Jay-Z has thrown a lavish party to celebrate the birth of his baby.

The rapper made his first public appearance since Blue Ivy - his daughter with wife Beyonce - was born earlier this month - at the relaunch of his New York nightspot 40/40 and he partied in style.

The 42-year-old star laid on a champagne tower created with 350 handmade gold Armand de Brignac bottles that stretched from floor to ceiling and was topped with a baby-carrying stork.

A source said: "All that preparation must have been thirsty work - judging from the champagne tower Jay laid on. Nothing like that has ever been created before.

"It was a bit OTT but he's mad about his daughter. There's nothing he wouldn't do for her. You'd expect nothing less from the richest man in rap."

A number of celebrity guests were invited to the party including Alex Rodriguez, Alicia Keys, Swizz Beatz and members of the New Jersey Nets basketball team and New York Yankees baseball team, while singer Ashanti, baseball star C. C. Sabathia and director Spike Lee were all spotted arriving at the bash.

However, the security-conscious star had taken steps to ensure no unwanted guests made an appearance.

A source told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "No wonder security was tight. A lot of money has been pumped into Jay's club, with state of the art 165in video screens, and they weren't about to take any risks with gate-crashers.

"Security was phenomenal, with guests being frisked at the door and people going through metal detectors to make sure no weapons were brought in for the club's grand re-opening."