You wanted history? They gave you history.
Detroit was the undisputed center of the hip-hop universe Thursday night, at the first of Eminem and Jay-Z’s back-to-back concerts at Comerica Park. In addition to the evening’s megawatt headliners, a small army of hip-hop superstars including Dr. Dre, 50 Cent, Drake and Young Jeezy -graced the stage before a sold-out audience.
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The majority of the guests came out during Eminem’s 100-minute headlining set, which followed Jay-Z’s meaty opening performance. Before long, the cameos were piling up like the junker cars that lined Em’s set: Drake joined him for “Forever,” returning a favor for when Em appeared at the Toronto rapper’s hometown performance earlier this summer; 50 Cent and Lloyd Banks came on for mini-set of 50 Cent songs, including “Patiently Waiting” and “In Da Club”; and Dr. Dre appeared — wearing a Proof shirt, no less — and did a small set of songs with Em, including “Nuthin’ But a G Thang” and “Still D.R.E.” Em got the crowd to chant for Dre’s long-delayed “Detox” LP as Dre left the stage, and the reclusive star promised, “I’m comin!”
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The guests considerably picked up the energy of Em’s set, which began to wane during a mini-set of D12 songs. Earlier, the stadium literally shook as fans jumped in unison during Em classics like “The Way I Am” and “Cleanin’ Out My Closet.”
“Detroit, I’m back. Did you miss me or what?” Em bellowed from the stage as cheers erupted from the audience.
Em took the stage to a dramatic intro video that laid out the backstory that lead into the concerts: The years of inactivity that followed his last Comerica Park concert in 2005, and his subsequent trip to rehab for drug abuse. When he appeared on stage, wearing a ballcap and a hoodie with a large Olde English D, he tore into the “Recovery” track “Won’t Back Down” like it was a fresh piece of meat.
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He was soon joined on stage by his Detroit pals Trick Trick (for an amped-up “Welcome 2 Detroit”) and D12. Opener B.o.B joined Em on stage for a run through of “Airplanes Pt. II.” Jay-Z also joined Em for a run-through of their 2001 pairing, “Renegade.”
Near the end of his set, an emotional Eminem nearly teared up while introducing “Not Afraid.” He dedicated the song to fans who stuck with him through years of career turbulence, and dedicated the song to his hometown. He closed the show with “Lose Yourself,” toying with his live band during the extended outro before a flurry of fireworks marked the close of the show.
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The stadium’s spectacular production was fitting for the two rap icons: A gargantuan football-shaped stage backed by a truly dazzling array of lights and video screens.
Earlier in the evening, Jay-Z was visibly taken aback by the scene laid out before him.
“Before I start, I gotta take this all in,” he said, ordering lights to be shined on the stadium’s upper deck so he could see fans up top. “Ladies and gentlemen, this is hip-hop music and this is how far we’ve come… to rockin’ stadiums!” he beamed. “Everybody make some noise!”
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He didn’t have to ask twice. The crowd was a sea of waving hands and nodding heads during his set, as fans were shook to their core by the absolutely deafening sound system. This felt like one of the most decibel-shaking concerts this city has ever seen; don’t be surprised if nearby neighbors in Windsor were complaining about the noise.
Over the last year, Jay-Z has earned his stadium status. The rapper headlined several massive U.S. rock festivals already this year and has proved his ability to manipulate large crowds with ease. Thursday night he was riveting, coolly commanding the stage in his customary all black attire, his eyes hidden underneath a pair of black wayfarer sunglasses. Unlike Eminem, he didn’t seem to be relying on pre-recorded tracks to bolster his vocals.
Jay-Z rose from beneath the stage and opened with his “Dynasty” intro, illuminated on the dark stage only by four spotlights. Then came the visual assault, as the stage came to full blinding life during the revved-up “Run This Town.”
Jay-Z brought out Atlanta rapper Young Jeezy early in his set and joined him for a mini-set of songs, and was later joined by his hype man Memphis Bleek. He mixed hits from throughout his career and last year’s “The Blueprint 3,” rocking the crowd with hard-nosed anthems like “On to the Next One,” “U Don’t Know” and “99 Problems.” Backed by a large band, he proved adept with or without them, and impressively rolled through several verses — including an a capella portion of “Big Pimpin’” — all by his lonesome.
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Midway through his set, he paused to pay tribute to several fallen hip-hop figures, including the Notorious B.I.G., Tupac Shakur, Eazy-E and Aaliyah. “And I need you to make the most noise you’ve made all evening for Proof one time tonight y’all,” he said, referring to Eminem’s best friend Deshaun “Proof” Holton, who was shot and killed in Detroit in 2006. The crowd responded by chanting “Proooooooooof” in unison.
During “Empire State of Mind,” Jay-Z’s 2009 love letter to his hometown of New York, overhead shots of the Big Apple filled the huge video screens; it was a stunning visual, and the Detroit crowd sang along as if it was a tribute to Detroit. “I appreciate you singing ‘New York’ at the top of your lungs here in Tiger Stadium. I know where I’m at,” Jay said. (Comerica may think differently about that statement.)
The love from the crowd was not lost on Jay, and he gave it right back at the end of his 82-minute set. “I wanna say I had an incredible time with y’all tonight, this is one of the best experiences of my entire life,” he said. He closed with “Encore” and raised his arms in victory as he walked off the stage.
During B.o.B’s 30-minute opening set, many fans were still shuffling in while the chart-topping Atlanta rapper was on stage. As they made their way to their seats, fans snatched up specialized merchandise, which included Eminem-branded University of Michigan and Michigan State University T-shirts and shirts commemorating the once-in-a-lifetime concerts.
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Rap star T.I. could be in serious trouble, after the rapper and his wife Tameka “Tiny” Cottle were arrested in West Hollywood for drug possession.
According to reports, T.I. and Tiny were arrested and charged with alleged possession of a controlled substance after police smelled marijuana emanating from their car.
The pair, who married last July in Miami, were taken into custody by L.A. County Sheriff Deputies for the infraction.
While details are sketchy as of press time, the arrest could impact T.I. greatly.
The rapper is currently serving a three-year probation after he pleaded guilty in May of 2009, for attempting to purchase machine guns and silencers before the BET Awards in 2007
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T.I., born Clifford Harris Jr., was released from prison in March of 2010. Not a good thing for T.I being on probation.
Best case Scenario ::: T.I pays his fine and pays the lawyer and pays the Judge and gets off.
Worst case Scenario ::: He will most likely get violated and sent back to serve the remainder of his sentence
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50 Cent has continued to utilize Twitter and announced to his 3 million followers the return of the “heartless monster” a week from today.
While not getting into specifics, 50 did taunt rap mogul Diddy in his promotion of September 6th.
“Sept 6 the return of the heartless mosterDon’t miss it! Total mayhem,” 50 promised early Monday (August 30).
“Puffys a fun boy a happy man, a fruit loop a lucky charm a skittle chase the rainbow lol Sept 6! Mayhem” (50 Cent’s Twitter)
Recently, 50 said Diddy is not an authentic emcee because he uses ghostwriters.
“You know what’s interesting, he’s not an artist,” 50 said in an interview with Nancy B. “An artist would be somebody that actually wrote something, maybe on the record or because we have R&B artists that don’t actually write music, maybe it’s unfair because of the pressures people put on me. Imagine if I just sat around and listened to people’s CDs and say I’m just gonna say the first verse I hear that sounds good. That would completely take away the pressure and I would still be the artist in front of you with a new song every two minutes because every artist that has a song that would like to make some money off it would send it. It doesn’t make you special. When you actually do what I thought was a part of hip-hop and made the culture exciting to me, which was each person’s original experience and how you learn to enjoy them as an individual and their portion of their life. So when that’s not there because they’re being an executive, saying you don’t write rhymes you write checks, that’s not hot. For hip-hop, that’s not hot. Maybe for another genre it’ll work, R&B or something else because they’re made, these people are all made and when companies decide they’re gone, they’re gone. Immediately, because they couldn’t even figure out what to do without a team of people figuring it out for them.”
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Big Fase 100 has dropped a new diss record titled “No Help,” aimed at his younger brother, Compton rapper Game.
The pair have been publicly feuding since at least 2005, after Game cut ties with Big Fase and numerous Black Wall Street associates in a financial dispute.
Earlier this month, their beef flared up again, shortly after Game dropped his mixtape Brakelights with DJ Skee.
In recent weeks, Big Fase has surfaced in videos on the Internet, claiming that Game stole the title for Brakelights from a song he did with a local Compton artist named Big Chief, in an attempt to taunt him.
Big Fase and Game also criticized each other on Twitter last week as well.
Big Fase accused his little brother of leaving his family behind and in need, while Game claimed none of the family visited after he was shot in 2001.
On the record “No Help,” Big Fase 100 raps:
“Your word is in the wind/It’s hard to believe that we any kind of kin/one of the world’s first sins/is brother against brother/and I chose to keep but you’d rather see me sleep/you a shadow of a man/and that man’s right here.”
“I quit my hustle when The Documentary dropped. The way it was put to me, this is what we were doing and “our” life was about to change. Basically, what I’ve done is I’ve set the stage and I created the backdrop for The Game. I mean, his n***as that have been visible for the past year, those have been my n***as. Basically, what I did, I provided the background story for Game. I got so much love where I am, and you know me and you never heard of my brother you love him too. We don’t share the same mother, we share the same father. For lack of a better word, I certified his gangster. A year later, me and everybody that loves me, we’re left out here with nothing.”
In addition to diss tracks and public insults, Game’s feud with his family turned physical.
The Game was sued by his cousin, Robert “Kirky” Kirkwood in 2009, over a physical altercation that took place the previous year at a funeral for Game’s sister.
The pair fought during an argument during a funeral for Kirkwood’s sister, who had been ill for at least six years. Kirkwood accused the Game of failing to pay half of a $14,000 funeral bill.
Game allegedly showed up at the funeral unexpectedly and Kirkwood confronted him outside of the church over the money.
The rapper claimed he offered to pay for the casket and the flowers, but Kirkwood and the rest of the family allegedly sought full payment.
Game, born Jayceon Taylor, was eventually charged with criminal battery for the assault and sentenced to 36 anger management courses over a five-month period.
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The Biggest Hip Hop Concerts this year by the 2 Biggest Heavyweights in the hip Hop World, Try and get a ticket.
SEP 2, THU
Comerica Park
Detroit, MI
07:30 PM
Eminem & Jay-Z
SEP 3, FRI
Comerica Park
Detroit, MI
07:30 PM
Eminem & Jay-Z
SEP 13 ,MON
Yankee Stadium
Bronx, NY
07:30 PM
Jay-Z & Eminem
SEP 14, TUE
Yankee Stadium
Bronx, NY
07:30 PM
Jay-Z & Eminem
“We’ve done things together,” the Detroit rapper told interviewers when announcing his upcoming shows with Jay-Z. “But I’m not sure we’ve ever done anything this big.”
With the superstar duo set to stage a massive home-and-home series — a pair of Comerica Park shows this week followed by two at Yankee Stadium — the superlatives are coming thick and fast from those close to the event.
The biggest North American concerts this year, says one Comerica Park executive. The heaviest ticket demand one Live Nation honcho has ever experienced. A “once-in-a-lifetime production” for an industry veteran who has staged Super Bowl halftime shows.
There’s historical significance too. The sold-out dates aren’t just testament to the enduring power of Em and Jay-Z, two of the world’s biggest music acts — they also mark a milestone for hip-hop itself.
“They’re putting hip-hop on the same playing field as anything else,” says L.A. hip-hop journalist Scott Sterling, citing rock’s storied history of concert spectacle. “If I’m a 15-year-old who’s getting into this music, it makes anything possible.”
Turning Detroit into the center of the music world for two days has been months in the making.
“Marshall and Jay had the idea,” says Live Nation’s Rick Franks, “and from there they ran with it.”
Plans were shepherded via Jay-Z’s relationship with Live Nation — the pioneering “360 deal” that gives the company a stake in his tours, recordings and publishing.
First on the list: nailing down a window that fit the baseball schedule, while accommodating the show’s unique needs as a one-off event rather than a full-length tour.
“The production is very, very complicated, a lot of moving parts, because it’s only the four shows,” says production director Dan Parise.
Work began several weeks before the May announcement. World-renowned lighting and scene designers were enlisted, and at Live Nation’s New York office, specialists dove into 15-hour days, crafting stage renderings and configuring logistics.
Eminem and Jay-Z were hands-on through the entire process, says Parise.
“This is their vision,” he says. “My job was to make it reality. But the concept, the idea, the messages they’re trying to get across — it’s all theirs.”
Parise won’t divulge many details. But like others involved with the show, he describes it as a massive set heavy on video elements and special effects. Parise, a 22-year industry veteran, says the two artists were “intent on creating something you don’t see every day.”
Fifty-plus semitrailers will haul the production from Detroit to New York — more than the typical continental tour by the Rolling Stones or U2.
“Put it this way,” he says. “It would be difficult to tour this show, and I think that tells you everything.”
Over six days at Comerica Park, which hosted an Eminem show in 2005, a crew of about 300 will erect the stage, build light and audio structures, and lay protective covering atop the playing field.
About 40,000 people will fill the ballpark for each show, including fans from Europe and Asia.
“We probably could have done four dates (at Comerica Park), but the schedule just didn’t work out,” says Dana Warg, president of Olympia Entertainment, which operates Comerica Park. “The way we announced it nationally on ESPN and Fox, with the artists in town, certainly helped the exposure. We have them coming from all around for this show, and I think it will have a huge economic impact in Detroit.”
It’s expected that Eminem will follow Jay-Z for the Detroit shows, and vice versa in New York. And Eminem’s performance will come with a new twist: He’ll be backed by a live band.
Luis Resto — Em’s collaborator on hits such as “Lose Yourself” — is one of two keyboardists in the six-piece ensemble that has accompanied the rapper onstage since last October.
“It’s definitely bringing the energy of the album tracks up to a whole different place,” says Resto. “I really think Marshall is enjoying it.”
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Bone Thugs-N-Harmony announced they are launching a new 35-city tour this September.
The tour will kick off in Boise Idaho at the Knitting Factory and wind down October 30th in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
The group, which will consist of Krayzie, Layzie, Wish and Flesh-N-Bone. Bizzy Bone appears to be missing from the tour line up. Bone Thugs will exclusively perform all the tracks from their hit 1995 album, E. 1999 Eternal, which was released on Eazy-E’s legendary record label, Ruthless Records.
Bone Thugs-N-Harmony has sold over 30 million records since their debut in 1993.
Tour dates are listed below:
Wed-Sep-22 BOISE Knitting Factory
Thu-Sep-23 RENO Knitting Factory
Fri-Sep-24 SALT LAKE CITY In The Venue
Sat-Sep-25 ASPEN Belly Up
Sun-Sep-26 DENVER Gothic Theatre
Tue-Sep-28 DES MOINES Val Air Ballroom
Wed-Sep-29 MINNEAPOLIS First Ave.
Thu-Sep-30 MILWAUKEE Eagles/Rave
Fri-Oct-01 CHICAGO Congress Theatre
Sat-Oct-02 DETROIT St. Andrews
Sun-Oct-03 COLUMBUS Newport Music Hall
Mon-Oct-04 BLOOMINGTON Bluebird
Tue-Oct-05 CLEVELAND HOB
Wed-Oct-06 MADISON Majestic Theatre
Thu-Oct-07 KANSAS CITY Harrah’s
Fri-Oct-08 OXFORD, OH Brick Street
Sat-Oct-09 PITTSBURGH, PA Mr. Smalls Theatre
Sun-Oct-10 NEW YORK BB Kings
Tue-Oct-12 NORFOLK,. VA NorVa
Wed-Oct-13 WASHINGTON DC 9:30 Club
Thu-Oct-14 RICHMOND Hat Factory
Fri-Oct-15 SOUTH CAROLINA Music Farm
Sat-Oct-16 ORLANDO Firestone
Sun-Oct-17 FT. LAUDERDALE, FL Revolution
Tue-Oct-19 ST PETERSBERG State Theatre
Wed-Oct-20 ATLANTA Masquerade
Thu-Oct-21 WEST MELBOURNE, FL Levelz Night Club
Fri-Oct-22 GAINESVILLE The Venue
Sat-Oct-23 MOBILE Sol Kitchen
Sun-Oct-24 NEW ORLEANS House of Blues
Tue-Oct-26 HOUSTON HOB
Wed-Oct-27 DALLAS HOB
Thu-Oct-28 TULSA, OK Cain’s Ballroom
Fri-Oct-29 AUSTIN La Zona Rosa
Sat-Oct-30 ALBUQUERQUE Sunshine Theater
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