Note: While I
know there is controversy on the use of the word “nigga,” I have chosen to
write the actual word instead of saying “the n-word” or using hash marks or
asterisks in place of the “igga,” as the word “nigga” was what was used throughout the show.
It’s a new year, but I have one more review I wanted to
share before we were too deep into 2012.
In 2011, I attended so many great shows – Jill Scott, Anthony Hamiliton and Ledisi (saw all three twice), Eric Roberson, Vivian Green and
of course Sade – so it’s only appropriate I would conclude the year witnessing
two of hip-hop’s best come together to claim their throne.
I had been highly anticipating this concert as soon as it
was announced. Having never seen Kanye, I was excited because I knew he gave his all on stage. This would be my third time seeing Jay Z, so I knew I was in for one hell of a show.
“You are now watching the throne/don’t let me get in my
zone.” This simple line from the song Niggas In Paris is a great way to sum up the Watch the Throne tour. Jay Z and Kanye
– teacher and student –performed two-plus hours of their hits, and the show was a
fabulous reminder of why I paid more than $100 to get in their zone.
I started off in their zone well before the concert – a few
weeks to be exact. As a general rule, I do not look at the set list of a show
because I love the anticipation of what’s going to be performed. For this tour,
however, I couldn’t bring myself to not know.
The reason? I needed to learn the words to as many songs as
possible. Turns out, it’s quite challenging memorizing the words of 30-plus songs in
a few days. I had every intention on learning a song a day, but life happened
and I spent the night before and the day of the concert cramming lyric after
lyric in my head.
I eventually gave up and focused on “my” songs, which included Kanye’s Power, Stronger and Good Life, and Jay’s Empire State of Mind, 99 Problems and Dirt Off Your Shoulder.
While I somewhat knew what to expect from the show (a friend
of mine told me about her Chicago experience, and I did read a few reviews),
hearing and reading about the Watch the Throne tour didn't fully prepare me for what I was to witness the night of Dec. 13, 2011.
From my nosebleed seats (which I was not happy about, but
with ticket prices for floor seats double what I paid, I had to settle for what
I could afford), I felt the energy coming from the megastars as they were
lifted up, in the dark, on separate cubes (with Jay Z in the middle of the
arena, while Kanye rose in front of the stage) during the opening of H*A*M. From H*A*M they went into Who Gon
Stop Me and three other songs from their Watch the Throne collaboration.
Alone on the stage, Jay Z launched into Nigga What, Nigga Who; afterwards, the lights were literally
flashing during Kanye’s Flashing Lights;
the Jesus Walks’ performance brought
Kanye to his knees, while the diamonds were in the air during Diamonds From Sierra Leone.
Alternating back and forth, they traded the stage and cubes,
and flowed from one song to the next with ease. Kanye joined Jay Z during Hard Knock Life and left him during Empire State of Mind.
It was lights, lights and more lights. It was dark at the
appropriate times (Kanye’s Runaway
performance would have felt different if there wasn't dark). The images shown
during various songs (Made In America,
No Church in the Wild) gave the songs great visual appeal.
Speaking of lights, my favorite moment occurred when the
beat for All of the Lights started
and Kanye promptly stopped the song and delivered the following message: “Black
people, we are going to give them a pass this one time,” referring to the first
line of the song which states, “Something wrong/I hold my head/MJ gone/our
nigga dead!”
Between Made in
America and New Day, Kanye had a
heartfelt moment when he spoke of the difficulties he’s faced the past few
years and how he contemplated suicide. He went on to say that he was surrounded by people
who brought him back from the ledge. You could tell it was genuine and Kanye
was grateful for being alive, despite his many challenges.
I was surprised he performed the radio version of Gold Digger (taking “nigga” out of the chorus). While the majority of the crowd was not black, I found it odd he chose to do this seeing as though he didn’t remove nigga from the rest of the songs he performed.
Having the set list in advance, I knew the encore was Niggas In Paris. I also knew, through
reviews and my previously mentioned friend, that the song would be done over
and over and over again. According to my friend, they repeated the song eight
times in Chicago.
Well, San Jose only had three encores. I could speculate as to why
we weren’t privileged to be among those who had encore after encore after encore, but it won't change our encore count.
Jay Z and Kanye succeeded in making the thousands upon
thousands throw up the diamond time and time again. They succeeded in keeping
me on my feet the entire show, and as I posted on FaceBook, they succeeded in
making me go H*A*M (Hard as a muthaf*****) the majority of the evening.
When you have a set list that contains more than 30 songs, you should
anticipate leaving the show voiceless and tired. I was still feeling the
effects of being in the zone the next day! I couldn’t get that song out of my
head!
One more thing: While Jay wore his standard jeans and
T-shirt, Kanye wore what appeared to be black leather leggings and kilt, with a T-shirt. It was, to say the least, an interesting get up.
Concert setlist: H*A*M., Who Gon Stop Me, Otis, Welcome to the Jungle, Gotta Have It, Where I'm From, Nigga What? Nigga Who?, Can't Tell Me Nothing, Flashing Lights, Jesus Walks, All Falls Down, Diamonds from Sierra Leone, Public Service Announcement , U Don't Know, Run This Town, Monster, Power, Made in America, New Day, Hard Knock Life, Izzo (H.O.V.A.), Empire State of Mind, Runaway, Heartless, Stronger, On to the Next One, Dirt Off Your Shoulders, I Just Wanna Love You (Give It Me), That’s My Bitch, Good Life, Touch the Sky, All of the Lights, Big Pimpin', Gold Digger, 99 Problems, No Church in the Wild, Lift Off, Niggas in Paris
