Jay-Z: "I Want US President Barack Obama To Perform At My Music Festival"
15 May 2012, 07:14 | Updated: 15 May 2012, 07:18
The '99 Problems' rapper is staging a two-day event in Philadelphia to honour acts that "embody the American spirit".
Jay-Z has announced that he is to hold a new two-day music festival in Philadelphia this September and he wants US President Barack Obama to perform at the event.
The 'Excuse Me Miss' star told Rolling Stone that he will headline the first night of the festival and confirmed he will be doing his best to persuade the President to make an appearance.
"I'm gonna give him a call and I'm gonna try to get him to perform – do a little rendition of Al Green - but I doubt it," he explained. "I think that opens up the political season. He'll be so far into helping the world that he probably won't have time, but I'm absolutely going to ask him."
Explaining why he chose Philadelphia as the city to put on his festival, the rapper confessed: "Philadelphia's one of the most iconic cities: Declaration and the whole bit. I feel like I've done enough in New York where I feel I could branch out a bit, and she won't get mad at me so much. And it's a short trek from New York."
With his wife Beyonce set to make her live return to the stage following the birth of the couple's daughter Blue Ivy later this month, the rapper admitted he wants the Destiny's Child star to join him at the event.
"I tried to put it far enough away that she'd have a little gap in her schedule, so hopefully that works," he revealed.
The 'Budweiser Made In America' music festival will take place in Philadelphia's Fairmount Park on 1st and 2nd of September 2012.
Meanwhile, Jay will be heading to the UK for the European leg of his and Kanye West's 'Watch The Throne' tour which kicks off at London's O2 Arena this Friday (18th May).
