Jay-Z And Smith Give Fela Kuti Musical a Boost

13 September 2009

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Jay-Z and Will Smith are among the investors in a new musical about the life of revered African world music star Fela Kuti.

The stars have given Bill T. Jones' Broadway production Fela a huge boost, a month before it's scheduled to hit the stage.

The original version of the musical opened off-Broadway last year (08) and starred Sahr Ngaujah, who will reprise his critically acclaimed role as Kuti.

Production on the rehearsals were halted recently due to financial concerns.

The album changed, but it (the iPod) had the entire album on itJay-Z

Elsewhere Jay-Z risked paying Def Jam Records $5 million (£3.3 million) for nothing when he agreed to buy the rights to his album the Blueprint 3 - because he had lost the only copy of the tracks the night before the crucial meeting.

The Big Pimpin' hitmaker bought himself out of his deal with the iconic label in May (09), handing over the large sum to win back full control of his new disc, which would have been his final contractual release on Def Jam.

But Jay-Z, real name Shawn Carter, reveals the agreement could have been worthless - as someone could have found his lost iPod full of the new music and leaked the songs straight away - rendering the song rights useless.

He explains, "The night before I went to the (Def Jam) office, I was on the plane. I was coming in from overseas and I lost my iPod.

"It has the whole album (on it) as it was. A kid could have downloaded this from the iPod, copied it onto a CD and put it everywhere the next day. So, on the way to the office the next day, I knew that potentially I could be buying nothing! "I don't know if it was smart or just ballsy, or fate, I don't know. I just went in there, did it strong and walked out."

The tracklisting for the Blueprint 3 has been altered since May (09), but Jay-Z admits a whole crop of previously unheard songs could hit the internet at any time.

He adds, "The album changed, but it (the iPod) had the entire album on it. So I don't know if this album is gonna leak tomorrow or the next day."

Jay-Z went on to release the Blueprint 3 this week (begs07Sep09) in a joint distribution deal between his new label Roc Nation and Atlantic Records.

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