Have you heard the one about the nice lady who sat next to Jay-Z on the subway and asked who he was?

Well, her name is Ellen Grossman, and she talked to The Scroll’s Adam Chandler about her brush with viral video fame—her inadvertent cameo, filmed on the way to Hov’s final (of eight!) concert at the Barclays Center, is part of a documentary about Jay-Z released this week.

The 67-year-old Brooklyn-born artist says that after meeting Hov, she “went to Wikipedia to read about him.”

Adopt us, Ellen?

On Meeting Jay-Z on the Subway [The Scroll] Previously on Jewcy: Jay-Z Lit A Menorah Backstage All Eight Nights of His NYC Concert Series
Is Jay-Z the Most Powerful Jew in the Music Industry?

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Jay-Z is serious about this whole Jewish street cred thing. After telling Rolling Stone he was the most powerful Jew in the music industry now that Lyor Cohen (you know, of Dior Homme) left the Warner Music Group, Hov took it a step (or eight) further for his much talked-about concert series at the Barclays Center.

Over at Fuse, Amit Wehle—who lives at 560 State Street—tells the absurdly amazing story of how he ended up providing the menorah that Jay-Z and Co. lit each of the eight nights of concerts. Get it?!

Wehle writes:

Let me pause to explain what a menorah is for those who may not know: It’s a nine-branched candelabrum lit each night during the Jewish holiday, Hanukkah. It commemorates the re-dedication of the Holy Temple some 2,200 years ago in Jerusalem. Now Jay-Z and his team wanted to light one candle for each night of their eight-concert run, held in their own Holy Temple. So, already feeling a kinship with Hova from my chance living at his old residence, I jumped at the idea.

So yeah, that happened. Dome of the ROC, anyone?

Previous: Is Jay-Z the Most Powerful Jew in the Music Industry?

(Photo by Allison Joyce/Getty Images)

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In Rolling Stone, Jeff Rosenthal spends three minutes with Jay-Z, and we’re sure glad he did. They talk about Jay-Z’s upcoming concert series—an auspicious eight (crazy) nights—at the new Barclays Center. Why eight? “My stamina. When I got to eight, I felt like I would probably fall over from exhaustion.” So did the Maccabees!

Then they talked about Jews:

Your longtime friend and coworker Lyor Cohen just stepped down as head of Warner Music Group. Does this make you the most powerful Jew left in the music industry?
Yes! [Laughs] Sammy’s gone! It’s just me!

Mazel tov, Hov. No word yet on where he stands in the Drake vs. Matisyahu Jewish-off.

(Image: Taylor Swift and Jay-Z at the 52nd Annual GRAMMY Awards on January 31, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. Credit: Larry Busacca/Getty Images for NARAS)

Three Minutes With Jay-Z [Rolling Stone] From the Archives: Matisyahu Says He’s More Jewish Than Drake, Even Without His Beard
At My Power Seder, 2011/5771
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