While many were curious to know if singer Beyoncé was in town, her hip-hop superstar boyfriend Jay-Z preferred to speak about his work to highlight the global water shortage.
Before the start of the press conference at the Westcliff Hotel in Johannesburg on Tuesday, organisers announced that no questions about Beyoncé would be entertained. But The Star has learnt that she is in the country, although it was not clear if she would perform.
"This is my first worldwide tour and I wanted to touch the communities I am performing for. Water was the first issue that I identified with," said Jay-Z, who has entered a partnership with the United Nations and MTV to bring attention to the problem.
His South African leg sees him two-thirds of the way through his world tour. His shows are being recorded by MTV for the music channel.
Jay-Z's performances start Wednesday night at the Bellville Velodrome in Cape Town. The concert then moves to Durban on Friday and ends in Johannesburg on Saturday at the Coca-Cola Dome. His supporting act, singer Rihanna, was not at the press conference.
Looking relaxed and confident, Jay-Z answered the questions put to him by the media intelligently, adding touches of humour here and there.
"A lot of people judge hip-hop in the wrong way," he quipped. "Who drinks Cristal (wine) at 8 in the morning?"
Jay-Z has already toured five African countries where he visited areas where solutions are being developed to bring fresh water to communities.
"It shouldn't take the cameras to visit before they start building wells for people. Access to water shouldn't be about half a well.
"It should be about going to the bathroom and turning on a tap."
Jay-Z is said to be worth $340-million (about R263-billion) through hits like Girls, Girls, Girls.
Kabelo Mabalane is the South African support act for Jay-Z on his South African leg. He and Zwai Bala confirmed Wednesday that TKZee will be performing as a group for the first time since 2000 at the free Nokia Jammin Concert to be held on the same day as the Jay-Z concert.