On any given day…I am the Biggest, Most Loyal, Most Loving Jay-Z fan that there has ever been…I know every lyric, I know how the tone of his voice changes with certain lines, and when he’s being snarky or arrogant, showing the love, the pain, the hate and frustration, the heartbreak, loneliness…or simply not giving a damn…I get it. Every year that he’s anywhere remotely near the town I live in, I am there. That being said…this year I was a bit shocked, and caught off guard by the Jay and Ye’ talk, and them touring together. I was even more shocked by the Watch The Throne album…and in all honesty…very disappointed at the end result. You have to first know something about me. I LOVE Jay-Z. Like, I am a True Fan. Not a “Groupie”, I wouldn’t hook up with him if given the chance, LOL! Not that Anyone would be given that chance…have you seen his wife?? LOL! But I am a True Fan. I originally loved Pac and when he died I mourned him like he was my Man (and he could’ve got it!) LOL!! Shortly after Pac died I was riding in the car with a group of friends back at Florida State U, and I heard the song “Ain’t No Nigga” by Jay and Foxy Brown. From that second on, I was hooked. That was like back in 96,97…like totally gone. I remember having a few conversations with Pac in my mind asking his forgiveness for the newfound love affair I was having with Jay-Z. LOL!! #TrueStory…
So fast forward to this Watch The Throne deal…ok, I understand that money is a motivator for most things and most people. Like I get it…But in my mind, two artists like Jay and Kanye aren’t in a position where they NEED or require approval or need to be accepted among the mainstream. Maybe it’s Just me…I may be out here alone…but I have to say…of all the Jay-Z concerts I’ve been to…and on a side note, I have never been to a Kanye West concert because I wouldn’t call myself a fan of his. I respect his work, his artistry, but for me he lost that thing that was so amazing about him from when he first came out. Or maybe he believed his own hype too much too soon…
In let’s say at least 7 Jay-Z concerts I’ve attended…this was by far the WORST!! It kills me to say it, but I have to keep it real. It felt a little too commercial…and Jay didn’t interact with the fans nearly as much…or connect the way I know him to connect…and this is the first time I ever paid for like front row seats…and in all honesty…I’d prefer to have had my money back. I didn’t see the Jay that sings out to a fan telling them to get their video ready so they can cherish a special moment with him forever (if you haven’t seen the video where he raps in Lauryn’s name on Venus vs. Mars youtube it, it’s awesome!)…or when he shouted out a little boy for his first Jay-Z concert at one I was attending. Ever since I told my oldest about this, he has insisted that he’s ready to go to his first Jay concert…perhaps next year when he’s 10…But to add injury to insult, the concert began like 2 hours late, with no other acts, and after hearing that they were beefing about spending extra money to entertain the crowd or not…it seemed to me that maybe Jay and Ye’ are forgetting to love on the fans a bit. Personally I start to feel myself a little too much at times, and I have to remind myself that what goes up can and most likely will surely come down…and I can’t help but wonder if maybe Jay and surely Kanye have forgotten this as well…
Disappointed is an understatement. I look forward to Jay-Z concerts every year. I love it when he goes back to the Reasonable Doubt album…Before I got my Range, I used to drive a Candy Apple Red Eclipse with “Can I Live” on the license plate. Hell, I bought a Range Rover on some level because that’s what Jay would’ve done…LOL! So this does not by any means kill my love for him. In fact, the tribute to the Legends Malcolm X and Martin Luther King JR were certainly heart felt…I have been to Many many concerts in my life…even Michael Jackson (RIP)…but for me… there is NOTHING like that moment when you know that Jay is “ending” the show, but comes back one more time for “Encore”…and if you’re truly lucky, he goes in for another 15 mins or so for some of my all-time favorites, like Can I Live and more of the true classics, of that original Jay that made my heart skip beats every time I heard them…I keep waiting and hoping for the day when he performs “Song Cry”, one of my All Time Fav’s, it hits me at the core that one…My love affair with Jay-Z, Sean Carter, Hova, Hovi Baby is certainly not over. It would take more than one bad concert to change…but I hope that he is not losing that love for performing. And the knowledge that some of his fans are true lovers of his art, and what he has to say and how he so eloquently says it…that he in some way has made “disciples” of us, waiting with Baited Breath for the next masterpiece that he puts together…and that “commercialism” just won’t do. He is in a class by himself. And in my opinion…should share the stage with No One. Jay is a masterpiece…and have you ever seen two works of art sharing the same space?
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