Like all of us, artists in the music industry have had their lives turned upside down in the wake of Tuesday’s terrorist attack on America.
Superstars like Madonna and Janet Jackson have had to switch their concert schedules, but more importantly, many performers’ whole way of seeing life has changed.
“To be honest, I’ve been scared to come through the Lincoln Tunnel,” Ja Rule, who was raised in New York and now lives in New Jersey, told Carson Daly today on MTV’s “TRL.” “When I came through the tunnel [today], I saw a whole thing of Army [trucks]. It shook me up.”
And while some now have to muster courage to take a simple 20-minute trip, other artists are rethinking their ways of long-distance travel.
Mack 10, who was scheduled to come to New York but was stranded in California on Tuesday, has vowed never to fly again and is buying a tour bus. Carl Thomas, who has been stranded in Chicago all week, agrees with Mack 10’s sentiments and has canceled an upcoming concert in South Africa, saying he’ll be traveling by tour bus a lot more now.
Although Jay-Z hasn’t given up on flying, he too has been stranded in California since the incident and has thus postponed the start of his tour from Friday (September 14) to Wednesday. Jay was in Los Angeles on Tuesday shooting a video for “Girls, Girls, Girls” as well as promoting his album, The Blueprint, which came out that day.
“It’s weird ’cause as a artist you look forward to your release date, then something tragic like that happens – that’s the last thing on your mind,” Jay told Carson via phone Friday on “TRL.” “With every tragedy I believe it makes [you] stronger. If your faith is in the right place you will get stronger.”
Moby, who lives two miles from the disaster area, said he drew on his talent for strength while confined to his home the past few days.
“Since that incident happened, my neighborhood was curtained off by the police,” said Moby, who watched from his roof in disbelief as the Twin Towers crumbled. “I haven’t been able to go outside anyway ’cause the air was just so thick with smoke. Everyone that lives down here, we have really sore throats and sore eyes from the smoke and from crying from being upset.
“Music and friends are the only things that have gotten me through this,” he continued. “Wednesday when I was stuck in my home, I spent my day in the studio working on music because it was healing. Very melodic and tranquil music to provide a counterpoint to the events on Tuesday.”
