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The beauty to look at Jay-Z there’s more to it than just watching him calmly spit bars that effortlessly prove why his career has been so long and brilliant; It’s also a difficult but fun feeling to watch the audience (and the artist) reminisce about the past. It’s no wonder that 30 years ago, Jay-Z started out as an unknown rapper from Brooklyn who made a living as a playboy. Perhaps the best MC of all time – combining pacing, patience, humour, life skills and taste as a storyteller – Jay built his career on dream stories and lofty ideas about financial gain.
His 1996 debut album, Reasonable Doubt, it was the beginning of that work, and on Friday night, I am in New York City’s Yankee Stadium when Jay-Z performs the album’s movements in order, front and back, which makes it impossible to forget his legacy in a spectacular show that divides the difference between a close connection and a big show. Sometimes, it’s a big, video like a window behind Jay that shows the president’s funeral, video of Mike Tysonor his wife, Beyoncé, getting her hair cut at the ballpark, the show is influenced by previous tours such as Look at the throne mixed with the street romance of the 2002 movie Paid In Full. However, the care and attention to detail ensures that the 50,000 place feels intimate, for people who have heard the album and feel seen through its songs of regret and regret.
The show starts with Beyoncé singing We can’t stress Hustle, full Mary J Blige. Beyoncé doesn’t have much of a connection to Loud Doubts outside of a family relationship but it’s amazing, and pretty cool, to see her join one of Jay’s biggest hits. Dressed in a pinstriped suit, cut at the legs like a baddie for the job, he looks surprisingly hip – casual and in keeping with the country setting but still a little more grown up for the night ahead. Politics As Usual’s R&B, an early example of Jay’s good taste in beats, gives the crowd a smooth ride amid the evening’s tales of the grimy hustler. Nas joins Dead Leaders, The World Is Yours, NY State of Mind and Where I’m From, the crowd revels in the mutual respect the rivals have for each other.
The show isn’t without its problems: Blue Ivy Carter comes out to play the piano before her father sings a clean version of Feelin’ It that unleashes some profanity. Jay-Z is a family man, and even if some of the uncles in the audience tonight are too, it’s a father-daughter moment when they get together awkwardly at night celebrating an album where her dad spits some of his, worst, biggest wishes. And while the 60-second freestyle is an amazing display of his talent, the billionaire businessman risks getting eyeballs when he goes a cappella with freestyles about “human rights activists”. New York is in a moment of victory after the Knicks’ NBA victory, however Alicia Keys coming out to do his Empire State of Mind hook is difficult compared to stronger songs like Regrets or Public Service Announcement.
However, it is a celebration, an arena filled with joy and emotion, a tribute to 30 years of an album that changed a person’s life and gave a voice to the voiceless. At a time when musicians were taking pictures with the politicians they were running from, it’s easy to forget that once upon a time, MCs were making records not just about themselves, but about the nation and culture as a whole. Reasonable Doubt was the beginning of a career that would put hip-hop at its peak. So, when Can I Live plays, with its story of running out of hope, my eyes flutter. Jay-Z he showed this: born into unfortunate circumstances, he aspired to greatness and talent which he cultivated and practiced throughout his life. This show forces you to ask the question: Where would hip-hop be without Shawn Carter?
