JAY-Z Recalls Coldplay’s Chris Martin Convincing Him To Perform Iconic Glastonbury Set

JAY-Z says that he was initially hesitant to perform at Glastonbury back in 2008, when the festival was still known for being exclusively rock. Speaking with Gayle King for a new interview on CBS Mornings, the legendary rapper explained that Chris Martin of Coldplay convinced him to go through with the groundbreaking set. When the lineup when announced, JAY-Z’s inclusion was met with widespread criticism, including from Oasis’ Noel Gallagher. In response, Hov famously learned to play the band’s hit “Wonderwall” on guitar and performed it on stage.

“At one point, I was like why am I going there,” JAY-Z recalled. “If they don’t want me there, I don’t want to go. And Chris from Coldplay was instrumental on [convincing me to play]. He was like, ‘Jay, they love you. It’s just the old guard, they don’t know. It’s always been a rock festival.’ They didn’t have anything against me personally, it was just like, this is a rock festival, this is what it is. The world was changing.”

Read More: Jay-Z Calls Coldplay’s Chris Martin A “Modern-Day Shakespeare”

JAY-Z Performs At Glastonbury In 2008

GLASTONBURY, UNITED KINGDOM – JUNE 28: Jay-Z performs at the Glastonbury festival 2008 on June 28, 2008 in Glastonbury, England. (Photo by Danny Martindale/WireImage)

Elsewhere in his conversation with Gayle King, JAY-Z weighed in on the long-standing hypothetical debate as to whether a dinner with him or $500,000 is more valuable. “You gotta take the money,” he said confidently. “What I’ma say? You got all that [wisdom] in the music for $10.99! That’s a bad deal. I wouldn’t tell you to cut a bad deal. Take the $500,000, go buy some albums and listen to the albums — it’s all there! If you piece it together and really listen to the music for the words, for what it is, it’s all there. Everything that I said was gonna happen, happened. Everything that I said I wanted to do, I’ve done. There’s the blueprint. The blueprint, literally, to me and my life and my journey is there already.”

JAY-Z Speaks With Gayle King

JAY-Z spoke with King while inside the Brooklyn Library for his Book of Hov exhibit. The special exhibit presents various original recording masters and other archived objects to reflect on JAY-Z’s storied career.

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