Jay-Z was almost entirely truthful to the source material for his 25th anniversary Yankee Stadium show on Saturday to celebrate “The Blueprint,” setting guests artists to high wattage but low frequency as he trotted out Eminem, Pharrell Williams and Slick Rick for a curtailed 90-minute set.
The Brooklyn native had already established a tall precedent on Friday to commemorate the 30-year milestone of “Reasonable Doubt,” his 1996 debut that elevated him from hugging blocks to topping charts. The first of three shows was all bells and whistles right from the start, with his wife Beyoncé coming out for “Can’t Knock the Hustle” as a table-setter for guests like Nas, Jaz-O and Alicia Keys.
Jay-Z‘s Saturday night show was less flashy as he traipsed through the entirety of “The Blueprint” with the very notable omission of “Takeover,” his epic diss track against Nas and Prodigy. That song, left unacknowledged, could have either been reconfigured as an attack at his current foes, much like his freestyle at the Roots Picnic in late May, or turned into a sardonic spectacle, perhaps as a gesture towards the heightened tension that lingered in the rap world at the time.
But no, Jay instead hewed close to what he otherwise laid on wax with producers including Kanye West, Bink! and Just Blaze back in 2001 as they constructed one of the foundational rap albums of this millennium. The show began with instant homage as Jay brought out Slick Rick for “The Ruler’s Back,” launching into the factory line of songs that made up the spine of “The Blueprint.” There were stadium-sized highs (“U Don’t Know”), somber lows (“Song Cry”) and a highly assumed appearance from Eminem, who traded verses with Jay on “Renegade” and reemerged to perform his signature hit “Lose Yourself.”
As Jay wrapped closer “Blueprint (Momma Loves Me),” he took a moment to reflect on “The Blueprint” as it coincided with its release on September 11, 2001. “This album dropped on a real tragic time for New York City and I was prepared to walk away from this album obviously given everything that was going,” he said. “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.”
It didn’t end there. Jay then kicked back up with “Empire State of Mind,” New York City’s torch song that he performed on Friday with Alicia Keys, before enlisting Pharrell Williams for a slew of collaborative hits spanning “I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)” to “Frontin.” The show then, surprisingly, finished quickly, with “N—s in Paris,” “Public Service Announcement” and “Encore.”
All of this, as Jay fans know, is leading towards the third and concluding show at Yankee Stadium on Sunday night. It’s billed as “Extra Innings,” suggesting it’s all the hits — and there are many — left over from his robust discography. But after the first show kicked off with a video of Beyoncé shaving his hair, a sign that a new album may be on the way, it’s still languishing in ambiguity. Until next time.
Full setlist:
The Ruler’s Back with Slick Rick
Takeover
Izzo (H.O.V.A.)
Girls, Girls, Girls b/w ‘03 Bonnie and Clyde
Jigga That N——
U Don’t Know
Hola’ Hovito
Heart of the City (Ain’t No Love)
Never Change
Song Cry
All I Need
Renegade with Eminem
Lose Yourself with Eminem
Blueprint (Momma Loves Me)
Empire State of Mind
Excuse Me Miss with Pharrell Williams
La-La-La (Excuse Me Again) with Pharrell Williams
I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me) with Pharrell Williams
Frontin’ with Pharrell Williams
Allure with Pharrell Williams
N— in Paris b/w Big Pimpin’
Public Service Announcement
Encore
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