Jay-Z Praises 'Fascinating' Fela! As Musical Opens On Broadway

Jay-Z has spoken about his involvement as a producer on the afrobeat musical, Fela!.

The rapper pledged his support for the production, which opened on Monday, at the last minute alongside actor Will Smith.

In an interview with MTV, Jay-Z said he had been inspired by Fela Kuti's life as a Nigerian multi-instrumentalist and afrobeat founder.

"It's an inspiration, about the power of music,” he said.

“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. I just think it's fascinating."

Also known for his political activism, Kuti died in 1997.

Fela! is scheduled to run at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre in New York until next April.

(by Jason Gregory)

 Beyonce To Be Joined By Jay-Z, Kanye West, Chris Martin At Glastonbury Festival 2011? (14.04.2011)

 Jay-Z Interviews Gwyneth Paltrow About Hip-Hop And Nirvana (13.04.2011)

 Jay-Z Records Vocals For New Sade Song 'The Moon And The Sky' (12.04.2011)

 Liam Gallagher Launches Attack On Jay-Z Over Fashion Line (30.03.2011)

 Kanye West And Jay-Z's 'Watch The Throne' Album Nearly Ready (23.03.2011)

 Kanye West Joined By Jay-Z, John Legend At SXSW Festival 2011 (21.03.2011)

 Jay-Z, Beyonce To Duet On Dr Dre's New Album 'Detox' (16.03.2011)

 Gwyneth Paltrow Reveals Dream Jay-Z Duet At Oscars 2011 (28.02.2011)

 Paul McCartney: Jay-Z Had Stage Fright Before Our Grammy Awards Duet (23.02.2011)

 Kanye West, Jay-Z Take Over Hotel To Finish 'Watch The Throne' (10.02.2011)

 Blink-182's Travis Barker Remixes Kanye West, Jay-Z's 'H.A.M' (09.02.2011)