Jay-Z will play a special concert in Washington, D.C., on January 19, the night before President-elect
Barack Obama's inauguration, it was announced Tuesday (January 6). Billed "In Concert on the
Eve of Change," the "intimate performance" will take place at the 1,847-capacity Warner Theater
and will feature Jay performing with his full band.
Tickets for the performance go on sale Friday at 10 a.m.
The rap icon has long been an Obama supporter. Jay, along with music executive Kevin Liles,
Mary J. Blige and Diddy penned, an open letter one month before the November election calling
for the hip-hop community to vote in support of Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden.
"Where it stands today, we are on the verge of making history, the kind of history that will be a part
of our culture's legacy," the letter reads. "The kind of history that bridges the gap between race,
religion and culture, the kind of history that will ignite a light that shines bright from generation
to generation, screaming that our voice does matter and our vote does count. The kind of history
that will enable the next generation of leaders to encourage vision, not division, to encourage hope,
not hopelessness, to encourage the power of the people, not the power politics of the few."
In addition, Jay took the opportunity throughout his and Blige's "Heart of the City" tour to praise
Obama while condemning the current administration. Video images of Obama would appear on a
screen behind the stage while Jay stopped mid-performance during "Blue Magic," as he got to
the lyric where he disses President Bush.
"Y'all ready for change, right?" he often said. "This concert isn't sponsored by Barack Obama or
nothing like that ... I'm just voicing my opinion as a citizen of America."Young Jeezy, T.I., and
Russell Simmons are among the other members of the hip-hop community who will celebrate Obama's
win. The aforementioned will appear at Simmons' Hip-Hop Summit Action Network's Inauguration Ball,
which is also scheduled to take place January 19 at the Harman Center for the Arts in Washington, D.C.
MTV.COM
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