Rapper JAY-Z has axed the remainder of his U.S. tour, citing a "scheduling conflict".The 99 Problems hitmaker has been thrilling fans on his Blueprint 3 2009 nationwide tour, but he's been forced to pull out of the last three dates on the trek. The hip-hop star, who performed with Rihanna in London on Monday night (16Nov09), has canceled Tuesday's (17Nov09) show in Lubbock, Texas, as well as two later this week (ends22Nov09) in Albuquerque, New Mexico and El Paso, Texas. Tour promoter Live Nation put the cancellations down to an "unforeseen scheduling conflict." Ticketholders will be entitled to a refund. The star had previously rescheduled another November (09) show on the tour so he could make a live appearance at the 2009 American Music Awards this Sunday (22Nov09).

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JAY-Z has landed the gig of a lifetime - he'll perform New York anthem EMPIRE STATE OF MIND to kick-off baseball's World Series between his beloved Yankees and the Philadelphia Phillies.The song has been played at the Yankees Stadium during the team's play-off run and now Jay-Z will perform the track with Alicia Keys there on Wednesday (28Oct09). He says, "Thank the good Lord for making me a Yankee." Jay-Z, who namechecks the team in the song, admits he's thrilled the song has become an unofficial New York anthem. He adds, "It's about inspiration, it's about hope - I think that's what connects with people. The song connects outside of New York. Every night I play it, there's a monster response, no matter if we're in Providence (Rhode Island) or whenever."

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LIL MAMA hopes JAY-Z and ALICIA KEYS can forgive her for upstaging them at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards - because she's desperate to work with the superstars.The Shawty Get Loose hitmaker jumped on stage towards the end of the pair's performance of Empire State of Mind at the close of the New York prize giving last month (Sep09), and struck a pose with the duo after shrugging off Jay-Z's best efforts to shoo her away. Jay-Z later admitted he was angered by Lil Mama's interruption, stating, "Me, personally, I would never do that. I would never have the nerve to do that... to interrupt that moment for us, you know, I don't think that was the right thing to do." Lil Mama admits she has not personally contacted the stars to offer her apologies, but hopes they can work together in the future. She says, "I haven’t (contacted them), I have tried, I got management to reach out. I would like to speak to Jay-Z one-on-one, just to see how he felt. I would just love to apologies… It was neve...

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JAY-Z is continuing his reign as the King of Hip-Hop - he's been named the best rapper alive in a new poll by MTV.The Run This Town superstar, real name Shawn Carter, landed the top spot on the annual Hottest MCs in the Game countdown, beating Lil Wayne and his protege Drake into second and third place, respectively. The MTV accolade comes just three months after Jay-Z was placed at number one on Forbes magazine's Hip-Hop Cash Kings list with his past year earnings of $35 million - and that was before he made history with his new release The Blueprint 3. The disc debuted atop the Billboard albums chart last month (Sep09), giving Jay-Z his 11th chart-topper - surpassing Elvis Presley's record for most number one albums and only just behind The Beatles. Jay-Z's good pal Kanye West also scores highly on the new list, despite his notorious outburst at the recent MTV Video Music Awards, when he stormed the stage to protest Taylor Swift's win for Best Female Video. MTV's Hottest MCs in t...

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Hip-hop star JAY-Z stunned his pal CHRIS MARTIN on Friday (18Sep09) when he wrestled him to the ground after joining the rocker and his band COLDPLAY onstage during their London gig.Jay-Z, real name Shawn Carter, has been entertaining fans as the support act on Coldplay's current tour - but he had a surprise in store for Chris Martin when Coldplay performed at Wembley Stadium. According to reports, Jay-Z appeared on stage as Chris Martin was playing a song on the piano and embraced him in a bear hug before playfully tackling him to the floor. The friends rolled around on stage before Chris Martin managed to climb to his feet and resume his set. A source tells OK.co.uk, "It was a strange moment, Everyone went wild when Jay-Z joined the boys on stage but seeing him grab Chris away from the piano and on to the floor was a bit weird to say the least." But that wasn't the audience's only surprise - Star Trek actor Simon Pegg also joined Coldplay at their London gig and showed off his sk...

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JAY-Z has urged people to leave KANYE WEST alone following his outburst at this year's (09) MTV Video Music Awards, insisting the backlash isn't justified because "he didn't kill anybody".Kanye West has come under savage attack from stars and fans alike for storming the stage during Taylor Swift's Best Female Video acceptance speech last Sunday (13Sep09) to proclaim the prize belonged to Jay-Z's wife Beyonce. The Stronger hitmaker has since apologized both personally and publicly to the teenage country singer - but Jay-Z is stunned by how much media coverage and controversy his pal's behavior has garnered. The rap superstar admits it was "rude" of Kanye West and "inappropriate at the time" to rush the stage, but can understand why he was moved to do what he did. Jay-Z says, "Of course it was rude because it was her moment, but that's the way he really felt… I think it was rude, but the way they're treating him… "He's on the cover of every paper. He didn't kill anybody. No one got h...

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JAY-Z endeared himself to employees as president of Def Jam Records by treating them to drinking sessions every week.The Big Pimpin' hitmaker was in charge of the label for three years but stepped down in January 2008 after signing chart-topping acts such as Rihanna and Ne-Yo during his tenure. The hip-hop star, real name Shawn Carter, admits he was nervous about taking the reins at the company, so he started up a cocktail tradition to break the ice with his colleagues. He says, "It was strange having a nine to five job. The first day I had to be in the office was mind-boggling. I didn't really know what they expected from me. I was the first one in the office. People would see me and be like, 'Hey, erm, how you doing?' I don't think they got their heads around me being the boss, not the artist. "We had this thing called Bellini Fridays, that was my thing to keep the staff happy - a drink every Friday after work. If you ever want to smooth a situation out, alcohol works! I'm not pro...

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