I have Jay-Z concert tickets for November! Thanks to a friend’s timely Facebook status last night, I was alerted to the upcoming musical event and started my Internet research (aka Google). A few minutes later I discovered that there was a pre-sale for American Express card holders before the public could get tickets (which will be tomorrow) and promptly called upon my father who has such an AMEX card. A few minutes later and I was staring at the glorious confirmation screen indicating that I was the proud owner of 4 floor seat tickets, 12 rows back from the stage. Hell, I might even get Hova (aka Jay-Z for the hip-hop illiterate) spittle on me from that close! I was hoping to catch his show in Glasgow and was a little disappointed that changes in my situation prevented me from doing so, however, it looks like Jigga Man (aka Jay-Z) understood my plight and has graced Ottawa with a concert just for me.

I have to admit, though, I haven’t had a chance to listen to his new album (The Blueprint 3) yet. I know! I do have a good reason, though. I have two concerts coming up next week that I have focused my music-listening time on in order to be prepared. First up is K’Naan on Tuesday at Ritual Nightclub. Most people probably haven’t heard of him but you should look him up if you get a chance – he has a nice vibe to his music. He was in town for Bluesfest a couple of months back and apparently he put on quite the show. I then get Wednesday and Thursday to recover before heading back to Ritual Nightclub for the Classified concert on Friday night. This one I am really looking forward to attending! I remember listening to him back when he first started and I was in high school and he is just now getting radio airtime as a result of his latest album. I have his discography in rotation in the car currently and damn the guy is good – and not just for Canadian hip-hop but in hip-hop period. For both shows I will be meeting up with Ollie and Kat, and even more will be joining us for Friday night to see Classified. I am going to be in hip-hop overload by the time November rolls around, and it is going to be soooo sweet!