Jay-Z took over Camden Town last night.
Blueprint 3 flags and billboards, dominated the Camden skyline – even the Roundhouse was decorated with the 3 stripes. To have a ticket was to have gold dust in your mitts. Peoples lined the street in hopes of scooping a last minute ticket (I was offered cash-money for my ticket in Nando’s). And the hustlers were shotting tickets like they were ‘music’s number 1 supplier’.
What was great was that people were genuinely excited to be involved and to have the chance to see Hova in such an ‘intimate’ setting.
One thing I noticed, even before the gig started, was the crowd. Put it down to Glastonbury, or the fact Rihanna & KanYe West are two of the world’s biggest Pop stars (and that they’re all over each others tracks), but, last night, the place was filled with people I doubt own Reasonable Doubt, Blueprint 1 or 2 or any Jigga back catalogue before The Black Album. And that’s cool, I’m not an elitist, but when drunk folk start grinding and lip locking in front of me – something’s up. Anyways, I digress…
10 minutes before Jay stepped on stage, a countdown timer appeared on the huge screen. Waiting 10 minutes, and watching 10 minutes pass are two very different things. It felt like the longest time…but as promised, once the time hit 00:00 – the beat dropped and Jigga burst onto the stage performing “D.O.A (Death of Auto-tune)”. To say the crowd were hyped would be an understatement. The Roundhouse sound system is most certainly well equipped for this type of gig and Jay’s beats echoed through the venue and pulsated through us.
Without pause, Jay dropped hit after hit, like his life was depending on it. “99 Problems”, “Heart of the City”, “Big Pimpin’”, “Hard Knock Life”, “Dirt Off Your Shoulders” – the list goes on. The classics kept coming, demonstrating just how many hits this man has had and how long he’s sat – comfortably – at the top.
But if I’m being real, I wanted to hear more Blueprint 3 material. “Run This Town” was played, which was cool, but having seen him perform this with KanYe and Rihanna stateside so many times, it didn’t have the impact it should have. The fact is, the song is dope, but due in part to the other two collaborators.
Hov then went in on “Empire State of Mind” – again, without his collaborator Alicia Keys. This on the other hand, sounded epic. Undeniably, as one of the stand-out tracks on the new album, “Empire State of Mind” is a new Jay-Z classic. Fact.
…That was it as far as new material goes. No “Venus Vs Mars”, no “Hate”, no “Thank You”, “Star is Born” or “Off That”. Understandable but a little disappointing none the less. The album only dropped in the UK three days before the show; therefore I assume he didn’t want a silent audience who didn’t know any of the tunes . Yo, Hov – the album leaked 2 weeks ago.. I was on those lyrics!!
Don’t get me wrong, watching Jay-Z perform classic material is always a good look. Even on a bad day, Hova is undoubtedly superior to most rappers around today. Not only musically, but also in terms of sheer stage presence. Jay-Z is a rare Hip Hop artist who can actually work a stage. His energy and demeanour while performing is second to none.
Artist. Brand. Icon. Three words synonymous with Mr Shawn Carter.
Peace, Love & Jay-Z
Speeakz
This review comes courtesy of Barclaycard who kindly hooked me up with a VIP ticket. So props to them and be sure to check out www.barclaycardunwind.com to find out about access to reserved tickets, one-off exclusive gigs, VIP treatment and ticket competitions etc – and to make sure they keep hooking PBB up with free tickets and ish – lol!
