President Obama said in an interview aired this morning on NBC that he "wasn't familiar" of Jay-Z and Beyoncé's Cuba trip ahead of time:
"Let me ask you about Jay-Z and Beyonce's trip to Cuba," said the NBC host. "Were you aware of it ahead of time and have you seen his open letter which raps about getting White House clearance?"
"I wasn't familiar that they were taking the trip," says Obama. "My understanding is I think they went through a group that organizes these educational trips down to Cuba. This is not something the White House was involved with. We've got better things to do."
The Treasury Department "fully licensed" Beyonce and Jay Z's trip to Cuba, according to Reuters.
"American pop star Beyonce and rapper husband Jay Z visited Havana last week on a cultural trip that was fully licensed by the United States Treasury Department, according to a source familiar with the trip," Reuters reports.
President Obama's New York City fundraiser last night featuring hip-hop stars Beyoncé and Jay-Z featured "floor-to-ceiling gold bottles in the entire space," according to the New York Post. The paper calls it "a custom-designed tower of $800-per-bottle champagne that dominates the main room at Jay-Z’s 40/40 nightclub."
I saw this yesterday. It's a lot of fun, and fit to go viral, so here it is for your enjoyment. My favorite part is the info posted by Aaron Melcher, who uploaded the video: "We have more scenes to cut, and edit, however with guys always on mission it is harder to film than you think." I can imagine it is.