Jay-Z has returned to the stage with his first live performance in four years where he shared a new remix of his 2009 track “Empire State Of Mind” featuring Gil Scott-Heron.
NME writes that the rapper unveiled the remix at an event sponsored by the Louis Vuitton Foundation and Tiffany & Co in Paris on Friday, April 14, in his first onstage appearance since 2019.
“New York (Concept De Paris)” sees Jay-Z take his hit single “Empire State Of Mind” and mash it up with Gil Scott-Heron’s “New York Is Killing Me”.
It takes verses from the original track and combines them with the latter’s 2011 cult favourite, creating a new homage to the American city.
The performance was held to mark the opening of a new exhibition – Basquiat X Warhol. Painting Four Hands – which celebrates both neo-expressionist artist Jean-Michel Basquiat and pop art pioneer Andy Warhol.
“New York Is Killing Me” is taken from Scott-Heron’s celebrated 2011 album, I’m New Here, which was his last LP. Shortly after its release, the poet and jazz Musician – who is considered a forerunner of hip-hop – died following a trip to Europe. He was aged 62.
