This past Thursday at the University of Arizona, Jay-Z again branched out as he performed a live show with not only Kelly Clarkson, but also Third Eye Blind. Despite ‘retiring’ years back, Hova has still been involved in the music industry for brief cameo moments and Thursday night was more of the same.
 
While imagining the sight of Jay-Z and Clarkson on the same stage together may be somewhat peculiar, Jay-Z himself concedes he had his initial doubts. But when speaking with RapRadar.com via a personal blog after the show, much more is revealed.
 
“I thought that to be the oddest pairing EVER, but soon realized, it’s what I’ve always professed,” Jay Z claims. “There is NO such thing as BLACK music or WHITE music only GOOD or BAD music.”
 
Jay-Z claims that due to technical difficulties during the show, and the fact that he was having so much fun, he couldn’t really elaborate to the crowd how he felt but his true feelings were revealed later on.
 
“It’s stupid cool to like things that are not like you, and that goes for outside of music,” he wrote. “If you’re an African-American you can have a Jewish friend.”
 
While it’s refreshing to take in Jay-Z’s attitude towards today’s cultural boundaries, it still takes a while to envision him teaming up with Kelly Clarkson, but it is what it is. Jay-Z claims to have had a good time and at this point maybe we should appreciate the fact that one of the game’s biggest MC’s is still around doing something, even if it’s not what we expected from him.
 
Wanting to get some feedback from the fans, 24 Hour Hip Hop took a look at some choice forums on the net and gathered everyone’s thoughts on the Jay-Z-Kelly Clarkson pairing. In their own words, this is what the everyday public had to say…


 
(whoisthehottestrapper @ MTV.com)…
“This is a special time in music history, with record sales at an all time low, and pirating at an all time high, it makes sense to perform for more diverse crowds. The more diverse the crowd, the larger the draw, the larger the draw the bigger the profits.”

(Anonymous @ USMagazine.com)…
“I can have a Jewish friend? I didn’t know that. Thanks for clearing it up Mr. Knowles.”

(StarryIIS21 @ MTV.com)…
“stop hating on jayz…hes one of the better rappers of our generation…and hes still relevant…so i say good for him…don’t like 3rd eye whoever…but i fukks with kelly clarkson…”

(Boss63 @ SOHH.com)…
“Jay is right…sorta.. Funny thing is, now that he is sayin fuck all tha arguin and dividing, He isn’t real anymore… LOL.. What he should’ve been sayin is Fuck dem crackas!! Fuck dem honkeys! Marcy Sun! I’m from BK, I don’t fuck with whitey …I grew up thinkin that sooner or later, racism and hate would get old.. Guess i was wrong.”

(CraigMackk @ PopOnThePop.com)…
“Um, where has Jay-Z been? These concerts with a diverse group of artists from different genres have been occuring for years now. They’re called Wango Tango, Weenie Roast, Almost-Acoustic Christmas….”

(RapStar @ MTV.com)…
“Jay – Z is so far from the hood, he’s whiter than Asher Roth. He lives in the Hampton’s! His neighbors are Ashton Kutcher and Paris Hilton. Jigga sounds mad stupid.”

(Cute as Ever @ Yahoo.com)…
“Jigga is that dude!!! Regardless who he is paired up with he will kill it!!!”

(Anonymous @ MTV.com)…
“Not everyone sticks to just ONE type of music. I dig hip hop, Spanish, Indian (Punjabi style), meditational, jazz, blues, some rock and classical. Depends on my mood.(cant get into country. I like Loretta Lynne, but I’m not going out to buy a CD. and the Joas brothers YAAKK!!) I guess some people stick to only one, but you have to be open minded. Listen to everything. You never know what will move you. And liking a rap song doesn’t mean you have to like ALL rap, you don’t have to like all of any one type-a little of this, a little of that.”

(CeeDaKid @ 24HourHipHop.com)…
“Don’t really know what to think of Jay-Z teaming up with Kelly Clarkson. I guess at this point we will take a little bit of Jay-Z in whatever form we can, but hopefully he can channel that energy into the studio or somewhere else.”

(NeworleansH.C.born @ MTV.com)…
“ya that sounds like a weak show to me, not hatin on hova, but kelly clarkson and third eye blind…? thats funny 50 didn’t get this sort of cred for doin a tour wit fall out boy.”

(Jazzy G @ Yahoo.com)…
“i don’t think it’s even for the money with Jay Z but doing music with Kelly Clarkson is a bit of a stretch for me !”

(Tracie @ MTV.com)…
“I am soooo tired of Jay Z. He is old and OVA please go have some kids with Bey and stop showing your ugly face! Your time has passed. What are you performing at this concert anyway? That “Lighters Up” crap you performed at the Inaugural? Please spare us…the white tour doesn’t need u.”

(Anonymous @ USMagazine.com)…
“I remember back in the early 90’s when Mariah and Snoop Dogg were the unlikeliest artists to collaborate. Look what they had done now, they already had 2 songs together – one from Mariah’s 1999 Rainbow album and another one from 2005 “Mimi.” It’s never impossible for artists with different genre to be paired together.”

(DJones.1985 @ MTV.com)…
“I couldn’t agree more with HOV! That concert the other night was sick. I had never heard of The Veronicas or Third Eye Blind before they came to the UA and they killed it. Jay-Z and Kelly Clarkson were two awesome performers…you didn’t see color but you definitely heard real music. So don’t knock what he’s saying until you actually witness it for yourself!”

(Vyzion @ SOHH.com)…
“Wow…. Jay-Z went from the best rapper ever to a black cracka cuz he supports peace and unison? Cmon man…. i agree we got a long way to go to abolish racism… but it seems to be Blacks are the one holding it up nowadays. Real talk.”

(Eric Smith @ MTV.com)…
“I usually don’t boast on behalf of other people, but he could (in the most literal of senses) burn up half a million dollars just to see what it looks like, and still have enough dough left over to outright buy anyone talking mess about him previous to this comment, or in the rest of this thread…which may include people who are known, & jealous for sure. Granted it isn’t all about the money, but I question some of ya’lls definitions of success with a rhetorical grin. I’m out. It has all been said.”

(NivK @ SOHH.com)…
“I’m not getting into the internet drama, but I co-sign Jay’s statement. I like all different types of music, and sometimes they blend well. Sometimes they don’t. I think Uncle Murda and Taylor Swift would be terrible, but it sounds funny as hell. People have so much hate in their lives, and they sound like they need a hug. I respect everyone’s opinion. No matter how high above them, I may be. I guess hatred is what keeps most people going. It is pretty funny to watch, too.”