Music and Youth
Hip hop superstar ‘Jay-Z’ on CNN’S Talk Asia
MUMBAI:Superstar rapper and music mogul Jay-Z tells the story of his remarkable rise from street hustler to one of the world’s most influential entrepreneurs in this weekend’s TALK ASIA.
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The multi-millionaire and five-time Grammy winner is known for his hard-hitting and streetwise rhymes and remains unapologetic about the ‘vulgar lyrics’ which saw him banned from China earlier this year. “The Rolling Stones had to take like five songs out. So, I’m in good company! I don’t feel so bad, I feel like a rock n roll star! It’s an honor to be next to the Rolling Stones.”
With a business empire that encompasses his own musical comeback, his leadership of the influential Def Jam records and his recent association with the New Jersey Nets basketball team, he tells Anjali Rao how the worlds of sport, music and business are intricately linked. “My passion is music, and music influences cultures, influences lifestyle…It’s really all one field…it all comes from the music. All ball players want to be rappers and rappers want to be ball players. That’s just how it is!”
Jay-Z also recalls the harsh realities of everyday life growing up in New York’s notorious Marcy Houses, his time spent as a street hustler where he was a self-proclaimed ‘ghetto celebrity’ and his recent and much publicized fallout with the makers of Cristal champagne, formerly the star’s drink of choice.
As for his relationship with fellow music superstar Beyonce, he explains his reluctance to talk about it, saying “You put so much out there, so much of yourself into your music, you need some type of refuge…you’ve got to have some part of yourself you just don’t talk about.”
MUMBAI: Mumbai is about to witness something it has never seen before. The Global Youth Festival arrives on 6-7 December at Jio World Garden with 15,000 attendees and 60-plus experiences sprawled across six sprawling arenas. On its sixth edition, this is no ordinary jamboree—it is a carefully orchestrated collision of wellness, adventure, arts, music, yoga and social change.
Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis will throw open the proceedings with a landmark ceremony, signalling the state’s backing for a movement that has already mobilised youth across 20-plus countries and 170-plus cities. The sheer scale is staggering: 500-plus volunteers powering the machine, 600,000-plus volunteer hours logged across previous editions, and millions of lives touched annually.
The speaker roster is formidable. Diipa Büller-Khosla and Dipali Goenka, chief executive of Welspun India, will share the stage with Malaika Arora in conversations spanning leadership, creativity and culture. Union Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs Mansukhbhai Mandaviya will also attend, reinforcing GYF’s reach into the corridors of power.
But this is not mere talk. The Solaris Mainstage promises concerts from renowned Indian artists. Innerverse delivers a 360-degree LED spectacle of art, technology and sound. The Love and Care Arena houses hands-on projects spanning women’s empowerment, child education, rural upliftment and animal welfare. India’s largest outdoor sound-healing experience awaits. An inflatable obstacle course, neon drifter karts and open-sky bouldering cater to thrill-seekers.
Some have branded GYF the “Coachella of Consciousness.” Others call it “India’s Largest Sober Festival.” Spiritual visionary Pujya Gurudevshri Rakeshji, who inspired the festival, will deliver the Wisdom Masterclass. Every rupee goes to charity.
After Mumbai comes Kolkata on 14 December. New York looms next year. For one weekend in December, Mumbai becomes the epicentre of youth-driven change—and nothing will be quite the same after.
Tickets available on BookMyShow. Visit youthfestival.srmd.org or follow @globalyouthfestival on Instagram.
