No One's Got a Swagger Like Z
Jay Z, a last minute replacement for the Beastie Boys, electrified the APW crowd from the moment he stepped on stage. The rapper started his 90-minute set in homage to the Beastie Boys with a cover of their hit "No Sleep till Brooklyn." The song lifted the Tri-State crowd to another level, as everyone's heart went out to MCA from the Beastie Boys, who was recently diagnosed with an operable throat cancer. Hands went up in the air and they didn't come down the whole set. There were more diamonds in the air at APW for Jay Z than there are on display at Jared's.
Throughout the rainy day, the crowd may have had 99 problems, but Jay Z wasn't one.
During his set, Jay Z went through his whole discography. He brought it so hard one could imagine the Statue of Liberty in the background throwing down her torch, shaking her hips, and tossing her French bows in the air. The light show and production quality was as good as a 4th of July show put on by Grucci.
Jay Z is to music like Denzel Washington is to cinema. It just doesn't get much better. Highlights of his set included "Dirt Off Your Shoulders" and a hyper rendition of "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)." Jay Z went out of his way to pay respect to Michael Jackson by having his band go into a full rendition of the Jackson Five's "I Want You Back" a song "Izzo" samples. After the track Jay Z memorialized the fallen pop singer. "We don't mourn death, we celebrate life."
You would be hard pressed to name a single male musician bigger than Jay Z. Whether belting out lyrics promoting political consciousness, or cultural decadence, his swagger is authentic. Unlike some hip hop acts, his live performances don't disappoint, and the tens of thousands crammed into the muddy Liberty Park felt grateful and inspired to get their swerve on.
After playing a seven-song encore, and spending ten minutes acknowledging individual members in the audience, Jay Z left the grounds in a limo faster than you can say, "Pay me, bitch."
As for the audience, the rain was long gone; the NYC skyline lit up the night; it was a perfect to the imperfect first day of All Points West.
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