cornershopstudios » Jay-Z @ Centre Bell

Brooklyn rhyme slinger turned big beat baller brought his years of performance prowess to Montreal’s Centre Bell. That’s right ladies and germs… Jay-Z lit up the 514 with a ticket to ride, and if you weren’t there to see it then you missed a bright night of charging spits laced with slide and bounce beats the likes of which solidify Jay’s place at the top of the hip hop food chain. Remember the good old days when Jigga had to sell blow and pack a piece to drop an album? Well those memoirs live deep in the cockles of his now monetarily cluttered mind as the irreverent urban mogul owned the staggering stage in commanding black garb and sparkling slickness. The hip hop monarch emerged from the center of the mise-en-scène to the tune of Run This Town, from his latest The Blueprint 3, as the 11,000 person throng rose to their feet, gazing at the mic wielding lyricist while he commanded “Bounce! Come on! Bounce! Come on!”. The rapper’s Death Of Auto-Tune came next, inciting spirited crowd participation leading up to a blazing rendition of U Don’t Know. Jay-Z and his 12 piece backing band knocked hit after hit out of the park, delivering big numbers such as 99 Problems, Show Me What You Got, I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me), and Heart Of the City (Ain’t No Love), with the night also producing collaborative efforts as N*E*R*D’s Pharrell Williams took the stage accompanying the rapper during So Ambitious. The Big Apple phenomenon rocked the Centre Bell with an expected fervency and unparalleled live presence. Often imitated, but never duplicated, Jay-Z still reigns supreme.