Who's the better rapper: Jay-Z or United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon?

That was the question on everyone's minds at last night's U.N. Global Leadership Gala, where Jay was being honored for his work with the U.N. and MTV on the "Water for Life" initiative.

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Ki-moon paid tribute to the MC/honoree at the New York event by rapping for five minutes to the crowd. I believe two of the stanzas went something like this: "So many people out there experiencing so much strife/ Their life needs water ... Water for Life" and "I may be old, but I'm still a learner/ I see many friends out there, I see Ted Turner."

OK, so maybe Jay should teach Ban a few things before his next appearance. But hey, to the secretary's relief, I'm sure, one of the first things Jay said onstage was, "I want to tell the secretary: You're pretty cool yourself. Don't worry about it."

We started off our night by spending a few minutes with Jay-Z, who talked about his trajectory of being a guy from Marcy, New York, to being honored on Park Avenue at the Waldorf Astoria. He talked about being able to play all over the world and wanting to give back by working toward his goal of bringing water to millions of people. Jay-Z continued with this message later in the night during his acceptance speech, telling the crowd, "Anybody who took a picture with me, I hope you get that I wasn't just being nice -- you guys have to give to this cause!"