Rapper Jay-Z performs at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles August 28, 2011.[Photo/Agencies]

Jay-Z will be the first musical performer to play at a new basketball arena under construction in Brooklyn, the Brooklyn-born rap star said on Monday.

"This is where I'm from, I'll always be Brooklyn, and opening this arena will mean more to me than anywhere else," he told a news conference.

Dates and prices were not announced, though Jay-Z said there could be up to three shows.

The Barclays Center, under construction since 2009, is due to open in September 2012 and will be the home court of the New Jersey Nets, who will be renamed the Brooklyn Nets, Jay-Z said.

The rapper is a minority owner of the team.

Jay-Z, whose wife Beyonce is expecting their first child, released a collaboration album called "Watch the Throne" with fellow rap star Kanye West in August.