NEW YORK (AP) — Jay Z is in a
global state of mind: The rap star performed Saturday for thousands in
New York's Central Park and encouraged the crowd to help end world
poverty.
Jay Z
headlined the Global Citizen Festival on the Great Lawn, where Beyonce
surprised the audience by performing with her husband.
He
told the crowd of 60,000 — many of whom earned free tickets by
volunteering — to support the Global Citizen Festival's effort to end
poverty by 2030.
"We out here for a good cause," he said onstage. "I want to thank everybody out here for this good movement."
Dressed
in all black, Jay Z wore a hoodie with the Global Citizen Festival's
logo and the names of other headliners, including Carrie Underwood, The
Roots, Alicia Keys, Tiesto, fun. and No Doubt, who brought out special
guest Sting to perform "Message In a Bottle," a crowd favorite.
Jay
Z's electrifying set opened with audio from Frank Sinatra's "New York,
New York" and Billy Joel's "New York State of Mind." The Brooklyn-born
rapper then went into his own New York anthem, "Empire State of Mind,"
and followed it with his rich catalog of hits, from "Big Pimpin" to
"Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" to "99 Problems."
He left the stage, but
moments later the crowd roared as Beyonce entered alongside her husband.
She sang the choruses from his songs "Holy Grail" — where she danced
excitedly — and "Forever Young" as the audience cheered and sang along.
The
concert marked another New York venue that Jay Z — hip-hop's most
powerful voice — has performed in. He has had numerous sold-out shows at
Madison Square Garden, where he held a Sept. 11 benefit show in 2009,
and he is one of a few rap acts to perform at Carnegie Hall. He opened
the Barclays Center in Brooklyn with eight consecutive shows in 2012.
No
Doubt's set included hits such as "Don't Speak" and "Hey Baby," while a
pregnant Underwood belted during "Before He Cheats" and "Jesus Take the
Wheel," where she was misty-eyed.
The
Global Citizen Festival coincides with the U.N. General Assembly
meeting. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and U.N. Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon were among the world leaders who attended in support of the
anti-poverty campaign.
Hugh Jackman hosted the third annual event,
which also featured Olivia Wilde and Jessica Alba and aired on MSNBC.
Stevie Wonder headlined the festival last year, and Neil Young and Foo
Fighters were among the lineup it its inaugural year.___
Online:
http://globalfestival.com
___
Follow Mesfin Fekadu at twitter.com/MusicMesfin
