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Just hours after Jay-Z joined U2 onstage in Berlin at the MTV European Music Awards, Jigga announced dates for the second leg of his Blueprint 3 tour. Jay-Z still has four more shows left on his run on college campuses in November, but he’ll return to the road in 2010 starting February 22nd in Houston, Texas.

If you’re looking at the tour dates and wondering where’s all the New York love from the “Empire State of Mind” rapper — even though Jay has performed at Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall, a tiny DJ Hero concert and Yankee Stadium in the past few months — don’t fret: Information about shows in Uniondale, New York and neighboring East Rutherford, New Jersey will be announced soon, as will dates for concerts in Atlantic City, New Jersey and Detroit, Michigan.

Speaking of “Empire State of Mind,” MTV reports that Jay-Z will contribute a new verse for “Part 2″ of his and Alicia Keys’ BP3 smash, with the new version featuring own Keys’ upcoming album The Element of Freedom, out in December. (more…)

Jay-Z’s Blueprint 3 single “Empire State of Mind” is inescapable in New York, blaring from car stereos and even Yankee Stadium, where the hometown hero performed the track with Alicia Keys last week. Now the pair have debuted the video for their NYC love letter on MySpace Music. The clip was filmed in early October at several landmark sites around Manhattan, notably Harlem, Times Square and Ground Zero.

Music video vet Hype Williams directed the video, with an obvious nod to black-and-white films like Woody Allen’s Manhattan and Jules Dassin’s Naked City, two films that perhaps best photographed and documented New York City. The “Empire State of Mind” video goes full color in its final minute to capture the full awe of Keys performing in Times Square and the Manhattan skyline. For a little bonus fun while you watch, check out this Google map tracking the locations Jay rhymes about, from State Street to Tribeca. (more…)

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“My nephews ain’t beat me their whole entire life — until now,” said Jay-Z, clad in his trademark Yankee cap and shades yesterday, demonstrating for a small press roundtable that he could be just as competitive with gaming as he is with MCing. “I would never let them win because that meant they controlled the household, so I would just beat them mercilessly. Suck it up, kid!”

The rapper and longtime gamer is throwing his name behind the deluxe “Renegade Edition” of DJ Hero, the long-awaited DJ simulation rhythm game coming in the wake of the ultra-successful Guitar Hero franchise. Beyond the Jay-Z co-sign and some consulting work, the Renegade Edition comes with a 2-CD set featuring a smattering of his greatest hits on one disc and some of Eminem’s on the other (as well as a stand and carrying case). Jay-Z seemed appropriately amped about the in-game blend of Em’s “My Name Is” and his own “Izzo (H.O.V.A.),” which he described as clever and his favorite in the soundtrack. When asked about his favorite song that wasn’t his own, he joked, “Does such a song exist?”

Check out rock-star game avatars from Kurt Cobain to Daft Punk. (more…)

DJ Hero has announced its massive 93-song in-game track list — which boasts Beastie Boys blended with Foo Fighters and 50 Cent vs. David Bowie — and now Rolling Stone can exclusively reveal the track lists for Eminem and Jay-Z’s Renegade compilations that will accompany the DJ Hero Renegade Edition of the game (the Renegade comps aren’t playable tracks, but best-of CDs).

Jay-Z’s Renegade collection is the first best-of comp of Jigga’s career — though there’s reportedly talk of another coming in November — so Jay-Z sticks to the hits. Eminem, however, opts for deeper cuts and rarities from his arsenal, including a brand new song called “Taking My Ball” that will feature exclusively on the DJ Hero Renegade disc. Both rappers hand-selected their respective track lists.

“The tracks we put on this disc are mostly overlooked or rarer favorites of mine from all different parts of my career,” Eminem said. “I also put a brand new, unheard song on there so even the biggest fan has something new.” (more…)

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Earlier this week, Rolling Stone received a press release about a new Jay-Z song called “Crispy Benjamins,” featuring a sample of Regina Spektor’s “Chemo Limo.” The announcement seemed official, yet somewhat dubious: The song was to be released in “late 2009,” but this announcement came less than three weeks after The Blueprint 3 dropped, and the three months left in 2009 seemed too soon for a BP3 reissue. According to MTV, however, “Crispy Benjamins” may be destined for an upcoming Jigga greatest hits collection that might be released on November 24th.

However, Jay-Z’s old label Def Jam is supposedly releasing the greatest hits collection, the third in the rapper’s career, but “Crispy Benjamins” was recorded for Atlantic’s BP3, so it remains unclear if Def Jam would even have access to the track, which falls under Jay’s RocNation umbrella. The plot thickens. (more…)

Music power couple Jay-Z and Beyoncé tied the knot Friday night, following speculation that the pair acquired a wedding license earlier last week. Reports started to seep in Friday afternoon that trucks full of flowers, party equipment and catering were making their way to Jay-Z’s Tribeca apartment in New York City, and that guests like Chris Martin, Gwyneth Paltrow and Kelly Rowland were making their way to the ceremony. “It was amazing — very special, very private, very intimate,” a source told Us. “Everyone had so much fun. It ended up being a wild party.” While neither artists’ reps would confirm the marriage reports, Mary J. Blige, who is currently on tour with Jay-Z, congratulated the rapper during their concert in North Carolina on Saturday night, telling the crowd “Congratulations to my man, Jay-Z, and my girl B!”

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• Beyoncé & Jay-Z Get Wedding License?

[Photo: Getty]

Jay-Z is reportedly on the verge of inking a new $150 million deal with concert promotion giant Live Nation. The deal will encompass all of Jay’s concerts, endorsements and recordings over the next decade, as well as provide the rapper a platform to launch Roc Nation, Jay’s own label, music publishing and talent managing company. Jay-Z, who previously served as Def Jam’s CEO for three years until he and Universal Music Group couldn’t agree to a new contract, still owes his former label one more album, set for release later this year. The Brooklyn rapper becomes the third powerhouse veteran artist to join forces with Live Nation since October, as both Madonna and U2 have signed on with the ever-expanding empire.

Related Stories:

• Jay-Z, Mary J. Blige and Guests Bring the Heat in Miami at Tour Opener
• U2 Signs Deal With Live Nation
• Madonna Deal Done: Material Mom Signs With Live Nation

[Photo: Getty]