Comments on: Jigga Should Just Say “F*ck Glastonbury”

By: The Rap Up » Jay-Z Goes in on Oasis at Glastonbury

The Rap Up » Jay-Z Goes in on Oasis at Glastonbury — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 23:12:16 +0000

[...] play-by-play of the show. One of the dudes from Oasis was talking greasy about Jay and people were blaming him for poor ticket sales, so Jay seized the opportunity at Glastonbury and dissed the sh*t out of Oasis. He then freestyled [...]

By: Rizoh

Rizoh — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 07:16:21 +0000

That’s a fair argument, but it doesn’t give hip-hop credit as the cultural force it’s been in the last 10 years or so.

Either way, this should be a true test of Jay’s crossover appeal.

By: Clyde Smith

Clyde Smith — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 23:45:35 +0000

Looking at the lineup and based on the response to date, I’d say Jay-Z was a poor choice for Glastonbury:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glastonbury_Festival_line-ups

There are barely any of the alternative hip hop acts that you see first showing up at such festivals. I only see one name I recognize for sure and that’s K’naan from a few years back.

Those act are what bridge the gap for a big rap act to get booked in following years at such festivals and that hasn’t happened at Glastonbury.

Rock Werchter is a good example of a rock/etc. festival that has had previous major rap bookings so it’s not directly comparative. Though it appears to counter my claim that you need the alternative acts coming through first, though Beastie Boys do have a serious rock fan base and are considered alternative.

Also, Jay-Z isn’t the crowning act of that festival.

It’s always a mistake to assume that anybody, no matter how much you dig them or how much they’ve accomplished, is of universal interest and can be just plopped down in a program without some consideration of the subcultural context.

By: Dan Love

Dan Love — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 16:42:18 +0000

2 key things:

1. Glastonbury usually sells out before the line-up is even released. People go for the festival experience, very few people would be put off by one act in amongst 100s.

2. Hasn’t a white, middle class audience been one of the core demographic for rap sales over the the last 2 decades?

By: J to the AAP

J to the AAP — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 07:23:01 +0000

Co-signing thedoctor here.
Jay-Z is also one of the headline artists on Rock Werchter, a major festival in Belgium that attracts people from all over Belgium and The Netherlands, just as big as Glastonbury in the UK. Far as I know, ticket sales for that one are going strong.

By: thedoctor

thedoctor — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 20:39:10 +0000

I agree - this whole argument is ridiculous: for a start, I saw PE and Ice Cube at Reading festival in the early 90s. They weren’t great shows, but no-one was hating then. I would blame the poor ticket sales on the other headliners: Kings of Leon aren’t as big as the Killers (last years headliners) and a re-formed Verve are equally not as likely to sell tickets as the Arctic Monkeys (again, last year). Jigga is the only reason to go this year (so far)

By: Ali

Ali — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 20:37:49 +0000

I think Jay-Z will stay in the event and knock their socks off. I’ve seen this dude live a few times and he’s the best in the business. This UK crowd will be floored, they’ll be asking for “Encore” and yelling “Hova, Hova, Hova” by the end of the set.

By: T2

T2 — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 20:23:40 +0000

They are trying to blame Jay-Z for the low sales when he is the first rapper ever to headline an event like this which is normally headed by pop/rock acts. I hope Hov doesnt pull out he has alot of support over here in UK who want to see him perform the last time he toured over here all his shows were sold out.It is only bcus this event is normally a pop/rock event that people who like rap wouldnt go to this type of event anyway and on the other side bcus a rapper is the headliner rock/pop fans are also not buying tickets. That was always going to happen when they tryed something different the organizers they messed up they have promoted it totally in the wrong way bcus there are alot of other acts on the list to perform.

I have argued in favour of Hov and pointed out to the hip hop haters that he is big in America these pop/rock they want to see instead have not achieved half the things Hov has achieved 10 straight #1 albums to tie him with Elvis with only the Beatles doing better with a record like that he deserves to headline any event including Glastonbury.

By: esbee

esbee — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 20:03:54 +0000

But the diff I think btw the rodeo here and their glastonbury festival is the rodeo is of course trying to reach ALL types of audiences with no shame in their game. Heck didn’t they have Hannah Montana or something one time? They always diversify their headliners but with that Glastonbury outfit, the argument is they’re specifically indie-rock and hence are more prone to snobbing anything else…

I was told other acts come in but don’t headline necessarily. Who knows what the heck it is? At this point am like Jay shouldn’t even bother or waste his time..but if they done paid him the money heh..lol.