Jay-Z, Up Close

Fans were still filing into Assembly Hall when J Cole came on stage at 7:50 p.m. Even though the hall was not yet packed, J Cole seemed grateful and talked about how hard it is to be an up-and-coming hip-hop artist.

Next up was Wale, who had released his first full length album only two days before, on November 10, 2009. Close to the end of his set he came into the audience to play, where fans gathered around him.

N.E.R.D., a group which Pharrell Williams is a part, played a set that included “Lapdance,” “Rockstar” and “Show Me Some Love.” By this time, Assembly Hall was fairly packed with fans that were not shy to sing along and dance to their favorite songs. For the second to last song of the set, N.E.R.D. invited some girls on stage to dance.

After N.E.R.D. left the stage, everyone was eager to see Jay-Z, who is arguably the most influential and popular hip hop artists of his time. A clock was started before the concert that counted down from ten minutes. At the end of the ten minutes, Jay-Z came up through a panel in the floor, and the crowd cheered wildly. He played a full set that included Show Me What You Got, Empire State of Mind, Diamonds and Dirt Off Your Shoulders. His set also included A Star Is Born, which featured J Cole, and So Ambitious, that featured Pharrell Williams.

Throughout the show, staggering light shows and photo-cinematic effects highlighted the screens and dazzled viewers. He also gave fans a message to never give up and always go for your dreams. It made many viewers inspired to hear his words along with the New York imagery. Sophomore Mickie Phetchareune said “Jay-Z really brought his energetic pride for New York to our small city and pulled off an amazing concert that was well worth [it] for the price I paid.”

After Jay-Z finished his original set, the crowd cheered hard enough that he came back for an encore, which he called overtime. Jay-Z’s Young Forever was the last song of the night, to which fans were asked to wave their cell phones. The concert ended with Jay-Z pointing out and talking to his fans, one of which was UHS’s own Taylor Seten, and thanking everyone that came to the concert.

In case you were wondering about everything he played, here was his set list:

1. Run This Town
2. D.O.A
3. Takeover
4. U Don’t Know
5. 99 Problems
6. Show Me What You Got
7. Give it to Me
8. Diamonds
9. Jigga
10. Izzo
11. Jigga What
12. PSA
13. Heart of City
14. Already Home
15. Empire State of Mind
16. A Star is Born (feat. J. Cole)
17. So Ambitious (feat. Pharrell Williams)
18. Dirt Off Your Shoulders
19. Thank You
20. (Swagga Like Us and snippets of other tracks he’s featured on)
21. Big Pimpin’)
22. Hard Knock Life
23. Encore
24. Young Forever