Legendary rapper Jay–Z celebrated the 25th anniversary of “The Blueprint” with a show at Yankee Stadium in New York City last night. The 90-minute set included Slick Rick, Pharrell Williams, and Eminem.
A Weekend Celebrating Jay-Z’s Greatest Albums
It was the second of three shows meant to celebrate some of his greatest albums, and Variety said that he also performed on Friday night to mark the 30th anniversary of “Reasonable Doubt,” the album that skyrocketed him to fame. This concert included guests Nas, Jaz-O, and Alicia Keys. His wife, Beyoncé, even made an appearance for his track “Can’t Knock the Hustle.”
His concert the night before was truly a family affair, with wife Beyoncé and daughter Blue Ivy making an appearance. The 14-year-old even took center stage and created a true pop culture moment that fans will remember. She performed “Feelin’ It” onstage and played piano, warming the hearts of 45,000 fans. The teenager has become a confident performer in recent years and even served as a dancer on her mother’s “Cowboy Carter” tour. Beyonce also opened the show, as well as joining him onstage for a track, and there were tons of other surprises in store.
A Minimalist Production With Maximum Impact
His concerts haven’t relied on props and are more focused on storytelling and a field-spanning projector screen that pays homage to his home city.
Production designer Willo Perron told WIRED that they were focused on a minimalist approach and were trying to avoid unnecessary theatrics to allow the music, guests, and the audience to shine throughout the weekend. With all of these hip-hop-defining classics, theatrics weren’t needed to carry Jay-Z’s music onstage.
Critics describe the Saturday night performance as being less “flashy,” and he omitted his track “Takeover,” which criticized Nas and Prodigy when it was released. The rapper largely focused on songs he’d produced with producers like Kanye West and Just Blaze in 2001 instead of those reflecting underlying tensions in the rap world during the millennium. His performance of “The Ruler’s Back” included Slick Rick, and he also performed “U Don’t Know,” “Song Cry,” and duetted with Eminem on “Renegade.”
Eminem also notably performed his smash hit “Lose Yourself” from that time period, which was featured on the soundtrack for 8 Mile, a movie made about his life before fame.
Jay-Z Pays Tribute to New York Through Music
“This album dropped at a real tragic time for New York City, and I was prepared to walk away from this album, obviously given everything that was going on,” Jay-Z said onstage, referencing the attacks on September 11, 2001, the day “The Blueprint” was released.
“And the way it resonated with the world, it was like part of healing for New York City, and when the numbers came back for the first week, I was blown away by the support and the love, and I was happy to hopefully provide some relief for such a tough time.”
He performed “Empire State of Mind” again shortly after his speech, which he’d also done a rendition of on Friday night with Alicia Keys, and the concert series was full of love for his home city.
