Looking crisp and clean in a white tuxedo, Def Jam president Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter returned to his roots Sunday night at Radio City Music Hall and performed every track from of his debut album, Reasonable Doubt in honor of its 10th anniversary.
Backed by a 60-piece orchestra headed by Roots drummer ?uestlove, Jay-Z literally rolled on stage in a 1996 white Lexus. "What up, New York," he said, going into a freestyle and alerting the crowd of the evening’s song order. "We're going last to first, not first to last." Sauce Money joined Jay for "Bring It On," but the record’s other guest, MC Jaz, was not in the building. For "Brooklyn’s Finest," Jay-Z featured a video montage of late rapper Notorious B.I.G. on a big screen as Jay rapped both his and Biggie’s verses.
Hov couldn’t leave the historic performance without offering the sold-out crowd more recent material. After a brief intermission, he jumped back onstage and ran through "Big Pimpin," "What More Can I Say" and "Give It To Me," among other more current hits.
On the heels of the concert, the "retired" rapper announced he will take his live act overseas to perform for audiences in Seoul, Beirut, Dubai, Johannesburg and Sydney, among other cities around the globe.
"There's a lot of places I haven't been," Jay-Z told the Associated Press between rehearsals for Sunday show. "They've heard my music but they've never really seen me perform live. ... This really makes me wanna go out and perform. I'm looking forward to going overseas."
As for making a full-fledged comeback – new studio albums and all – Jigga said: "I go back and forth with it. I believe the industry as a whole needs certain events to happen to sustain it and keep it alive. You need (Dr.) Dre albums, you need Eminem albums you need 50 (Cent) albums, you need big artists, you need major events that happen. ... So when I look at it in those terms, I believe that an album is needed."
Backed by a 60-piece orchestra headed by Roots drummer ?uestlove, Jay-Z literally rolled on stage in a 1996 white Lexus. "What up, New York," he said, going into a freestyle and alerting the crowd of the evening’s song order. "We're going last to first, not first to last." Sauce Money joined Jay for "Bring It On," but the record’s other guest, MC Jaz, was not in the building. For "Brooklyn’s Finest," Jay-Z featured a video montage of late rapper Notorious B.I.G. on a big screen as Jay rapped both his and Biggie’s verses.
Hov couldn’t leave the historic performance without offering the sold-out crowd more recent material. After a brief intermission, he jumped back onstage and ran through "Big Pimpin," "What More Can I Say" and "Give It To Me," among other more current hits.
On the heels of the concert, the "retired" rapper announced he will take his live act overseas to perform for audiences in Seoul, Beirut, Dubai, Johannesburg and Sydney, among other cities around the globe.
"There's a lot of places I haven't been," Jay-Z told the Associated Press between rehearsals for Sunday show. "They've heard my music but they've never really seen me perform live. ... This really makes me wanna go out and perform. I'm looking forward to going overseas."
As for making a full-fledged comeback – new studio albums and all – Jigga said: "I go back and forth with it. I believe the industry as a whole needs certain events to happen to sustain it and keep it alive. You need (Dr.) Dre albums, you need Eminem albums you need 50 (Cent) albums, you need big artists, you need major events that happen. ... So when I look at it in those terms, I believe that an album is needed."
