New York, NY – DJ Khaled was among the many stars who attended JAY-Z‘s Shawn Carter Foundation Gala on Friday night (July 14). While walking the red carpet with his partner, the We The Best mogul was stopped by a reporter and asked to speak about his friend and collaborator.
“Hov is the GOAT for a lot of reasons,” Khaled said to Billboard. “It would take many books to write the reason why, but for me, it’s to let you know that it’s possible. When I say possible, anything he puts his mind to he makes it happen and takes it to the higher heights.”
Khaled went on to say that he admires Jay-Z’s work ethic and his commitment to excellence. “What I love about him the most is that he’s always there to help somebody. Come on, that’s Jay-Z, the best rapper to ever do it, entrepreneur, mogul, father, family man, friend, partner. It’s too many. That’s HOV did!”
The Shawn Carter Foundation‘s 20th anniversary gala was held on July 14, at Pier Sixty in New York City. This year’s event dubbed “A Legacy of Change” was hosted by Jay-Z and his mother, Gloria Carter. The annual event was attended by a star-studded lineup of guests, including Beyoncé, Blue Ivy, Tinashe, Lil Uzi Vert, Robert Kraft, Angela Simmons, Yo Gotti, Meek Mill, Dez Bryant, Corey Gamble, Tamika Mallory, BET’s CEO Scott Mills, Corey Gamble, Fanatics founder Michael Rubin, music mogul Steve Rifkind, and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.
According to Billboard, the gala emceed by Regina Hall raised $20 million for the Shawn Carter Foundation, which provides scholarships and other educational opportunities to young people from underserved communities. The foundation also announced a new partnership with Robert Kraft’s Foundation to Combat Antisemitism, which will focus on combating book bans and protecting educational freedom.
Meanwhile, Jay-Z recently added another tally to the win column after becoming the first Black male recording artist in history to have at least 10 double-platinum solo albums. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) recently updated its certifications, and Jay’s 2009 album “The Blueprint 3” reached 2 million album-equivalent sales, which pushed it to double-platinum status.
“The Black Album,” which dropped in 2003, went quadruple-platinum, giving the Brooklyn rap legend over 33.5 million album sales.
Jay-Z is only the second Black artist to achieve this feat. Mariah Carey has 11 solo albums that have sold over 2 million copies domestically and is also the most commercially successful Black female soloist of all time.
Jay-Z also has two collaborative albums that went double-platinum, pushing his total number to 12. His 2004 joint effort with Linkin Park titled Collision Course sold 2 million copies, and his 2011 collaboration with Kanye West, Watch the Throne, has sold 5 million.
