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Jay-Z Adds Broadway to His List of Business Ventures

Jay-Z can now add Broadway to his list of incredible business ventures, by taking a liking to the music FELA!, an original play based on the life of the legendary Nigerian musician, Fela Kuti. He, along with Will and Jada Pinkett Smith have officially put on the producer hat by financially backing this play.

via MTV

Monday night (November 23) saw the premiere of the musical "Fela!" While the show celebrates the excellent and revolutionary music of Fela Kuti (who pioneered Afrobeat and gave birth to the roots of funk), the big headlines have come from the high-profile producers. The show ran into financial trouble early, until the likes of Will Smith and Jay-Z stepped up to provide backing for what they believed was an important story that needed to be told. Jigga walked the red carpet for the opening of "Fela!" last night and expressed his enthusiasm for the late Nigerian superstar. "It's an inspiration, about the power of music. Here's a guy that's on the other side of the world who was influenced by James Brown, who takes this thing and makes his own sort of genre of music," Jay said. "I just think it's fascinating."

CLICK HERE to see Jay on the red carpet for opening night. He was also joined by other celebs such as Questlove of The Roots, Jimmy Fallon and more.

And check out a preview of the play below.