27 September 2006: Jay-Z and guests at Royal Albert Hall (feat. Chris Martin)
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Whilst industry heads have been ringing all of their contacts, eBay auctions have been inundated with bids, RWD had what they were all after, tickets to the UK music event of the year. And we ain’t talking MOBOs. Fast forward one week and the same historic venue hosted the biggest name in hip hop as he brought the UK leg of his world tour to a dynamic close. Jay-Z was to be the first hip hop artist ever to headline a night at the world famous Royal Albert Hall since it’s opening in 1871. And last night the grade 1 listed building was shook from its very foundations to its dome peak.
Known for his famous concerts including Fade To Black at Madison Square Garden, I Declare War at the Continental Airlines Arena and the Reasonable Doubt 10th Anniversary Special at Radio City Music Hall, anyone who had managed to get their hands on a golden ticket knew that they were in for a one off special evening, and with Jigga bringing out a slew of guests as well as performing his hits to the backdrop of a 30 piece orchestra, it undoubtedly went off.
The support acts alone would have been the envy of any concert bill with Akala, Kano, Lupe Fiasco and Rick Ross warming up the already excited crowds with hits including Shakespeare, Ps & Qs, Kick Push and Hustlin’. But the moment everyone had bought, begged and borrowed to see was imminent when the huge black curtain draped across the stage dropped to reveal the Hustler Symphony Orchestra who immediately went into an epic buildup piece which culminated with Russell Crowe’s famous words from the movie Gladiator echoing around the arena, “Are you not entertained?” It was finally time, Jay-Z had arrived.
The audience erupted as the spotlight came up on Jay, who savoured the reaction for a moment before launching into What More Can I Say, before amping the crowd even more by delivering a slew of his most brash songs; Public Service Announcement, U Don’t Know and 99 Problems. Everyone’s hands in the hall bounced along with every bang of the bass on P.S.A. before Jigga brought out Memphis Bleek to accompany him in running through his immense catalogue. As if the gathered mass didn’t know who he was already Hov ran off a list of tracks reminding everyone who he was with Jigga My N…, Jigga That N…, Hola Hovito, Hovi Baby and the hit single Izzo (H.O.V.A) before dividing the crowd to assist him with Jigga What, Jigga Who.
With every track, the reaction from the fans was raised an echelon as they partied in the aisles to Dirt Off Your Shoulder and Memphis Bleek’s Do My and Is That Yo B*tch, during the later of Bleek’s hits Jay delivered a killer blow to the UK assembly as DJ Green Lantern switched the Timbaland beat to the Forward Riddim. Jigga spat his breakneck flow over the Dexplicit banger as the orchestra accented every note on the grime anthem. Now that Jigga had the onlookers right where he wanted, he kept it moving with Can I Get A…, his remix of Panjabi MCs Beware Of The Boys, Change Clothes and I Just Wanna Love You (Give It To Me).
After telling the audience that he was done with partying and wanted to get grimy he went into his Marcy tribute Where I’m From. As Jay delivered the classic lyrics; “I from where n****s pull your car/ and argue all day about/ who's the best MC's/ Biggie, Jay-Z, and Nas…” the Queensbridge native’s name echoed around the hall and then the familiar gunshots from Made You Look spewed from the speakers as Nasir Jones emerged from the side (rocking the biggest gold rope chain and pendant I’ve ever seen!) to perform his hit, before playing the classics If I Ruled The World (Imagine That) and Hate Me Now. Jigga who had disappeared backstage as Nas had arrived then came back out to receive daps and a hug from his one-time adversary before dueting on Dead Presidents, a track from Reasonable Doubt that sampled Esco’s voice. As the song drew to a close the pair stepped back to reveal that the haunting piano tones had actually been played by Chris Martin from Coldplay! Jay-Z and Nas going back to back on the mic as Chris Martin plays the keys? It don’t get much better than that!
After his guests had retired backstage Hovi addressed the female contingent with Girls, Girls, Girls, Excuse Me Miss and Song Cry, at the culmination of which Jay delivered yet another surprise as he revealed that the sultry vocals being heard were coming from Chris Martin’s other half Gwyneth Paltrow! The actress held her own and her notes as she closed the track and Jigga stated that it was her birthday. Asking for a cheesy moment the crowd began singing Happy Birthday before S. Carter cut them off after one line, stating “That’s enough,” before breaking into laughter.
When the following had calmed down the Def Jam president broke out into a freestyle that ended with the line, “I’m the same old G/ I understand the difference between a b*tch and a B,” before the opening guitars to ’03 Bonnie & Clyde began playing and the crowd sang back the first two lines, they were again cut out by the blaring horns of Crazy In Love as Beyoncé herself strutted out. The couple then performed the hit single as well as their newest chart topper Déjà Vu as the beautiful B dressed in a sparkling green and black number danced around her man.
Momentarily switching the focus back to himself Jay recited Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem) once Beyoncé had left the stage before delivering a tribute to fallen soldiers The Notorious B.I.G., 2Pac, Jam Master Jay, Big L, Big Pun, Easy E, Lisa Left Eye Lopez and Aaliyah. Requesting the crowd put their two’s up he got them to sing Biggie’s One More Chance and Mo Money Mo Problems as well as Pac’s Hail Mary and Ambitionz Az A Ridah, before Green Lantern scratched up Run DMC’s Peter Piper with Aaliyah’s Miss You with Jay rapping his verses to the remix.
Jay-Z then brought back Chris Martin who he has worked with on his comeback album Kingdome Come, to assist him with Heart Of The City (Ain’t No Love). The Coldplay frontman sang the hook whilst Jigga spat his verses. After momentarily feigning the end of the night, Hova returned to perform Big Pimpin’ before closing the evening with Encore. The satisfied followers chanted ‘Hova, Hova’ as they threw up their diamonds, as Lantern switched between Kanye’s original and Linkin Park’s Numb remix. The monumental evening had officially ended. So was it worth the £50+ that most of the audience had paid to be there? Jay-Z, Nas, Chris Martin, Beyonce, Gwyneth Paltrow, Memphis Bleek, Rick Ross, Lupe Fiasco, Kano and Akala all on one stage? Are you dumb!?! A classic night in hop hop history, Dacre you missed out punk!!!
Source: http://www.rwdmag.com
Beyonce was more Hazy In Love than Crazy In Love as she let her big hair down in spectacular style at her boyfriend's star-studded aftershow party.
The boozylicious popstar was decidedly unsteady on her feet as she left the £100,000 bash at around 3.30am yesterday. Seen sipping Dom Perignon champagne, it looked like Bey made hers a large one at the double celebration to mark the end of rapper beau Jay-Z's UK tour and Hollywood actress Gwyneth Paltrow's 34th birthday.
And although Bey was also seen knocking back gallons of water, the 25-year-old still managed to leave the exclusive London club Mo*vida giggling, with her hair plastered all over her face. She then fell into the back of her chauffeur-driven Bentley and flopped on to a side window as music mogul Jay, 36, looked on. Insiders say that because she's not used to having a tipple, the small amount she had was enough to put her in high spirits.
Says our spy: "Beyonce is usually ultra composed, but at the party she was having a really fun time. She wasn't knocking back the drinks, but she joined in the champagne toast for Gwyneth. It was strange to see her make such a shaky exit."
Superstar Bey and Oscar-winner Gwynnie made unlikely showbiz pals but they appeared to be getting on famously as they nattered about everything from music to babies while they sat in the corner of the VIP room. Bizarrely, Gwyn refused to have her picture taken with husband Chris Martin, saying it would "make him angry" if they were snapped together.
Throwing caution to the wind, Gwyn then ditched her macrobiotic diet and tucked into one of her two strawberry birthday cakes. But considering the number of singers in the room - Bey, Kelis, Martin, Pussycat Dolls - the Happy Birthday song was a bit poor. But there was a lot of love in the house - proved by England defender Sol Campbell and Jimmy Choo owner Tamara Mellon smooching all night. Earlier in the evening, Jay-Z put on a jaw-droppingly good show as he took to the stage at the Royal Albert Hall. The historic venue was packed with fans loving the king of rap's storming two-and-a-half hour gig, complete with orchestra.
He drove the crowd wild with hits including Hard Knock Life, Izzo and Fiesta, with side-kick Memphis Bleak. Now a regular fixture at his shows, Beyonce got up on stage to perform their duets Bonnie And Clyde, Crazy In Love and Deja Vu. And just when you thought the show couldn't get any better - New York rapper Nas joined Jay on stage.
Later Coldplay's Chris got in on the act and played piano while Jay sang Dead Presidents and Heart Of The City. But it was the impromptu appearance of Chris's missus that got one of the biggest cheers of the night.
Grabbing the mic, Gwyn provided the backing vocals to Song Cry - and happily for the audience she managed not to blub her way through it this time...
Source: http://www.mirror.co.uk
When I first found out that Chris Martin would be performing on stage at Jay-Z’s Albert Hall show, I was fit to burst. I quickly bought a ticket and counted down the days till the concert. I’m not really a Hip Hop fan, but I would make an exception just to witness a first for my favourite singer in the whole world.
I got to the venue just before the doors opened at 6.45pm. However, they were still sound checking, so they didn’t let people into the auditorium for ages. I think things got underway about an hour later than billed, but it didn’t matter. I occupied my time chatting to others and reading the paper.
When we were finally let in, I was horrified to discover that my seat was way up in the rafters. God, I’d paid £50 for the seat, so I was quite miffed. Also, I suffer from vertigo, so started to feel unwell as soon as things started to get underway. I rang the box office to find out if I could change my seat, but they said the gig was all sold out. I went to a steward to let them know how I was feeling. She said she couldn’t help, but then, after another nag, she told me to go to information to see what they could do. A very nice man there exchanged my ticket for one in the Gallery Tier, which was about 3 floors further down for no extra charge. The box I was in had an ideal vantage of the stage. What a result!
If I had remained where I was, there was no way I would have enjoyed the concert as much as I did.
The opening acts were very good. Akala, Kano, Lupe Fiasco and Rick Ross performed hits including ‘Shakespeare’, ‘Ps & Qs’, ‘Kick Push’ and Hustlin’. Everyone in the standing area [which was seated] rushed to the stage and were having a great time [I was kind of jealous], but then security made them re-take their seats, the spoilsports...
There was a huge black curtain, which hid Jay-Z’s set from the audience. We knew he was due on stage as soon as we saw The Hustler Orchestra start to assemble on behind the curtain. Geez, I’d give anything to be in that orchestra. I wonder if they have any vacancies.
When Jay-Z came on, the crowd went mental. He has a huge following of different races. It was lovely to see people of all ages and colours singing every single word of his songs and getting down. He really is the President of Hip Hop and has conquered the consciousness of countless numbers worldwide. Much respect.
Memphis Bleek joined him on stage and they went through all the classic hits. Read this review to see what they did. Nas also came on and performed some of his hits, much to the crowd’s delight. He had some big ass gold rope chain around his neck. I’ve never seen a chain so thick. It’s a wonder he doesn’t have a hernia.
Anyway, I noticed when Chris slinked on stage and I was just shaking. He played on a baby grand piano for the song ‘Dead Presidents’. Towards the end Jay-Z introduced him and he went all shy as he was leaving the stage [bless him]. To be honest it looked like he couldn’t have gotten off the stage fast enough.
Afterwards they performed ‘Song Cry’ and it took me about a minute to realise that GWYNETH PALTROW WAS DOING THE BACKING VOCALS!! I damn near had a heart attack. She has an AWESOME voice and was belting it out with all she was worth. You go girlfriend. That was just such a bonus. Jay also wished Gwyn a Happy Birthday and we were singing along, until we were cut short LOL!
Miss Beyonce Knowles came on stage and Jay-Z and her did ‘Crazy In Love’ and ‘Deja Vu’. They both seemed to enjoy the chemistry they were creating. I loved Beyonce’s shimmering green and black mini dress. She is just so Tina Tuner with her hair flicking all over the place and my her thighs are just out of this world! I don’t know where she gets her energy from to do all those dance moves and knock out the songs at the same time. I was flawed.
I didn’t notice when Chris came back on stage, but I did catch him bopping on the sidelines, waiting to come in and do the hook vocals on‘Heart Of The City (Ain’t No Love)’. It was pretty surreal watching it all.
I tell you the whole thing was out of this world brilliant. The crowd were eating out of Jay-Z’s palm and doing their thang. Jay-Z responded in kind by saying our side of the hall was the best because we were the loudest.
When it was over I went to the Stage Door to see who I could see. We saw Nas coming out, but I think everyone else escaped to the after party via another exit. I knew where the party was, but couldn’t be bothered to go all the way down there. If things had started on time, I might have. Now I regret not going. Sleep is for wimps.
Mr Shawn Carter, you sure do know how to put on a great show. Just bring the ticket price down a bit is all..
[Thanks Nettie]
