of-jay-z-as-a-kid-after-rapper-s-album-goes-platinum

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Beyoncé Celebrates Fourth of July in Stars and Stripes With Jay-Z and Blue Ivy

Sasha Fierce, indeed. Beyoncé kicked off the Fourth of July with a bang, celebrating Independence Day in patriotic shorts, a white tank top and red cat-rimmed shades. In photos the superstar crooner posted Friday on her Tumblr, Beyoncé strikes a hot pose, barefoot, in front of a baby blue Rolls Royce. The "Love on Top" singer also revealed other glimpses of how she and hubby Jay-Z spent the holiday, posting a picture of the hip-hop icon driving the car, and another photo of herself walking away from a helicopter as Jay-Z toted their daughter Blue Ivy in the background. And what did the family feast on for the Fourth? Slices of watermelon, corn on the cob and lobster tails, among other things, according to the photos on the "Love on Top" singer's site.

Source: http://www.eonline.com/news/436833/beyonce-celebrates-fourth-of-july-in-stars-and-stripes-with-jay-z-and-blue-ivy

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Jay-Z Chokes Up Discussing "the Paranoia of Not Being a Great Dad" to Blue Ivy—Watch Now!

The multiple commercials currently airing to promote Jay-Z's upcoming album Magna Carta Holy Grail (which drops July 4 for Samsung Galaxy users and July 7 for everyone else) continue to peak fans' interest in what musical creation Hov will release next, but his latest ad also took a tug at our heart. Instead of just focusing on the music and giving snippets of beats produced by Timbaland like in other clips, the iconic rapper opened up about being a father and the fears that come with it (which does promote a song on the new release, but still). Hov spoke about his baby girl Blue Ivy, telling Rick Rubin that she's "something that we [he and Beyoncé] both created, you know, we still marvel at her." He continued to say, "It's most obvious on the song 'Jay Z Blue.' And it deals with—you know, my pop left when I was young, so he didn't teach me how to be a man nor how to raise a child or treat a woman. So, of course, my karma, the two things I needed I don't have, right?" A choked up Jay-Z then states, "And I have a daughter. It's the paranoia of not being a great dad." Need a tissue? Meanwhile, the album art for Magna Carta Holy Grail was recently released, and it's just what you would expect from the rapper—complete simplicity. There's a little more design to it than his BFF Kanye West's latest release Yeezus, but all Jay-Z chose to do was have a white background with the album title's initials in black along with a cross. As if that wasn't enough, the track list was also revealed, confirming collaborations with Rick Ross, Frank Ocean, Justin Timberlake and his girl, Bey. Rubin, who is featured in many of the ads (including the one up top) did not work with Jay on this album. So why is he in the commercials, you ask? Good question. Rubin spoke to XXL and explained that he was invited to the studio as an observer and listener. "The point of me being in the commercials was that he was filming a documentary and he asked me to come listen to the songs with him and just talk about the songs. Just listen to it and talk about it, and that's what we did," he said, "It was fun." Clearly, the above clip proves he was doing what was asked of him. Here's the track list for Magna Carta Holy Grail, which will be released to the general public on Sunday: "Picasso Baby" "Heaven" "Versus" "Tom Ford" "Beach Is Better" "F--kWithMeYouKnowIGotIt" (Feat. Rick Ross) "Oceans" (Feat. Frank Ocean) "F.U.T.W." "Part II (On The Run)" (Feat. Beyoncé) "BBC" "La Familia" "Jay Z Blue" "Nickles & Dimes" "Holy Grail" (feat. Justin Timberlake) "Open Letter"

Source: http://www.eonline.com/news/436080/jay-z-gets-chokes-up-discussing-the-paranoia-of-not-being-a-great-dad-to-blue-ivy-watch-now

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Beyoncé and Jay-Z: How They Scored a Trip to Controversial Cuba

Actually, you don't have to have four No. 1 albums and the most famous baby in the world to celebrate your wedding anniversary in Cuba these days. Yep, the place still has a repressive Marxist-Leninist regime. Yep, travel there is still pretty restricted. But not totally restricted. Here's what we know: The couple traveled to the controversial country this week to celebrate five years of ridiculously wealthy marital bliss. Many details of the trip are sketchy, but we know that Beyoncé wore a lot of prints; had her hair piled on her head; posed for photos with Cuban kids; and was greeted by a mob of adoring fans that had to be watched closely by local cops. The U.S. restricts many forms of American travel to Cuba. But not as much as it used to. There's a good chance that the Carter visit was on the up-and-up. In fact, there are even travel agencies out there, legit ones, that sell leisure packages. (Got $3,000 handy? You can spend nine days in Cuba and even see an "authentic Rumba block party.") The catch? The trip has to fall into a serious-sounding category that doesn't make Uncle Sam nervous: a "cultural exchange," a contribution to "humanitarian efforts" for less-fortunate people in Cuba, a "person-to-person" outreach effort with everyday Havana folk, that kind of thing. No schmoozing with uppity-ups in the Cuban government, no shopping sprees that involve importing millions of dollars in Cuban cigars. Just eating out at restaurants and rubbing shoulders with locals, or, in Beyoncé's case, fans. Exactly what kind of category was used to get Bey and Jay over to Cuba? Not clear at this hour. A local Cuban media outlet called it a "tourist trip." But given that these folks are, at their core, artists, would a "cultural exchange" visit surprise you?

source: http://www.eonline.com/news/405468/beyonc-and-jay-z-how-they-scored-a-trip-to-controversial-cuba

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