Jay-Z is being hailed as a hero by his neighbours whose lives have been devastated by Hurricane Sandy.

The 44-year-old rapper came to the rescue of his fellow residents by buying a giant generator to power the whole of 195 Hudson St. in New York's TriBeCa area, where he and his wife Beyonce Knowles own a $7 million loft apartment, following the superstorm. The hip-hop star was later spotted uptown with Beyonce and 10-month-old daughter Blue Ivy Carter at the Mandarin Oriental hotel as they took refuge from the storm, the New York Post newspaper is reporting.

Jay-Z performed at a rally for President Barack Obama alongside Bruce Springsteen in Columbus, Ohio, on Monday (05.11.12) to garner support for today's election.

He replaced the lyrics in his hit song '99 Problems', chanting: ''I Got 99 Problems, But Mitt Ain't One'', much to the delight of the 15,000 strong crowd.

The current American leader and the music mogul are firm friends and Jay-Z has been a long-time fundraiser and campaigner for Obama.

The president recently admitted he had given Jay-Z parenting advice after Blue Ivy was born in January, joking: ''I made sure that Jay-Z was helping Beyonce out. And not leaving it all with mom and the mother-in-law.''