Jay-Z live review, The Roundhouse, Camden
Rating: 4/5. Brooklyn’s favourite son shows why he’s the reigning king of hip-hop at the Camden Roundhouse
18 September 2009
Rating: 4/5
Too many big-name US rappers have come here thinking it’s enough to drawl their rhymes over a hired DJ.
Last night, Jay-Z met London on its own terms. Brooklyn’s favourite son showed why he’s the reigning king of hip-hop by orchestrating a ten-piece live band who punched out hits such as ‘Izzo (Hova)’ and the recent ‘Run This Town’ with the power and passion of a rock group.
The man himself, sporting a modest black T-shirt, took every opportunity to connect with a smitten Roundhouse crowd. He rippled a Union Jack on the big screen during a rousing ‘Public Service Announcement’ and even teased us with a snatch of ‘Wonderwall’ by his arch-enemies Oasis, before re-emerging for a triumphant encore that included a crushing ’99 Problems’.
No gimmicks and no special guests – despite a rumoured appearance from Coldplay’s Chris Martin – but with 11 eleven albums of prime material to call on, there wasn’t much downtime. Jay-Z may have tried to retire once, but now there seems nothing to stop him from becoming hip-hop’s first equivalent of Bob Dylan and Neil Young, still throwing diamond hand signs at 60.
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