Rapper and Def Jam label president Jay-Z is touring several countries in Africa this week making stops in Tanzania, Angola, Ghana, South Africa and Nigeria.

When Jay-Z performs in the Nigerian capital city Lagos this Saturday, he will share the bill with nine Nigerian artists, including female rapper Word MC, who is currently one of the hottest artists on the charts of Nigeria's flourishing hip-hop scene.

"To be mentioned alongside him at all - I feel privileged," Word MC told the BBC. "I just want to go out and sell Word MC and sell Africa with the best of my ability. I want it to be a crazy, Afrocentric multimedia experience. I want people to come and go, 'Wow' - we went to Nigeria and this is what we saw."

While 50 Cent was accused of failing to pay African artists their proper respects when he toured Africa, Jay-Z is being applauded for his inclusion of local artists and the artists seem to be just as excited about the visit as audience members.

"It's going to be my first time seeing him," renowned Nigerian rapper Rugged Man told BBC World Service, "I'm hoping he will give Nigerians their money's worth... this is a different crowd to what he's used to."

Getting their money's worth comes at a high price. VIP tickets for the show have been priced at $800 and regular tickets cost $200, so there have been plenty of complaints about the expense of attending the show being too much for many Nigerians to even consider.

"A lot of people have chosen to call it selective audience participation," Journalist Henry Ekachegu told the BBC. "How many people can afford this? People are struggling to get through daily living and the prices are like this?"

Still, Ekachegu acknowledged that Saturday's show in Lagos has generated "a huge media buzz" in the country, leaving many Nigerians feeling that the country has been deemed worthy of recognition as a cultural center for show business.

The African leg of Jay-Z's tour is part of an international stretch of shows that has already visited European countries including France, Holland, England and Germany and will also reach Asia and Australia later this month.


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