In one of his boldest statements, Jay-Z rapped that he “made the Yankee hat more famous than a Yankee can” on 2009 hit “Empire State of Mind.”
But it’s true that Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter is hip-hop’s answer to the baseball franchise that consistently wins with style and pride and rarely lets you see them sweat.
In the case of Jay-Z, lack of perspiration sometimes is a result of treating a performance as if it were a meaningless exhibition game.
That’s what he did at a forgettable Verizon Wireless Music Center show in 2002 — leaving an eight-year chasm between local appearances.
Thankfully, the Jay-Z who played Conseco Fieldhouse on Saturday night brandished the charisma of Reggie Jackson, the power of Babe Ruth and the reliable results of Joe DiMaggio.
“I didn’t really know Indiana had love for us,” Jay-Z said during a break in the action, perhaps realizing that a top-notch effort yields a warm response in the Midwest.
The dressed-to-impress audience of approximately 15,000 did its part to make the show the social event of the season, and Jay-Z rose from beneath the stage wearing “all-black everything,” matching a lyric in opening number “Run This Town.”
One element that separates Jay-Z’s current tour from other hip-hop outings is the effective use of video screens arranged to represent a 3-D city skyline.
At various times, stacks of guitar amplifiers, streaming stock-exchange data and police-car emergency lights were seen on the screens.
The police lights corresponded to Jay-Z’s classic tale within “99 Problems,” in which he was pulled over for driving “55 in a 54.” The 2004 hit is an example of the co-owner of the New Jersey Nets dealing with everyman issues, while 2009 album “The Blueprint 3” captures Jay-Z in rarefied air.
The song “Death of Auto-Tune” portrays him as Sinatra, rewriting history without a pen. Within the lyrics of “Already Home,” he reminds other MCs that he’s not in the same league, not even shooting at the same baskets. And “On to the Next One” includes this zinger aimed at Def Jam: “I don’t get dropped; I dropped the label.”
Not unlike the Yankees, Jay-Z has his share of jealous detractors. He and guest vocalist Trey Songz addressed this dilemma during “Heart of the City (Ain’t No Love).”
Mostly, however, Jay-Z glided above it all. The crowd reveled in the woozy party of his “I Wanna Rock” remix as well as the hoarsely urgent tribute of “Empire State of Mind.”
Before Jay-Z arrived onstage, the instrumental theme associated with James Bond and Paul McCartney’s “Live and Let Die” were played on the arena’s public-address system.
By the end of the show, a third 007 anthem applied to Jay-Z’s performance: “Nobody Does It Better.”
Source: IndyStar
