Doing what he can to help those in need, Jay-Z hosted a carnival at the Hudson River Park pier for his Shawn Carter Foundation on Thursday (September 29).

The “Run This Town” rapper donned an all-black ensemble as he posed for pictures on the red carpet before heading inside for the festivities.

During the event, Jay-Z opened up about the purpose of his foundation, as he told MTV News, "Just providing opportunity and seeing what people do with that opportunity. If you want to go further and you want to further your education, just giving someone that extra little push [so] that maybe you'll turn out to be someone special."

Mentioning his mother, Gloria Carter, who helped start the foundation in 2002, the star singer added, “My mom has been running this for a number of years," said Jay. "My mom gets on the bus and takes the kids and takes them to their orientations and she's been riding around the college. It's a real grassroots thing that she's been doing on her own, and I'm just really trying to help her expand it so we can help more people. It started out as a Brooklyn thing, and then it started as a New York thing, and now hopefully we can take it to a worldwide thing."


Enjoy the pictures of Jay-Z at The Shawn Carter Foundation 2011 Carnival (September 29).

Photo Credit: Getty Images , Wenn.com