Jay-Z thrilled by the Indian response to his song

New Delhi: Rap mogul Jay-Z may have millions of followers worldwide, but the multiple Grammy winning artiste was surprised by the huge fan following he has in India.The `99 Problems` hitmaker along with wife Beyonce Knowles is Hollywood royalty, but when he received a text message from DJ Green Lantern, about the response to his songs here, the rapper was thrilled.

The DJ who has played with some of the biggest names in the industry including Eminem, Rihanna, Akon and 50 Cent, performed a series of gigs in the country as a part of VH1`s `Hip Hop Hustle`. "The crowd went wild when I played `Empire State of Mind` and `Sweet Life`. I immediately sent Jay-Z a text message telling him about it and he is one of those guys who does not reply back immediately, but he was real surprised and happy," the DJ told reporters. The artiste whose real name is James D`Agostino said that Indian classical music is an unlikely but growing influence on the hip hop scene. "I personally am a fan of classical Indian music, because it has a unique melody to it. The Indian beats have now become a fixture on the R&B scene, be it Missy Elliot or popstars like Britney Spears," said the musician. The DJ who is also a producer for Eminem`s Shady Records, said that Indian artistes have a huge market in the West, but lose the opportunity in a bid to fit in with the rest. "Jay Sean is a perfect example. He has been a path breaker. He has been true to himself and his identity and scored a number 1. There is a huge market for different sounds and that`s the USP of Indian artistes," said the DJ who is a New Yorker, just like Jay-Z. The musician said that he too was a bit surprised by the crowd`s wild reaction to the music. "The audience here has been incredible. I did my bit of homework before coming in. The crowd is great because they go wild at times and they are also good listeners because when you play new stuff, it gets a bit calmer as they are carefully listening," said the DJ who decided to call himself Green Lantern as he thought it would be a good conversation starter. DJ Green Lantern is working on several things alongside his gigs in India. He is working on his next album called the Green Ghost Project for his own record label Invasion Music Group. The artiste also spoke about the illegal file-sharing controversy which has the music industry divided into two camps. While artists like Lily Allen have spoken out against the practice of sharing free music through the Internet, others like Shakira have said that the trend is a part of democratisation of music. "It`s a gift and a curse. Artistes are losing sales because music is now available free on the Internet and it has changed the rules of the industry. But as a music lover and a DJ, it`s the best thing for me, because if I want a track, I can just find it on the Internet," said the DJ. PTI