Happy Birthday Jay-Z; How Hov Gives Back!

BCG would like to wish Jay-Z a very happy 43rd birthday! A few months ago, tons of blogs and media were questioning Jay-Z and his wife, pop star Beyonce’s, charitable contributions. One of the things, I take pride in with BCG is that we don’t gossip, it’s just not our style. With that said, we did do some true digging and we learned that in fact Jay-Z does give back and when he does, he does it big!

Jay-Z was the first star of our generation to really hip us to the water crisis taking place in African and truly all over the world. Dating back to 2006 at which time, Hov held a concert in New York city that raised over $250,000 for Water for People; that money built more than 30 water wells for clean water!

That same year he met with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan at the organization’s headquarters in New York. The rapper pledged to use his upcoming world tour to raise awareness of–and combat–global water shortage, which he did. He visited Africa and produced a documentary entitled Diary of Jay-Z: Water for Life (Check the Video).

Jay-Z pledged $1 million to the American Red Cross’ relief effort after Hurricane Katrina. Jay-Z and his Roc Nation label and management roster are stepping up for Hurricane Sandy too, artists including Kanye West and rumored Jay-Z himself are all set to perform on December 12th Madison Square Garden relift concert for Sandy. The benefit concert is slated to raise millions for those affected by Sandy.

You may not know this, but back in 2008 Jay-Z was honored at the United Nations Global Leadership Awards Gala for his work to bring clean water to the poor. In a statement to People Magazine he said: “Many charities, you close your eyes and cross your fingers and hope that the money gets to the people who really deserve it. “But with this, I got to go to Africa, see the water pumps. I got to see the kids turn them on.”

In May, Jay-Z announced the Budweiser Made In America festival which was held in Philadelphia during Labor Day Weekend 2012, the festival which he headlined, raised money for the United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey. In his most intimate performance in years, Shawn “JAY Z” Carter  headlined the first ever hip-hop focused series at Carnegie Hall, in the Stern Auditorium, raising millions for the United Way of New York City and the Shawn Carter Scholarship Foundation on February 6, 2012

“Obama on the text, y’all should be afraid of what I’m gonna do next.” ~ On to the Next One! Yes, yes we all know that Jay-Z was a big proponent for Obama, using his celebrity to give President Obama a boost in the polls and in his funds. In October, Jay-Z opened the doors to his 40/40 club for a $40,000 per plate fundraiser, raising over $4 million!

In 2011 Jay-Z hosted over 500 people at Pier 54 in New York where he held a fundraiser for the Shawn Carter Foundation, an organization that helps send underprivileged teenagers to school. BCG is proud to say that we published his scholarship in our Grants section and two of our readers were recipients of scholarships from the foundation!

“I think it’s important to be prepared for this era and what’s to come, and I also think it’s important to give a person an opportunity,” he told Access Hollywood at the time. “lf you work hard and you’re ready to put in the work [but] you can’t further your education because of, you know, money for whatever reason… that’s sad.”

Jay-Z and Beyonce were also the first couple to make a big donation to the Whitney Houston Memorial Foundation following her death in February, the couple donated $25,000.

BCG salutes Jay-Z for giving back; Happy Birthday Jay!