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Midterm time is a busy period for students. There are a lot of sleepless nights, a great deal of stress and headaches, and a nice pile of dishes in the sink that you know you’ll get to tomorrow. Professors place due dates one after the other, and as much as you keep telling yourself that you’ll work ahead, cram sessions are pretty much guaranteed.

The solution?

Go see Jay-Z live. Duh.

That’s what I did. Jay-Z came to my second hometown of London, ON last night, performing at the John Labatt Center. I’ll be frank: I was very surprised that this mogul of hip-hop chose to play London of all places (and yes, I did drop my jaw a little when I initially heard the news), but hey: Jay-Z himself said that he wanted to reach new audiences with this tour, so who am I to complain?

Tagging along with Hov across the United States and Canada are newcomers J.Cole and Wale, who put on respectable performances as opening acts. Wale even took a little jog around the stadium during his hit, “Chillin’”, jamming with the audience and giving everyone an opportunity to sing that infamous “La la la la, hey hey hey…” base track as hard to him as he sang to us. Respecttttt.

News spread fast that Jay-Z was coming straight from a World Series performance in New York City to London, so we were all shakin’ in our sneakers/boots/flats/stiletto heels (trufaxxx) with anticipation for his arrival, hoping the show would go as planned. Rumors were floating around that Alicia Keys and Drake would pop up at the show, making everyone a little more excited and wondrous of what was to come.

Cue N.E.R.D.’s high-energy, otherworldly set to distract us from our whimsical imaginations. Chad Hugo was notably absent, but in his place was new member Rhea, who rocked her high waisted jeans and red heels with a swagga that matched the rest of the group, making her a natural addition. I have to say that Pharrell is quite a charmer: he brought both male and female members of the audience up on stage for “Rockstar” and “Everyone Nose”, but for those of us left on the floor – well, it got a little hot in the JLC. Oh my, Mr.Williams – oh my.

Not to mention I spazzed completely during “Spaz”, appropriately. I’m pretty sure my wristlet smacked the girl next to me a few times too, but considering how hyped up we all were, all was forgiven shortly.

10:30pm finally rolled around, and with it came a darkened stadium, a drum roll, screams from every direction (including my own mouth), and out of the center of the stage, Mr. 40/40 himself: Jay-Z.

From that point on, I didn’t care that I didn’t know every lyric to a tee, or that I had a pile of work waiting for me at home, or that I was going to spend the next 1 ½ hours sweating excessively – I was in the company of one the world’s greatest, and I felt really good about it.

Jay-Z played it cool for his entire set in various all-black ensembles, donning Ray Bans and connecting with each and every person through every verse. Pair this with a live band and a breathtaking assembly of video screens and lights, and you’ve got yourself one hell of a show. From the opening performance of “Run This Town”, “D.O.A.” to “You Don’t Know” and “99 Problems”, he made the entire audience feel like we were a part of his home on that stage and encouraged us to celebrate every minute of the show by throwing our hands up, bouncing in our step, and sharing his swagga. I was actually a cool kid for a while.

Least to say, I went a little nuts during “Public Service Announcement”, a interlude off of The Black Album which made everyone put their hands shaped as diamonds in the air and scream “HOVA! HOVA!” repeatedly, reveling the man for all of his worth.

Jigga threw it back with his hits “Jigga What”, “Can I Get A” and “Girls Girls Girls”, weaving them with tracks off his eleventh number one album The Blueprint 3, including the songs “Already Home”, “Venus vs. Mars”, and “Empire State of Mind”. Pharrell returned (along with my fangirl screams) to the stage to perform “So Ambitious”, and as did J.Cole for “A Star is Born”.

The triumphant moment of the night was when he convinced the entire audience to wave their rags in the air during “Big Pimpin’” before solemnly taking a few minutes to share his gratitude for his success. The spotlight panned over the audience as he pointed to individual members, describing and complementing clothing selections, signs, and even paying respects to a group of fans holding the Canadian flag.

There is no doubt that Jay-Z is an alumnus to the rap game. His ability to transcend generations was even apparent as the forty-year-old woman next to me rapped every one of his songs, a sure sign that he is at a level of success that many strive for. He even shared a bit of his wisdom with us as a final goodbye: never give up, because we are the future. With those simple words, he ended the night with “Young Forever”, a song that allowed us to enjoy our final moments with the Jigga Man.

You are certainly a work of art - a Warhol already, Mr.Carter.

Setlist
Run This Town
D.O.A.
You Don’t Know
99 Problems
Show Me What You Got
Give It To Me
Jigga My
I.Z.Z.O.
Jigga What
Public Service Announcement
Heart of the City
Already Home
Empire State of Mind
A Star is Born
So Ambitious
Dirt Off Your Shoulders

Encore
Thank You
On to the Next One
Excuse Me Miss
Swagga Like Us
Can I Get A
Big Pimpin’
Hard Knock Life
Encore
Young Forever

Tags: concert reviews, jay-z, reviews

Posted on Friday, October 30th, 2009 at 11:09 am by Mehek - Correspondent and is filed under Concert Reviews.

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