Adedokun Waliyu 
A Self-Described “Ultra Beyoncé fan” said rap icon Jay-Z gifted her a bottle of champagne worth more than $400 at a concert in Toronto over the weekend.
Alisha Digba was dancing on the floor of the Rogers Centre as Beyoncé kicked off the North American leg of her Renaissance world tour on Saturday night when she noticed Jay-Z step into view.
Digba weaved her way through fans on the floor to get closer to the hip hop legend, who stood behind a barricade watching his wife perform, and began dancing her own choreography to Queen B’s lyrics.
“I swear Jay-Z was watching,” Digba said in a raspy voice on Monday, still strained from screaming lyrics at the concert two days earlier.
“He was in the barricade area, he was about to leave … so I was like, ‘hey can I take a picture?’ and instead he goes down, picks up a bottle of champagne, and goes to me, ‘good job’,” she said.
Jay-Z then handed Digba a bottle of Armand de Brignac Ace of Spades Brut Gold Champagne, a product of the company he owns, which is worth $406 at Ontario liquor stores.
A Beyoncé fan standing near Jay-Z at a concert in Toronto on July 8, 2023 (Supplied).
Digba said she has been a Beyoncé fan for as long as she can remember. “I was extremely bullied for being a Black woman in elementary school,” she said. In university, she was bullied again as the only Black person in her residence at Wilfrid Laurier University, Digba recalled.
Yet through the years, Beyoncé was a source of hope and empowerment for her.
“She really, really saved my life,” Digba said through tears.
When Beyoncé announced her summer tour dates, including two shows in Toronto, the St. Catharines, Ont., local said she had to get a ticket.
“I decided to get a second job to pay for the ticket and got a floor seat ticket for $1,473,” Digba said.
A bottle of champagne a Beyoncé fan says Jay-Z gifted her at a Toronto concert (Supplied).
She took a second job at Tim Hortons in addition to her role as an academic administrator at McMaster University.
With a prized bottle of champagne as a testament of her hard work, Digba said she has no plans to sell it and instead, wants to place it in a protective case.
“If anybody wants to take something away from this, just work hard for what you want,” Digba said. “Anything is possible.”
