Jay-Z Celebrates ‘The Blueprint’ 25th Anniversary With Eminem, Pharrell Williams and Slick Rick at Yankee Stadium
Jay-Z was almost entirely truthful to the source material for his 25th anniversary Yankee Stadium show on Saturday to celebrate “The Blueprint,” setting...
Key points
- 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 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.
- “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.
What happened
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 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. “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...
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