Our favorite rapper Jay-Z has been doing the festival circuit for the duration of this summer; he preformed at Made in America earlier this month and last month he performed at the V festival in the UK. His performances have drawn huge crowds, impeccable for a man who has been doing music since the late 80’s. The crowd he drew at The Meadows Festival was no different. New York is his city, his old stomping grounds, so he didn’t disappoint. Jay-Z preformed to a massive crowd last night and the audience couldn’t get enough singing along to hits such as ‘Empire State of Mind’ and ‘Big Pimpin’.
Among the hits, he performed ‘Story of OJ’, a song that talks about the struggles of black Americans past and present. This song is a departure from his normal poppy and gritty hits. It’s message is one that echoes. Before performing, he dedicated the song to Football player Colin Kaepernick, who for the past year has been protesting the national anthem by kneeling. It has been met with criticism and ridicule, so a nod from Jay-Z means all his efforts are worth it. Jay-Z has shown that he is a strong supporter of Black Lives Matter and the current black movements. It’s evident throughout his latest ‘4:44’ album that he supports these causes since it’s stark difference from the content of his previous albums ‘4:44’ proves to be a black liberation album.
Jay-Z also performed ‘Numb/Encore’ his collaborative song with Linkin Park and dedicated it to Linkin Park lead member Chest Bennington, who committed suicide this past summer.Jay-Z will continue preforming until December as he continues touring on his ‘4:44’ tour.
Here is the full setlist from last night:
“Run This Town”
“No Church In the Wild”
“Lucifer”
“Bam” (with Damian Marley)
“Welcome to Jamrock” (with Damian Marley)
“Where I’m From”
“Marcy Me”
“Empire State of Mind”
“FuckWithMeYouKnowIGotIt”
“Family Feud”
“U Don’t Know”
“PSA”
“Heart of the City”
“Moonlight”
“The Story of OJ”
“Niggas In Paris”
“Izzo (HOVA)”
“Jigga My Nigga”
“Dirt Off Ya Shoulder”
“On to the Next One”
“Give It 2 Me”
“Big Pimpin”
“99 Problems”
“Hard Knock Life”
“Numb/Encore”
“Forever Young”
