Reviews

Jay-Z puts his professionalism on display at Vancouver concert

by Martin Turenne on October 17th, 2009 at 9:49 AM
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      At GM Place on Friday, October 16

      Jay-Z isn’t hip-hop’s most charismatic rapper, nor its greatest storyteller, nor its leading poetic force, but he’s probably the most consistent, well-rounded artist the genre has ever known.

      If the New Yorker played baseball for his beloved Yankees, he wouldn’t be a flashy slugger like Reggie Jackson, nor a strapping natural like Mickey Mantle; he’d be Derek Jeter—so thoroughly competent in every aspect of the game as to overwhelm opponents by the sheer force of his professionalism.


      Watch Jay-Z perform "Run This Town" at GM Place on October 16, 2009.

      The numbers don’t lie. With this year’s The Blueprint 3, the man born Shawn Carter scored his 11th number-one album, the most ever for a male solo artist. But because he’s such a calm, methodical sort, and because he’s recorded only a handful of world-conquering singles, Jay-Z’s never fit the role of pop icon, at least not outside of America.

      On October 16, the Brooklyn native played his first Vancouver show in 10 years, drawing a predominantly male audience, most of whom probably relish the fact that their hero’s a street legend, not a radio star.

      Ten minutes before showtime, the screens on either side of the stage began flashing a running countdown. The black-clad headliner rose through the floor at the precise count of zero, ever the punctual businessman.

      Hova kicked off with “Run This Town” and “D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)”, two of nine songs he’d play from The Blueprint 3, a scattershot album that finds him aiming to be all things to all listeners. For fans of so-called hipster rap, he aired “Already Home” and “So Ambitious” (with a hook sung live by the legally tone-deaf Pharrell Williams). Then there was “Venus vs. Mars”, a conceptual “war of the sexes” piece littered with references to trashy celebrities; if hip-hop can still be called black America’s CNN, then this was Jay-Z’s Larry King moment.

      When he wasn’t airing album tracks from The Blueprint 3, Mr. Beyoncé Knowles was slaying the room with ruthless efficiency. He hit an early peak with “99 Problems”. The song’s searing guitar riff and classic drum break suited the strengths of his 10-piece band, which recalled the Roots in both its potency and sense of swing.

      If anything, the players were perhaps a little too forceful, often drowning the rapper’s voice in the mix. At the midway point, Jay surfaced clear, serving up versions of “Nigga What, Nigga Who” and “P.S.A.” to match the heights he reached at 2008’s Pemberton Festival. For five glorious minutes, the virtuoso offered a master class in diction that even the most hardened vocal coach would be powerless to critique.

      As at Pemberton, Jay-Z ended his set by pointing out people in the crowd to thank them personally—the countless guys wearing Yankees gear, the four girls who spelled out H-O-V-A on their tank tops, and the gangster encrusted in so much bling even the half-billionaire seemed jealous. It’s a canny piece of stagecraft, this ritual, a gesture that brings fans closer to Jay-Z, turning what might otherwise be awestruck hero worship into simple admiration for a sincere, hard-working artist.

      Comments

      11 Comments

      simmi

      Oct 17, 2009 at 11:49am

      nice article...well put:)

      Tonya

      Oct 17, 2009 at 5:37pm

      Do you and beyonce have a child yes or no

      craig

      Oct 17, 2009 at 5:49pm

      what the hell is with the first paragraph. "Jay-Z isn’t hip-hop’s most charismatic rapper, nor its greatest storyteller, nor its leading poetic force, but he’s probably the most consistent,..."
      I completely disagree. Put a little more thought into your writing before you publish it.

      Ryan

      Oct 18, 2009 at 10:16am

      Craig, the writer is right. if anything he gave Jay Z too much credit. Why do i say this?, simple. He's not anything close to pac or biggie were. BUT, he said at his own concert " people are already comparing me to the likes of pac and biggie" whoa whoa whoa. Never will he produce or replicate some of the feelings pac and biggie could give us. I'd take meth or red a month before jay. That being said, he owns ball teams, his wife is gorgous and he's beyond loaded. It's a way bigger game then you may see craig.

      Markusss

      Oct 18, 2009 at 10:56am

      Jeez craig, so if one person, which would be you, disagrees the article is wrong? The whole point is that it's the writer's opinion.

      Fat Ninja

      Oct 19, 2009 at 3:12am

      Ryan, don't hate man. Jay is Pac, Big, Rae and Cube put together, he is Years ahead of the game. He is overloading with Swagger and his lyrical content is just too ill. Give credit where it is due.

      Tesh

      Oct 19, 2009 at 12:49pm

      Jay Z is the man. Period. Excellent in concert!!!!!

      Jay-z Stan

      Oct 19, 2009 at 7:11pm

      A shame. We're all watching this. Most of us also remember cetain incidents that were hyped by the media and the general public was at a loss to understand their overstated significance. Such as Princess Diana's death (that had no relevance outside US and western Europe), Lady GaGa's singing abilities, Britney's breakdown, Oprah Winfrey's actual endearment by people among other things. Jay-Z is not CLOSE to tupac in terms of lyrical content, delivery, the sheer poeticism of his words, the energy, the 'ahead of the game' quality pointed out by Jay-Z stans and even the consistency that Jay-Z stans love to tout (2pacaypse now, Me Against the World, All Eyez on Me, 7 day theory and disc 1 of R U Still down and disc 1 of Until the End of Time). Hell, All Eyez on Me alone has more classic tracks than Jay-Z has made in his entire career which has been 3 times longer than Tupac's! But still he can't make as many good, wholesome, classic rap tracks. And that is 'well-rounded'? Nas and Eminem are better rappers than Jay-Z. Not to mention Tupac and Biggie. BP3 was disappointing and a 3rd straight flop from Jiggaman since his comeback. OB4CL2 was the best rap album of the year and that's a fact.

      DWIGHT

      Oct 20, 2009 at 11:20pm

      Jay-Z is arguably one of the best hip hop artists of all time. But the Jay-Z today (circa 2000: Dynasty-Blueprint-to-Blueprint 3) is nothing compared to the Jay-Z of 1996. Reasonable Doubt is still his BEST album to date, BAR NONE. (For those of you who consider yourselves true Jay fans, and have never heard this album, LISTEN to this album! None of his work even comes close to Reasonable Doubt). He was still hungry back then, but all the money made him soft. But who can blame him, when you are making $150 million a year? In the words of Jay, "I'm not a businessman, I'M A BUSINESS MAN! So let me handle my business damn!"