Jay-Z owns the Garden at this point. He might as well be a Knicks GM. Brooklyn’s finest pointed this out in the middle of his sold-out Blueprint 3 concert last night (March 2) when he proclaimed, “Madison Square Garden is now the house that Hov built!” Running through a torrent of hits, Hov was in typical form, but whether you’ve seen him once or a mil-li-on times, it’s always an experience. Dressed in all black everything, the motif for the night, the God MC spit a set that ranged from the newbies (“Run This Town,” Empire State Of Mind”) to still fresh (“99 Problems,” “U Don’t Know”) to classics (“Can I Live,” “Big Pimpin’”) while sharing the moment with Young Jeezy and Trey Songz. After you scroll through VIBE’s live Tweet session for a quick recap, check out these 5 great moments from the show. –Clover Hope
1. Is That Lil Wayne?
And Drake… And Nicki Minaj in glittery lace tights… Yes, the hypest point of the night was Young Jeezy’s surprise guests. Following Nicki’s “Bedrock” verse, Lil Wayne—whose passionate stage stomps are unparalleled—hopped, skipped and bounced on stage to the sounds of “I’m Goin’ In.” In true golden child fashion, Drake wore all white and a gray t-shirt instead of black garb. It was a good day for Wayne, whose sentencing had been postponed earlier. Jeezy had jokes: “How the f### you come back from that s###?” he asked as Wayne strutted off. “Just kidding.”
2. Trey Songz Gets His Shine
The R&B superstar-in-the-making opened with a roughly 45-minute set that included all those singles you hear incessantly on radio. He kicked off with “Can’t Help But Wait,” “I Need A Girl,” “Gotta Go” and “Last Time.” No panties dropped that we know of, but the ladies were swooning as Trey performed “Neighbors Know My Name” and “Invented Sex,” then brought out Fabolous (and poured liquor down a chosen female concertgoer’s throat). But the biggest look was Trey returning to the stage later on to help Hov on the hooks to “Already Home” and “Heart of the City.” Miming the lyrics side-by-side with Jay-Z, Trey looked like he belonged there.
3. MSG Hearts Young Jeezy?During Jeezy’s set, Jay-Z reminded the crowd of the courtesy rules: they were to welcome the Atlanta trapper with open arms at all times. “You got ’em?” Hov asked Jeezy. “I got ’em, my n####… So this is the Garden right chea?” Heavily chained, Jeezy Hamilton then hit us with a bunch of energizing bangers, including “Who Dat?” “Crazy World,” his verse on Rihanna’s “Hard” and “Put On.” Afterward, Hov came back out and told the crowd: “New York City, welcome Young Jeezy to the Garden!” Now can he get on Twitter?
4. Barack Obama Cameo?After a “Black President (Remix)” duet with Young Jeezy, Jay-Z told the crowd to pause for “a word from our president.” No, Barack Obama couldn’t make it in person, but the big homie was there in spirit. Hov stood in front of a huge screen that played brief footage of Obama’s speech wherein he dusted off his shoulders. No better way to introduce the boastful Timbaland-helmed track.
5. Overtime FTW!?About five minutes before 11 p.m., closing time, Jay-Z joked about the strict Garden rules. “I don’t know if y’all know about the Garden… It’s like 80 million dollars a minute.” But he’s got money to blow. “F**k it I’ll go into overtime.” Jay advised the “new” Jay-Z fans that, “This would be a good time to go home.” And his eternal hypeman Memphis Bleek returned for the medley of classics, from “Money Ain’t A Thang” to “Can I Get A” to “Hard Knock Life.” “Y’all cost me a little money tonight, but I don’t mind,” said Jay, capping the night with “Encore.” There were some famous friends (LeBron James, Shaq, Diddy, in the crowd). But no famous guest appearances… Just the best lyricist.