All Points West Day 1: Jay-Z

Jay-Z at APW, 7.31.09

After the announcement of Adam “MCA” Yauch’s unfortunate cancer diagnosis, I wondered who APW could pull in of that caliber. This question was quickly answered once Jay-Z was announced as the stand-in headliner for the Beastie Boys.

I became very nostalgic when coming to terms with the line-up change, thinking about that era in my life where hip-hop was such a key component. When Reasonable Doubt was on repeat on my Sony Walkman, providing insight to a kid in the suburbs with a life far from being hard knock.

Life as we know it has changed drastically since then but I feel one can never appreciate the present and the future without taking a look at the past. My anticipation for seeing Jay-Z live was surprisingly high yet cautious so as to not set myself up for a disappointment.

I’m not really sure where to begin my review of the show because from start to finish Jay-Z killed the set, catering to every person who has ever heard one of his songs. Special nods to Beastie Boys were embedded throughout the setlist including opening with a cover of No Sleep ‘Til Brooklyn, as well as a tear jerking tribute to the life of the late great Michael Jackson.

The highlight moment of the night for me occurred when the lights dimmed and Jay-Z told the crowd ‘This may be too far back for some of you, here’s your education on Reasonable Doubt‘ followed by a run through of some of my all time favorite hip hop tunes. He pulled out all the stops, covering all his bases in one of the most epic encores I’ve experienced.

Jay-Z’s reach, influence and impact on music and culture is undeniable with fans of all ages and colors. This fact was evidenced by the middle aged white couple rocking out next to us and the group of Jamaican girls chanting song lyrics along with me to the left. It was definitely a once in a lifetime experience that I am grateful to have been a part of. With the new Blueprint 3 tunes I welcome back the re-humbled Hova with open arms into my iPod — as long as he strays away from Linkin Park mashups, Coldplay, Kanye West and nonsense of the sort.

MP3: Jay-Z – Jockin’ Jay or zShare
MP3: Punjabi MC featuring Jay-Z – Beware of the Boys or zShare