DJ Clark Kent On Notorious B.I.G. Memories

On the 14th anniversary of the death of the person some recall as the "greatest rapper of all time" we wanted to do something really special, so we met up with DJ Clark Kent who was The Notorious B.I.G's DJ and longtime friend from Brooklyn. In this clip Clark talks about what it was like working with Biggie to put together the Junior M.A.F.I.A. album, going with him on his first shows and trying to convince him that an up and coming rapper named Jay-Z was worth a listen.

(video and text courtesy of the Life Files)

Decoded: Conversation With Jay-Z / Dr. Cornel West New York Public Library (Video)

via Fora.tv

Jay-Z 'Decoded' in-stores today!

Photo links:
Getty Images
Wire Image

Eminem & Jay-Z Detroit Concert 1st Night Play By Play Minute By Minute

2nd night in Detroit is under way, let's review last night's festivities.

via The Detroit Freepress

7:30 P.M.: Jay-Z Bailing Afterward?
Word among show personnel is that Jay-Z will be immediately exiting the stadium upon completion of his set -- in other words, no appearance during Eminem's set. He'll be headed to his waiting Gulfstream jet to fly home to New York, then return for the second show. Wife Beyonce is here in Comerica Park.

Jay-Z is waiting for darkness before taking the stage, to accommodate film crews who are chronicling the show. NOTE: Sources later said Jay-Z might have stayed backstage after all.

8:30 P.M.: A Fleet Of Escalades
With the Beastie Boys cranked on the stadium PA, there are seven minutes until Jay-Z's set. The rapper and his posse just arrived in a caravan of Escalades behind the right-field wall.

8:37 P.M.: Heavyweights Expected
Among the expected guests during Eminem's set: 50 Cent, Dr. Dre and Drake.

8:40 P.M.: The Countdown
Curtains have come down, lights are off. An onscreen countdown clock gets fans roaring: 50 seconds 'til Jay-Z hits the stage.

8:45 P.M.: Jay Starts Rocking
With a blast of lights and an epic, squalling rock lick, Jay-Z took the stage at 8:40 p.m., alone at center stage delivering lines from the opening of his 2000 album "The Dynasty: Roc La Familia."
Upon the song's conclusion, he urged show directors to bring the house lights up. "Just give me two minutes -- I've gotta take this all in," he said, grinning as he took in the crowd of 40,000-plus. "This is hip-hop music and this is how far we've come."



9:40: Frenetic Set Pauses To Honor Fallen Stars
Jay-Z, dressed in black and wearing a Yankees cap, has been whipping through a loud, fast-paced set, backed by a tight live band and a massive high-def video screen.
This is his stage, but he's been happy to share the spotlight: Young Jeezy and Memphis Bleek have already joined him for onstage collaborations, and Jay devoted a lengthy segment honoring fallen music stars such as Biggie Smalls, Tupac Shakur and Detroiters Proof and Aaliyah.
Hot songs like "Big Pimpin'" and swaying numbers like "Forever Young" have been interspersed with abbreviated medleys of tunes such as "Hard Knock Life" and "A Dream." With taupe-tinted Detroit images projected behind him, he delivers a jazzy rendition of "Thank You."

10 P.M.: Entering 'Empire State Of Mind' -- 'I'm Going To Take You Home'
Jay-Z heads into the homestretch with an appropriately epic-sized "Empire State of Mind."
"I'm going to take you home -- my home," the New York star tells the receptive Detroit crowd.
Minutes later, grinning wide, he closes up his set with a jazz-laced performance of "Numb."
"I had an incredible time with you," Jay tells the Comerica Park crowd. "This was one of the best experiences of my entire life."

10:05 P.M.: Jay-Z Killed It; Eminem Up Next
Jay-Z has left the stage. Everything is about 15 minutes behind -- Eminem is expected to go on at about 10:45 p.m. There's a low buzz around the ballpark as fans take in what they just witnessed: an impressively energetic set that found Jay-Z killing it onstage.

10:35 P.M.: First Eminem Performance In A While
Lost in the buildup to this week's shows was an important reality: Eminem hasn't spent much time on a concert stage lately. Until Thursday night, the self-confessed studio hermit had played just four full sets since his Comerica Park show in 2005 -- all festival appearances. This first hometown show in half a decade presented a vastly different sort of challenge.

10:36 P.M.: Eminem Builds Ferocious Energy
Eminem, a Detroit Tigers hoodie draped over his ballcap, hits the stage for a fierce performance of his new "Won't Back Down." It's already a different vibe than the one set by Jay-Z : sharper, grittier, darker.
He's got the microphone gripped tight as he tensely paces the stage, occasionally glancing out to soak in the sea of bodies in front of him. You can practically feel his heart and adrenaline coursing as he takes in the moment.

10:47 P.M.: Trick Trick Joins For 'Welcome To Detroit'
A grinning Trick Trick, clad in white, has bounded onstage to join Em for a bumping version of "Welcome to Detroit," a montage of Motor City imagery rolling on the big screen behind them.

11:10 P.M.: D12 Helps Em Walk Through The Catalog
About 30 minutes in, it looks to be an eclectic, career-spanning set, as members of D12 occasionally make their way onstage: Em quickly dips back in time, ripping through 1999’s “Kill You” with slinky backing from the live band behind him. He jumps through the years, placing older tunes (“Cleaning Out My Closet”) next to songs from his new “Recovery.”



11:12 P.M.: An Assured Pace; B.O.B., Drake Come Out
Opener B.O.B. has returned to the stage for his Eminem duet "Airplanes II." The songs are rolling one after another now: "Kill You," "The Way I Am," "So Bad," "Stan."
Eminem is locking into a confident groove. The early tension is growing into a self-assured command of the stage, as the rapper pumps his fists to exhort the crowd.
A clean-cut Drake is the next guest out, joining Eminem for a run through their hit "Forever."



11:25 P.M.: Working Hard With 50 Cent
The stars are definitely out on a Thursday night in Detroit : Now it's 50 Cent onstage with Eminem, working through a head-bobbing rendition of 50's "Patiently Waiting."
The stage lights drop to reveal 50's illuminated jacket. He continues his cameo with a booming "In Da Club" and the night's latest exhortation that fans put their hands up.
Em has certainly put in a shift: It's a gorgeous, mild night in Detroit, but his gray T-shirt is completely drenched in sweat.



11:40 P.M.; No Rihanna, But Lady Gaga Expected Tomorrow
Eminem launches into the summer's biggest single, "Love the Way You Lie." Ironically, it might be the first disappointment of the night for some fans: confirmation that studio partner Rihanna is not on the night's guest list.
But another female star is expected to be here for Friday night's show: Lady Gaga. The pop star is in Milwaukee tonight, but is headed this way for her Saturday show at the Palace. Folks behind the scenes say she'll spend her Friday night here at Comerica Park, though it's unknown if that's onstage or off.

12:07 P.M.: Encore Ends With Fireworks
Having closed his regular set with the anthemic "Not Afraid," Eminem has begun his encore: a pulsing rendition of "Lose Yourself." With the city skyline glowing behind him, the biggest Detroit music act of the past quarter-century rolls through his signature song.
It's the biggest moment in a night of big ones. The self-empowerment of "Lose Yourself" couples neatly with the strength-through-humility of "Not Afraid," and with a shot of colorful fireworks, Eminem ends his show on a potent, inspirational note.

Photo links:
Wire Image
Getty Images

After tonight's 2nd Detroit show it's off to Yankee Stadium NYC September 13th & 14th.

more footage below.






(video courtesy of kontraband2, Radio One Detroit, hillzskillz69 and teezynoble)

J. Cole - 'Who Dat' (video)

J. Cole first time video offering for his official single 'Who Dat.' I anticipate many more song and visuals coming in the year ahead from Mr. Cole.

Jay-Z Rehearsing And Set To Perform On Letterman Rooftop With Eminem

After the city of NY squashed the idea of Jay-Z's rooftop performance on Letterman, it looks as if tonight's festivities are on.

According to the Gothamist, rehearsals have taken place for the taping with surprise defacto guest Eminem.

**update**via My Fox

Memphis Bleek On The Jay-Z European BP3 Tour In Germany

While Jay-Z is taking a short breather, Memphis Bleek's crew post up some of his escapades while touring Germany on the BP3 Tour European leg.

Catch Memphis Bleek with Jay-Z at these upcoming live dates:
July 2 - Eurockeennes Belfort, France
July 4 - Wireless Festival, U.K.
July 9 - Oxygen, Ireland
July 10 - Frauenfeld, Switzerland
July 11 - T in the Park, Scotland
Sept. 2 - Comerica Park, Detroit, MI (with Eminem)
Sept. 13 - Yankee Stadium, Staten Island, NY (with Eminem)

Related:
Jay-Z European Festival Performance At Rock Am Ring, Germany

Jay-Z In Paris Live Concert Footage

Jay-Z enjoyed the French Open by day then rocked Paris by night with his concert at Palais Omnisports de Bercy Sunday, June 6.

Photo links:
Wire Image
Photo Sonore
Rex Features

Jay-Z upcoming live dates:
June 7 - Manchester Arena, U.K.
June 9 - Birmingham LG Arena, U.K.
June 11 - Isle of Wright Festival, U.K.
June 12 - Bonnaroo Music Festival, Manchester, TN
July 2 - Eurockeennes Belfort, France
July 4 - Wireless Festival, U.K.
July 9 - Oxygen, Ireland
July 10 - Frauenfeld, Switzerland
July 11 - T in the Park, Scotland
Sept. 2 - Comerica Park, Detroit, MI (with Eminem)
Sept. 13 - Yankee Stadium, Staten Island, NY (with Eminem)

(video courtesy of TheArnaudh & pattykwakernaat )

Jay-Z European Festival Performance At Rock Am Ring, Germany

Jay-Z kicked off his summer festival appearance yesterday at the Rock am Ring in Nurburg, Germany performing in front of a exuberant European concert crowd.

Set list:
Dynasty Intro
Run This Town
Diamonds Remix (Verse)
On To The Next One
D.O.A.
Takeover (Bleek Introduction)
U Don’t Know
99 Problems
Is That Yo Bitch
Can I Get A…
Mundian To Bach Ke (Beware…)
I Just Wanna Love You (Give It To Me)
P.S.A.
Heart Of The City (“Sunday Bloody Sunday” Version)
Empire State Of Mind
A Dream [Verse] (over “Sing for the Moment”)
Dirt Off Your Shoulders
Hovi Baby
Jigga What/Jigga Who
Swagger Like Us x Jockin Jay-Z
Thank You
Medley (I.Z.Z.O/Big Pimpin/Hard Knock Life and more)
Encore
(source)

Photo links:
Getty Images
Wire Image

more Jay-Z upcoming live dates:
June 5 - Rock im Park, Germany
June 6 - Paris Bercy, France
June 7 - Manchester Arena, U.K.
June 9 - Birmingham LG Arena, U.K.
June 11 - Isle of Wright Festival, U.K.
June 12 - Bonnaroo Music Festival, Manchester, TN
July 2 - Eurockeennes Belfort, France
July 4 - Wireless Festival, U.K.
July 9 - Oxygen, Ireland
July 10 - Frauenfeld, Switzerland
July 11 - T in the Park, Scotland
Sept. 2 - Comerica Park, Detroit, MI (with Eminem)
Sept. 13 - Yankee Stadium, Staten Island, NY (with Eminem)

J.Cole Interview With The Source

Recorded at RutgersFest this past May.

J.Cole Cole World on Roc Nation/Columbia coming soon!

George Robles: Rocawear’s Creative Director SoJones Interview

SoJones: So what’s a typical day like for a creative director for Rocawear?

George Robles: A typical day for me is never typical. For example, I may have to come up with a theme for the new collection, which involves a new color palette, graphics, denim washes, labels, and overseeing my team of designers to make sure we’re all on the same wavelength aesthetically.

It could also involve travel to another country to oversee production of the collection, choosing fabrics, or a dozen e-mails and phone calls from people with questions that have to answered in a timely manner. Deadlines can be gruesome and keep you working around the clock.

My job changes from day to day & being able to multi-task and stay focused is a must.

SoJones: What two celebrities or music artists are just on point with their fashion game right now?

George Robles: Jay-Z is the inspiration behind every Rocawear collection and he’s definitely on top of his fashion game right now. From his denim to his suits, he is an all around fashion icon.

Kanye West for his individuality and his growth in the fashion game. He mixes all types of fashion up and still pulls it off with a cocky swagger that makes people follow his lead. He still represents hip-hop fashion but he has taken it to a higher level creatively, which is something that I respect as a designer. Not just anyone can get a deal to design for Louis Vuitton and star in the ad campaigns. That is just not heard of…

Read the full interview here:
SoJones - George Robles

Jay-Z Coachella 2010 Concert Set Video Recap

Jay-Z at last week's Coachella appearance, with fireworks at the end included.

Related:
Jay-Z Live At Coachella Day 1 Concert Recap

(video courtesy of Mashfest)

Jay-Z Live At Coachella Day 1 Concert Recap

(photo courtesy of Rodrigo Peña / Riverside Press Enterprise)

Show recap via the Desert Sun

Jay-Z closed out the Coachella festivities Friday night (April 16) to massive crowd of cheering fans.

“Dude, it’s Jay-Z; he practically owns hip hop,” said Jennifer Boehmke, 33, of Santa Monica while she anxiously waited for the rapper to hit the stage.

The Grammy-award winning artist opened his set by rising from the stage floor around 11.10 p.m. with smash hit “Run this Town,” from his eleventh studio album “The Blueprint 3.”

Songs that followed include the enormously popular single “Empire State of Mind,” in addition to “Big Pimpin’,” “99 Problems,” and “Izzo (H.O.V.A.).”

A short video clip featuring President Obama played before Jay-Z launched the song “Dirt Off Your Shoulder” roughly midway through his set.

Leading up to the festival, rumors suggested rapper Dr. Dre, would perform with Jay-Z, but the former N.W.A. member was nowhere to be seen. Dre’s unreleased single off his highly anticipated album “Detox” features the Coachella headliner.



Around 12:30 a.m., after several minutes of shout outs to the crowd, Jay-Z’s equally famous wife, R&B artist Beyonce Knowles joined him on stage for the ballad “Forever Young,” also from “The Blueprint 3.”

Jay Z completed his set around 12:45 a.m. with the song “Encore” while the crowd danced and shouted along with the music.

Photo links here:
Riverside Press Enterprise
Wire Image
Film Magic
Getty Images
Rex Features
WENN Photo

more video below.

Coachella Day 1 Report Fox LA News

Jay-Z: Day 1 Friday Coachella L.A. Times Report

Above, Jay-Z and musician Ira Tuton of Yeasayer backstage during Day 1 of the Coachella Valley Music & Art Festival 2010 held at the Empire Polo Club on April 16, 2010 in Indio, California.

Is it not enough to land one of the richest deals in pop music history, marry into R&B/pop royalty and score 11 No. 1 albums? Jay-Z has done all that plus shattered the glass ceiling for straight-up hip-hop acts playing the mainstage at Coachella (respect to the Beastie Boys).

The Times’ chief pop critic Ann Powers may have put it best when she noted that Jay-Z is “taking strong steps to adjust his place in history from the ‘great’ category to the ‘legendary.’ ”

Just a couple of hours before he's due to go on, it's worth considering.

But to hear it from Hovi Baby, who turned 40 in December, he’s hardly content to slide by on past glories. With the same icy professionalism that has defined his most notable career moves -- investing in the successful chain of 40/40 Club sports bars, taking on part ownership of the New Jersey Nets basketball team -- Jay-Z has surveyed the marketplace and run a diagnostic on his biggest liabilities.

And the man who anointed himself “the greatest rapper alive” cops to a surprising level of insecurity as he slides toward middle age.

“I have the biggest challenge of them all, I believe,” Jay told The Times last month at the New York offices of his clothing label Rocawear. “Hip-hop in its 32-whatever years has always been viewed as a young man’s game. Hip-hop has always been about the gift of discovery. What’s new? Yeah, I know Jay-Z. That’s ain’t even cool to say he’s good anymore. It’s cool to say MC Nobody and put that on my iPod.”

“Hip-hop is all about ‘You doing this? I’m doing that’ -- the individualism it gave you," he continued. “People are like, ‘Oh, that’s fresh!’ Fresh: the biggest word in hip-hop.”

In an age of fad dances and auto-tune-dominated gimmick-raps, when popularity is judged by ring-tone download ubiquity as much as radio play, Jay-Z feels a strong sense of obligation to hip-hop culture -- instead of to his ego, his concert promoter Live Nation or the bottom line -- to continue coming correct.

“So my challenge is to expand,” he said. “To grow hip-hop and the genre. My job, Eminem’s job, everyone who’s been performing for more than a year, our job is to push this thing forward and find some kind of truth in where we are now. It has to be about something. Truth, emotion, growth. In order for us to survive as a legitimate genre of music, we have to stretch out.” (source)

Check out Beyonce & Jay-Z hanging out backstage at today's Coachella Festival.
Photos links:
Getty Image - Jay-Z
Getty Images - Beyonce
Wire Image - Jay-Z
Wire Image - Beyonce

Coachella 2010 Set Times With Jay-Z, Gorillaz, B.o.B. And More

via the L.A. Times by way of Coachella.com

Jay-Z Coachella Stage 10:50 PM - close

Gil Scott-Heron Gobi Stage 6:55 - 7:55 PM

Street Sweeper Social Club Coachella Stage 5:05 - 5:55 PM

Wale Coachella Stage 2:35 - 3:25 PM

P.O.S. Gobi Stage 1:25 - 2:05 PM



Flying Lotus Gobi Stage 10:45 - 11:35 PM

DJ Z-Trip Sahara Stage- 10:30 - 11:20 PM

Major Lazer Mojave Stage 9:25 - 10:10 PM

David Guetta Sahara Stage - 9:00 - 10:15 PM

MGMT Outdoor Theatre 8:50 - 9:40 PM

Corinne Bailey Rae Gobi Stage 7:00 - 7:50 PM



Gorillaz Coachella Stage 10:30 PM - close

Thom Yorke Outdoor Theatre 9:00 PM - close

Sly Stone Gobi Stage 7:00 - 7:45 PM

De La Soul Coachella Stage 3:50 - 4:40 PM

Mayor Hawthorne Gobi Stage 3:20 - 4:05 PM

B.o.B. Coachella Stage 2:40 - 3:25 PM

Dr. Dre And Jay-Z In Studio Pic

According to Nah Right, the picture was taken February 21, 2010 in Miami, the day after BP3 tour kicked off in Florida.

J. Cole Live At S.O.B.'s NYC Concert Recap

via Showing Out

Last night at New York City venue SOB’s, the Roc was definitely in the building. Performing to a sold-out crowd, Roc Nation’s own J. Cole ripped through cuts off his seminal mixtape The Warm Up and threw in a few surprises during his hourlong set, including guest appearances from Young Chris, Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek to help out on a few of their collaborations with the freshman emcee. With a crowd packed into the venue tighter than a shrunken pair of skinny jeans, the show was a taste of bigger things to come for the rapper, who’s readying his Roc Nation debut for release later this year.

With industry figures like Statik Selektah, Sha Money XL and Pill watching from V.I.P., J. Cole made his grand entrance to the stage at around 10:30 P.M., kicking off the show with a rendition of “Dollar & A Dream II” where the North Carolina emcee spit acapella before the DJ kicked the instrumental. Cole followed with “World is Empty” before addressing the crowd, reflecting on how he arrived to NYC seven years prior and caught a relatively unknown Kanye West play at the very same venue. Cue “Last Call,” which Cole destroyed before segueing into his “Dead Presidents II” freestyle, the centerpiece of his Warm Up tape.



Cole next brought out Young Chris as his first guest of the evening, bringing the on-wax magic of their collabo “Still the Hottest” alive on stage. “I Get Up” and “Losing My Balance” followed, with Cole pandering to the crowd by bigging up Queens and Brooklyn. “Dreams” and “Lights Please” came next, with the latter seeing the rapper spit over a naked keyboard melody before the beat crashed in and kicked the joint into full gear.



Once the beat for Talib Kweli’s “Get By” began booming through the speakers, Cole spit his verse from his freestyle before inviting Talib Kweli and DJ Hi-Tek on stage to do the original track, rocking the beat before performing their collaboration “Just Begun” off Reflection Eternal’s forthcoming sophomore album Revolutions Per Minute. But the highlight of the evening? Cole played some new shit for a song called “Who Dat,” a joint that began with an instrumental that sampled the same beat as Beanie Sigel’s song of the same name, with the instro cutting out to let Cole spit it acapella. The up-and-comer shut down the set with his verse from Wale’s “Beautiful Day” and “Grown Simba,” and by the end, the star that had only recently been born had truly begun to shine.

Photo link:
Wire Image

Check out more J. Cole SOB's live reviews here:
New York Times
Entertainment Weekly
MTV
XXL
Hip Hop Update
Hip Hop DX

A nice video montage recaping the show from 2 dope boyz below.



more fan shot footage below.





(video courtesy of LaceZilla, akirshba, 2 dope boyz, HenritoLuvsTRL, Young CTV & Hip Hop & BS)

Jay-Z: Las Vegas The Pearl At The Palms BP3 Close Out Concert Review

Jay-Z Las Vegas, NV The Pearl At The Palms concert closes out the 2nd leg of the BP3 Tour.

As reported by Jason Bracelin / Las Vegas Review-Journal

He fancies himself hip-hop's pre-eminent huckster, three-card monte personified, a used car salesman with beats instead of beaters.

"I sell ice in the winter, I sell fire in hell," Jay-Z informed a sold-out Pearl at the Palms on Saturday night (Saturday, March 27). "I am a hustler, baby, I'll sell water to a well."

The song was "U Don't Know," a shout-along banger with shotgun-blast percussion where the emcee in question testifies to his marketing prowess, which lies somewhere between the calculating number crunching of a one-man ad agency and the smooth-talking savvy of a street urchin with a bunch of gold watches for sale inside his trenchcoat.

"Put me anywhere of God's green Earth, I'll triple my worth," he announced matter-of-factly, with little aplomb.

"I. Will. Not. Lose," he continued, each utterance doubling as its own declarative sentence.

And true to his words, Jay-Z is a master salesman, saving his best work for his toughest charge: himself.

Hip-hop, like professional sports, is an unforgiving vocation: Rhymers age like dogs, one year may as well be seven.

Just look at 50 Cent's shelf-life: Dairy products tend to last longer. It's the rare rapper who can continually reinvent himself and even unimpeachable greats like Nas, the Wu-Tang Clan, Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg and dozens of others eventually seem to lose a measure of their vitality, not to mention their commercial luster.

In rock 'n' roll, nostalgia is often embraced and celebrated, as cherished as some ragged old concert T-shirt that reminds its wearers of their youth.

But in hip-hop, the past is mostly significant only as a prelude to the present. You don't see pioneering veteran acts such as Run-DMC or Public Enemy still packing arenas the way that, say, even the Journeys of the world do.

And this is one of hip-hop's best attributes and greatest strengths.

Nevertheless, Jay-Z's been consistently topping the charts for almost 15 years now, throwing off rap's evolutionary bell curve like maybe only Tupac Shakur or Biggie Smalls might have done had they lived long enough to attempt as much.

He's done it all by never putting on any airs about himself as he's gone from small-scale drug dealer –– at least that's how he tells it –– to big-time record seller and entrepreneur with his own clothing line and sneaker endorsements.

For a lot of rappers, "keeping it real" means continually revisiting the street-level exploits that form the preface to many of their careers.

For Jay-Z, it just means being forthcoming about where he's at in his life at a given moment, and so he doesn't try to relate to his audience so much as give them a behind-the-curtains peek at his own celebrity.

Hence, his latter-day catalog is a bit like the "Robb Report" set to a beat.

"If you grew up with holes in your zapatos, you'd celebrate the minute you was having dough," he explained during the chest-pounding bravado of "99 Problems," a line that encapsulates much of Jay-Z's recent repertoire.

That song segued into "Show Me What You Got," a pop trifle that was the inverse of the tune that preceded it, with images of yachts and girls in bikinis flashing across the video screens at the back of the stage.

It's this balance of grit and glamour, skewed to the latter nowadays, that forms the basis of Jay-Z's appeal.

On the mic, he's an incredible technician, swinging between a cool nonchalance and an overheated spray of boasts.

"I'm so far ahead of my time, I'm 'bout to start another life. Look behind you, I'm 'bout to pass you twice," he rhymed acapella during "Hovi Baby," his 10-piece backing group momentarily silenced as his words packed just as much thunder as his band's substantial percussive might.

A cool, cocksure presence, Jay-Z donned a smile as wide as his vocabulary through it all, commanding the stage with a loose-shouldered, easygoing gait, bouncing on the back of his heels the way some prizefighters do just before springing into action.

He fired off his songs one right after the other with barely a pause. Perhaps the show's only dull moment over close to two hours was when Jay-Z ceded the stage for a brief interlude by run-of-the-mill gangsta Young Jeezy, who possesses abundant energy, but little else.

And then the man of the night ambled back on stage.

This was the last stop of his "Blueprint 3 Tour," and he ended his set by drinking champagne with his tourmates and pointing out crowd members individually by what they were wearing and thanking them for showing up.

A multimillionaire superstar, Jay-Z's no longer a man of the people, but for a night at least, he seemed happy enough to be among them. He took off his shades, doffed his hat, and stopped selling himself just long enough to be himself.

Show photo links:
Corbis Images
Wire Image

After party photo links:
Wire Image - Jay-Z
Wire Image - Trey Songz

Jay-Z concert appearances are as follows:

Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival appearance.
Apr 16 Indio, CA - Empire Polo Club

Jay-Z European Tour Dates:

Jun 4 Rock am Ring, Germany
Jun 5 Rock im Park, Germany
Jun 6 Paris Bercy, France
Jun 7 Manchester, UK - Manchester Evening News Arena
Jun 9 Birmingham, UK - LG Arena
Jun 11 Isle of Wright, UK - Seaclose Park
Jul 2 Eurockeennes Belfort, France
Jul 4 London, UK - Hyde Park - Wireless Festival
Jul 9 Oxygen, Ireland
Jul 10 Frauenfeld, Switzerland - Openair Frauenfeld
Jul 11 T in the Park, Scotland

More Ice Cube & Jeezy At Staples Center Los Angeles, CA BP3 Show

Related:
Ice Cube Joins Jeezy At BP3 Staples Center Los Angeles, CA Show

Jay-Z BP3 Staples Center Los Angeles, CA Concert Review

As reported by Jeff Weiss / Los Angeles Times

During the recording of “The Blueprint 3,” Jay-Z’s latest chart-topping full-length, the Brooklyn-born rapper gleaned something from frequent collaborator Kanye West: how to transform album tracks into arena-sized epics. In front of a sold-out Staples Center crowd on Friday night (Friday, March 26) and backed by a 10-piece-band -- a three-member horn section, two guitarists, keyboardists and two drummers, along with backup emcee Memphis Bleek – the lyricist born Shawn Carter proved he could deliver a similar punch in a live setting. Drawing maximum response from the audience, he playfully asked them to throw their diamonds in the sky and repeatedly thanked them for their support. He even sang “Happy Birthday” to a fan holding a “Birthday Girl” sign.

Jay-Z, the hustler turned rapper turned brand name as big as the borough itself, owned the sold-out Staples Center. “This is Sinatra at the opera, bring a blond,” he rapped on “D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune).” And if the spectacle wasn’t exactly Wagner’s “Ring Cycle,” at times it felt like an egalitarian equivalent. A wide demographic mix of the infamously fractionalized Los Angeles was drawn to the 40-year-old rapper who has almost single-handedly spawned the genre “classic rap.”

Many arrived dressed for a Friday night, as though they were gunning for a cameo on “Entourage.” Models clutching Gucci handbags stood among tabloid fodder, Chris Rock, Christina Aguilera, actors in Affliction tees tailed by Barbie blonds and B-boys in baggy pants. A duo donned outfits honoring the 15th anniversary of N.W.A. founder Eazy-E’s death (Compton caps and Eazy T-shirts) -- a milestone Jay-Z neglected to mention when he shouted out, “R.I.P. 2Pac, the Notorious B.I.G., Big Pun, Big L and Pimp C,” following an electrifying a capella denouement to “Big Pimpin’.”

“I can sell ice in the winter, I can sell fire in hell. I’m a hustler.”

Although he has boasted of his entrepreneurial beginnings on the street earning seed money by “flipping a record company from a half a [kilo],” Jay-Z’s renegade independent days are in the past. “I used to duck shots/but now I eat quail/I’ll probably never see jail,” he raps on "Real as It Gets." He’s the mega-star who two years ago inked a reported $150-million partnership with Live Nation Entertainment to advance his Jay-Z brand.

It’s a business that strives to be as ubiquitous as Coca-Cola or Nike. Before the show, big screens solicited the audience to “text BP3” and join the “Jay-Z movement.” Outside along L.A. Live's shrill fluorescent walkways, people signed up to win merchandise made by one of his companies, Roc Nation.

Dovetailing with his corporate successes as the former chief executive of Def Jam Recordings is Jay-Z’s consummate professionalism. One can scoff at the disconnect between his hood tales and his current stature, but there’s no denying his style, or his hits, as impressive a body of work as any rapper ever. From “Ain’t No” to “Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem),” “I Just Wanna’ Love U (Give it 2 Me)” to “Empire State of Mind,” Jay-Z can fill a two-hour set with a keen, razor-sharp lyrical catalog memorized by 20,000 people. And that’s what he did, with his band teasing out the arrangements out to fulfill Carter’s orchestral, “Avatar” sized aspirations.

“I’m on to the Next One.”

Friday’s show presented the latest incarnation of Jay-Z. If his recent work hasn’t been as critically or commercially successful as his early output, it has been his grandest in scope. Other rappers have played Staples, but none with Jay-Z’s worldwide stature. Many have achieved mass appeal, but none have sustained it as long. He eggs the adoring crowd on, “I have 11 No. 1 albums.” But everyone already knows this, which is why they forked over half-a-week’s paycheck for tickets.

His only real misstep of the night was ceding the stage to Young Jeezy for a 30-minute interlude. The Atlanta emcee gamely attempted to fill the void, but in the process illustrated how difficult it is to command such a large crowd. Thankfully, a brief Ice Cube cameo to perform “Check Yo’ Self” appeased the restless.

“I’m from where the hammer’s rung, where the news cameras never come…where the grams is slung.”

The evening’s most poignant moment, a rare respite from the avalanche of explosive lights and flashing LED screens, arrived when Jay-Z delved into his back catalog, performing “Can I Live” and “Where I’m From.” The two tracks served as a reminder that despite his evolution, here was the same Jay-Z who won over first the doubters and then the masses since the summer of ’96. But as great as the original version was, it never could have sold out the Staples Center, or validated the words of “Encore,” the final song of the night, with the line, “I came, I saw, I conquered, from record sales, to sold out concerts.”

Photo links:
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more fan shot footage below.











(video courtesy of Rap-Up, thehand99. & ZayNova)

Jay-Z's BP3 2010 Tour dates:

Mar 27 Las Vegas, NV - The Pearl

Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival appearance:
Apr 16 Indio, CA - Empire Polo Club

Jay-Z European Tour Dates:

Jun 4 Rock am Ring, Germany
Jun 5 Rock im Park, Germany
Jun 6 Paris Bercy, France
Jun 7 Manchester, UK - Manchester Evening News Arena
Jun 9 Birmingham, UK - LG Arena
Jun 11 Isle of Wright, UK - Seaclose Park
Jul 2 Eurockeennes Belfort, France
Jul 4 London, UK - Hyde Park - Wireless Festival
Jul 9 Oxygen, Ireland
Jul 10 Frauenfeld, Switzerland - Openair Frauenfeld
Jul 11 T in the Park, Scotland