Jay Z

'My life has got to be like this," says Leonardo DiCaprio, as Jay Gatsby, pointing his finger towards the sky. "It's got to keep going up," he adds, in Baz Luhrmann's version of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby , opening Friday. Those aspirational words are the first ones heard on the soundtrack to Luhrmann's ( Moulin Rouge! ) juiced-up take on the Jazz Age novel. And they serve as a prelude to the opening track, "100$ Bill," by Jay-Z, who helmed the star-studded Music From Baz Luhrmann's Film The Great Gatsby (Universal ***)

And so, it is finally upon us. The inaugural Budweiser Made in America festival, headlined and "curated" - the most overused word in pop culture these days - by Jay-Z will take over the Benjamin Franklin Parkway this weekend. It'll be the first-ever paid event on the city's museum-lined grand boulevard where free fireworks and music celebrations are held annually. With the most respected rapper in the game and grunge survivors Pearl Jam divvying up headliner duties, plus significant electronic dance music (EDM)

Several weeks back, when Jay-Z performed with break-dancing hoopsters on the steps of the Met for the MTV Video Music Awards, I thought Jigga had gone performance-art. The stage set up for Monday's sold-out Roc-A-Fella-label jam at the Electric Factory reinforced the thought. With a stocked bar, saloon stools occupied by Jay's peeps, and a DJ where a barkeep might be, the Lounge Tour production came across as a hip-hop talk show with Jay as intelligent, opinionated, humorous, boasting host.

For the final song before his encore, during his electric, 90-minute show at the Fillmore at the TLA on Monday, Jay-Z did "Big Pimpin'. " Or, rather, his audience did it for him. The 37-year-old rapper, mogul and boyfriend of Beyonc? is that rare MC who commands a room without raising his voice. In this instance he didn't even have to open his mouth. There were about a thousand souls packed into the South Street venue, making for a rare, intimate gathering for an arena-size act like the rhymer born Shawn Carter.

As Sean Carter, he's part of a triumvirate that owns an up-and-coming independent recording label with a newly signed major distribution deal with Def Jam. As Jay-Z, he's a rapper on the verge, weeks away from the release of his second album, "In My Lifetime, Vol. 1. " His first solo album, "Reasonable Doubt," was a critical and commercial success, spawning the hit single, "Don't Knock the Hustle. " But it would be the smash hit "Ain't No Ni--a" from the "Nutty Professor" soundtrack that would propel him and newcomer Foxy Brown into hip-hop's stratosphere.

IT'S OFFICIALLY official, even if neither she nor he is talking. A signed wedding license bearing the names of Beyonce Knowles and Jay-Z (aka Shawn Carter) has made its way to the Scarsdale, N.Y., town clerk, confirming that the pair did indeed wed April 4. The license came in last Friday's mail, said Scarsdale Clerk Donna Conkling. It also was signed by the person who officiated at the ceremony - but nobody's saying who that was. There was a celebrity-studded party at Jay-Z's apartment in Manhattan April 4, with guests including Gwyneth Paltrow and Beyonce's former Destiny's Child bandmates Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams.

It's been centuries since a birth has caused as much hubbub - and collective cooing - as the emergence Saturday of Beyoncé and Jay-Z 's first child, Blue Ivy Carter . Gossip semioticians are working nonstop to determine the origin and meaning of the girl's name. Dietitians discuss how she'd get the right nutrients and antibodies. As for dad, he's been inspired to heights of rapturous versifying. "You're my child of a child from Destiny's Child," he sings in "Glory," a song he posted on his site.

If you're an amazing athlete, musician or artist, staying in school may not help you with your career. But most people aren't one-in-a-million talents. They need an education. Jay-Z gets that. So even though he didn't graduate high school, he's not recommending that as a path to wealth and fame. Beyonce 's husband announced yesterday that he will perform two shows at Carnegie Hall in February to benefit the Shawn Carter Scholarship Foundation and the United Way of NYC. "Education is super important," he said.

Coldplay will release an eight-song EP next month, "Prospekt's March," that will include a new version of the song "Lost" featuring rapper Jay-Z. Six of the eight tracks on the EP are new studio recordings, including "Glass of Water," which the band has lately been performing live. The track list is rounded out by the Jay-Z version of "Lost" and the Osaka Sun remix of "Lovers in Japan. " Coldplay will begin a North American tour later this month in support of its latest album, "Viva la Vida or Death and all his Friends.

AT MONDAY'S news conference announcing Jay-Z's Budweiser music festival, a fan shouted out, "You're the best, Hov!" "I agree," he said. I don't. Not to sound like an old fogy, but hits of his such as "99 Problems" may be catchy, but I can't get with all the b-words and other misogynistic lyrics in Jay-Z's music. It felt bizarre to me to see the performer of such awful songs as "Big Pimpin'" and "Girls, Girls, Girls" standing with Mayor Nutter acting like some kind of hero.

'My life has got to be like this," says Leonardo DiCaprio, as Jay Gatsby, pointing his finger towards the sky. "It's got to keep going up," he adds, in Baz Luhrmann's version of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby , opening Friday. Those aspirational words are the first ones heard on the soundtrack to Luhrmann's ( Moulin Rouge! ) juiced-up take on the Jazz Age novel. And they serve as a prelude to the opening track, "100$ Bill," by Jay-Z, who helmed the star-studded Music From Baz Luhrmann's Film The Great Gatsby (Universal ***)

THEY'RE Havana party . . . Beyonce and Jay-Z caused a big stir in the Cuban capital Thursday as they marked their fifth wedding anniversary. R&B's power couple was mobbed by dozens of well-wishers at the renowned restaurant La Guarida on Wednesday night, where they dined on typical Cuban creole favorites - fish, chicken, black beans and rice. They were accompanied by their mothers. Awww . . . Their bodyguards' presence outside the restaurant set the neighborhood of Center Havana abuzz, and a crowd gathered downstairs shouting Beyonce's name until she went to a balcony and waved.

April Fools' Day was Monday, right? New York Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano fired agent Scott Boras and signed with rapper Jay-Z's company Roc Nation on Tuesday. Cano is in the final year of a six-year, $57 million contract and reportedly declined a sizable extension in February. Yankees fan Jay-Z is planning to become a certified agent who will push athletes' crossover marketing interests. But will he shop Cano outside the Big Apple? Cano, 30, hit .313 with 33 home runs last season.

LOOKS LIKE Robinson Cano might be staying with the Yankees after this season. The All-Star second baseman fired his agent, Scott Boras, Tuesday and became the first athlete to sign with Roc National Sports, an agency founded by rapper Jay-Z. Robinson becomes a free agent at the end of the season. And, since Jay-Z is a huge Yankees fan, there is already some talk that he'll work on getting Cano an extension. Boras, on the other hand, almost always likes to test the free-agency waters so chances were slim that Cano, who'll make $15 million this season, would remain in New York.

Oprah Winfrey , 59, and history's youngest best-actress Oscar nominee, Quvenzhane Wallis , who is half a century her junior, were two of the honorees at Essence magazine's sixth annual Black Women in Hollywood awards Thursday at the Beverly Hills Hotel. Wallis, 9, needed a step to reach the microphone for her acceptance speech after winning the Breakthrough Performance award for Beasts of the Southern Wild . She thanked God, director Benh Zeitlin , and "my babysitter that was on set. " Oprah was introduced by the graduating class of her Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa.

NASHVILLE - The Grammy Awards celebrated the diversity of music as six different artists tied for top nominee - Kanye West, Jay-Z, Frank Ocean, Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys, Mumford & Sons, and fun., all with six nominations. Auerbach received five nominations as a member of the Keys and also is up for producer of the year, earning a spot with the others at the top of the list as the Grammys' prime-time television special came to his hometown Wednesday night. The rockers little resemble any of the other acts at the top of the list.

NEW YORK - Madison Square Garden will hold a special concert next month to benefit those affected by Hurricane Sandy. No performers have been announced for the Dec. 12 event, dubbed "12-12-12. " In a news release Thursday, Madison Square Garden said more details would be available in the coming days. Proceeds will benefit those affected by Sandy in the New York-New Jersey-Connecticut area through the Robin Hood Relief Fund. The event is being produced by those behind the 9/11 benefit "The Concert for New York City," which featured Paul McCartney, Jay-Z, The Who and Elton John.

NEW YORK - Brooklyn used to be just a place, one of New York's five boroughs. But in the last few years it has also become a meme, shorthand for conveying all that it means to be young, urban, and hip in today's America. It is no accident that the hit TV show Girls , the Sex and the City of the hipster generation, is set in the Greenpoint section. Or that Brooklyn-themed caps and T-shirts are edging out the Yankees merch on the shelves of sporting goods stores far from the shores of Coney Island.

Jay-Z for mayor Jay-Z, please run for mayor of Philadelphia ("A party of thousands," Sunday). You put together something awesome - a truly enjoyable weekend. All my friends and neighbors predicted disaster, but I was excited. You pulled it off beautifully and Philly stepped up. Jay-Z and Pearl Jam, this is the city that loves you back. Cynthia Line, Philadelphia Closed streets, trash, and noise Mayor Nutter was on the news talking about how great the Made in America concert on the Parkway was. He did not bother to ask Fairmount residents what we thought.

The first Budweiser Made in America festival came to a rocked-out, rousing conclusion Sunday night as Seattle grunge survivors Pearl Jam closed out a two-day festival that successfully transformed the Benjamin Franklin Parkway into a comfortably spacious multistage music venue - a feat organizers say they plan to repeat in years to come. On the second day of what festival curator and guiding light Jay-Z promised would be an annual event, the skies were gray and drizzly and the musical lineup was recalibrated.