How do you compress 30 years of mega hits and genre defining rap songs into two and a half hours in a sold out London showcase?
If you are Jay-Z and you are celebrating your 30th anniversary as a rap titan and music icon, you invite Idris Elba to open with a spoken word piece from the 2007 concept album, American Gangster. The film version features Elba.
“Your gangster is not defined by how low your jeans fall to your waist/But more how your genes stand up to expectations.”
Jay-Z as rap star and mogul has been standing up to and surpassing expectations for three decades; sagging jeans, timberland boots and base ball hats et al.
Then next you curate a set featuring rap songs that have defined a generation, inspired and introduced artistes and become the stuff of nostalgia.
But before the songs, you remind your audience that London once “saved your life” and maybe kept you out of jail.
Songs included “Jigga What, Jigga Who”, “Hard Knock Life”, “Empire State of Mind”, ,”Run This Town”, “Dead Presidents”, Song Cry”, No Church in the Wild” and “Family Feud” among others
Then to show the world that you still got game, you go toe-to-toe with London based rapper, Giggs in a 9 minute rap battle that showed Jay-Z still has it going on.
And then because you never forget your friends nor your humble beginnings, you bring on Dj Khaled to introduce a song and hype up the mammoth crowd before introducing Ms Lauryn Hill and Wyclef Jean to thrill the fans with hits from their debut album; ” Ready or Not” and “Killing Me Softly” before telling them that it’s “all because “we’re both celebrating 30 years,” and you are “forever a fan!”
But Jay-Z doesn’t stop there, he also reminds the surprised duo that they took him on his first european tour.
Then finally because the only thing “better than one billionaire is two”, he pauses to lead the crowd in singing a happy birthday to his wife, Beyonce, who turned 45 the day before.
The birthday tribute ends with a rivetting pyrotechnic display that has the crowd screaming and clapping.
Going over the 10.30pm curfew, Mr. Sean Carter brings the night to a close with his hit song, “Encore”, a fitting coda to a magical night at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London on September 4, 2026.
“I came, I saw, I conquered/
From record sales, to sold out concerts.