Jay-Z School professor Rawi Abdelal called this a "turning point in American pop culture's response to globalization." The album has sold 1 million copies in the US. On January 1, 2008, Jay-Z resigned as president of Def Jam. In the winter of 2008 it was announced that Jay-Z become the first major hip hop artist to headline Britain's 2008 Glastonbury Festival. Tickets sold out quickly. Former headliner Noel Gallagher of Oasis condemned the festival organizers for choosing Jay-Z to headline a traditionally guitar-driven festival. "I'm sorry, but Jay-Z?" Gallagher asked, swearing. "No chance. Glastonbury has a tradition of, kind of, guitar
Hip-hop theater must be "by, about and for" the hip-hop generation, participants in hip-hop culture, or both." Hip-hop theater productions appear in a wide range of platforms including single performances, week-long festivals, and traveling repertory companies. Marc Bamuthi Joseph is an award-winning spoken word poet and dancer who has been commissioned several times to create and direct single hip-hop theater works. British choreographer Jonzi D is the artistic director of the London-based Breakin' Convention, a week long hip-hop theater festival. Rennie Harris, Mourad Merzouki, and Victor Quijada are artistic directors who run hip-hop theater companies in the U.S., France, and Canada respectively.