ROCKIN’ WITH HOV UNTIL
3 A.M. ON A SCHOOL NIGHT
ROCKIN’ WITH HOV UNTIL 3 A.M. ON A SCHOOL NIGHT
Within a 12-hour span, I got around by plane, train, bus, car and foot to witness an epic Jay-Z concert at Yankee Stadium.
– STORY AND PHOTOS BY JESEF WILLIAMS –
I sat inside Yankee Stadium at 2 a.m. on a “school night,” drunk off tiredness while on an all-time high from what I was witnessing in real time.
On stage, Jay-Z was going in, performing classic joint after classic joint. The hits, club bangers and street anthems kept coming. The special musical guests kept appearing. There was no let up. All of this had me in a screwed-face daze, essentially asking myself, “What is this?!”
Obviously, that question was rhetorical. I knew exactly what I was witnessing: the greatest rapper of all time unleashing his extensive catalog for me and 45,000 other fans to enjoy.
We had gathered in the Boogie Down Bronx on July 11 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of “Reasonable Doubt,” Hov’s masterful debut album from 1996; and the 25th anniversary of “The Blueprint,” his 2001 classic LP that cemented him as a hip-hop legend.
This particular concert was the final leg of Hov’s three-night residency at Yankee Stadium. Night One was devoted to “Reasonable Doubt.” Night Two celebrated “The Blueprint.” A third night, later added to the slate and billed as “Extra Innings,” was essentially a wild card affair. Leading up to the show, I excitedly wondered: What would he perform? Who would be the surprise guests?
MY EPIC QUICK TRIP TO NYC
Two days prior – on that Friday – I flew from Jacksonville, FL, to Washington, DC, for a family gathering Saturday in Maryland. When the Jay-Z anniversary shows were first announced months ago, only two nights were scheduled: Friday and Saturday. Given my commitments in Maryland, I knew it wasn’t possible for me to attend.
However, a third concert, on Sunday night, was added. Days leading up to it, I noticed resale prices had dipped slightly, which made the idea of attending even more appealing. After much consideration, I decided to cop a ticket for Sunday’s Extra Innings show.
While in Maryland, I watched clips from the Friday and Saturday night shows on social media. The energy, musical mash-ups and guest appearances from Nas, Eminem, Beyoncé and others got me even more hyped for Sunday. I was ready to be there!
So, here’s how my travels went down:
I got up Sunday morning and drove my rental whip from my cousin’s house in Waldorf, MD, to Union Station DC. That’s where I caught a Peter Pan bus that took me to Midtown Manhattan in only five hours. I arrived shortly after 4 p.m. with no suitcase or backpack in tow.
There was no need to book a hotel room, as my plan was to turn around immediately after the concert, head back to Manhattan and catch the bus for a 3 a.m. departure back to DC. I was going to be in and out! (I’ve done this type of thing multiple times before, and it’s thrilling!)
I didn’t even bring a toothbrush, change of underwear or a phone charger. I only brought two fully charged phones, my wallet, rental car key, a few cough drops and lip balm. Pretty much, if it didn’t fit comfortably in my pockets, I didn’t bring it.
Every time I come across a Peter Pan bus, I immediately think of Jay-Z’s lyrics on “The Watcher 2,” a song from his 2002 album, “The Blueprint 2”: “I was on a Peter Pan bus. You were putting Peter Pan up in your room!”
Back then, I had no idea what he was talking about. It didn’t hit me until I saw one in Boston in 2015 during my first New England trip. It was an “ohhhhhhh” moment, for sure! Peter Pan buses are a thing in the Northeast. I’ve now ridden one four times.
“I didn’t even bring a toothbrush, change of underwear or a phone charger.”
Jesef Williams
THRILL-SEEKING TRAVELER
The concert was set for 8 p.m., giving me time to leisurely enjoy a sit-down meal in Midtown before getting on the train to head to the Bronx. While walking through the Subway station, it was evident I was among droves of concertgoers. There was a sea of Jay-Z shirts, Hov-themed Yankees apparel and special Mitchell & Ness-made Roc-A-Fella throwback jerseys. We were all headed toward Yankee Stadium!
I arrived in the Bronx a little before 6:30 p.m. After walking around for a minute to take in the pre-concert festivities, I hopped in what had already become a long, winding line. Gates hadn’t even opened, yet there were thousands of people already waiting to get in. However, once the gates opened, the line moved relatively swiftly. I was inside the stadium within 25 minutes.
“The Roc is in the building!”
– “Iceberg Slim, baby! Wide rims!”
– “They call me William H! The all-time great!”
– “It’s S Dot, y’all! Still got millions buried in the sock drawer!”
“Where I’m from? Marcy, son! Ain’t nothing nice!”
WAITING, WAITING AND MORE WAITING
As you may know, the concert start time was delayed significantly because a bunch of folks without tickets rushed the gates and breached security. I was already inside at the time. Jake and stadium personnel reportedly had to chain lock everything down and sweep the place.
We ended up waiting FOUR hours. That was plenty of time to make new friends, sleep, eat dinner, set goals for the week and contemplate major life decisions. Keep in mind the stadium was pretty quiet because the idea was that a loud, party-like atmosphere would cause people outside to become even rowdier and more anxious.
Hov didn’t go on until around 12:15 a.m. But it was worth the wait!
The instrumental to the intro track to his “Dynasty” album began playing. Then Jay appeared and started rapping that epic verse, which is among my favorite spittin’ of his. He starts off:
“The theme song to ‘The Sopranos’ /
plays in the ‘key of life’ on my mental piano. /
I got a strange way of seeing life like /
I’m Stevie Wonder with beads under the du-rag. /
Intuition is there even when my vision’s impaired….”
Whewww! BARS!
Hov then performed “Brooklyn’s Finest,” a high-energy duet from his debut album featuring the late great Notorious B.I.G. in which the two MCs go back and forth, each rapping four bars at a time.
Jay rapped his and Biggie’s parts. However, the big surprise was that when it was time for Biggie’s lyrics, the beat would switch each instance to a different instrumental from a notable Biggie song. They included “Who Shot Ya?,” “Unbelievable,” “One More Chance (Remix),” “Going Back to Cali” and “Juicy.”
That segment was masterfully produced, and I loved every moment of it! From there, the energy remained high. We were all rockin’!
Jay performed songs from “Reasonable Doubt” and “The Blueprint” while throwing in other joints from elsewhere in his extensive catalog and making time for special guest performances. During the concert, he brought out Beyoncé, Rihanna, Usher, Jermaine Dupri, Pharrell, Fat Joe, Jadakiss, Clipse and Swizz Beats, among others. The roster was ridiculous!
In all, he and his guests performed nearly 50 songs and rocked until 3 a.m.!
“We ended up waiting FOUR hours. That was plenty of time to make new friends, sleep, eat dinner, set goals for the week and contemplate major life decisions.”
Jesef Williams
PATIENT JAY-Z CONCERTGOER
I didn’t take any videos and only snapped a few photos during the concert because I wanted to be in the moment while also preserving my precious phone batteries. Plus, everybody and their best friend were documenting it. As such, I knew there would be more than enough high-quality visuals going around.
Around 2:20 a.m. – during the concert – I rescheduled my Peter Pan bus ride, which was set to leave NYC at 3 a.m. Fortunately, I was able to rebook for a 7:30 a.m. departure from Manhattan. I got back to DC at 12:30 p.m. That left solid time for me to return the rental whip and get ready for my 3 p.m. flight from DCA to JAX. Thankfully and prayerfully, I made it back to Duval County safely. Within a 12-hour span, I got around by plane, train, bus, car and foot. I was on the GO!
THE MIKE JORDAN OF THE MIC RECORDIN’
Hip-hop enthusiasts often debate about who’s the best rapper of all time. We all have our personal favorite MCs who contend for that title. But Jay-Z is clearly the “greatest,” in my soulful opinion. I firmly and soberly arrived at that belief almost 10 years ago. But an experience like this further affirms it.
Hov’s catalog is ridiculously extensive. Plus, he checks all the proverbial boxes: immense technical skill (dynamic and imaginative flows, impeccable breath control, vocal clarity, amazing phonetics, layered entendres, etc.), cultural impact, longevity, evolution, hits, club bangers, street anthems, critically acclaimed albums, commercial appeal, charts, Grammys and records sold.
It’s wild that Hov released an album every single year from 1996 through 2003. For me, that’s starting in eighth grade and going all the way into my junior year of college!
“I drop that BLACK Album then I BACK out it as the best rapper alive… Ask about me!”
Here’s powerful context: Hov could realistically put on a legit concert right now ONLY doing songs that weren’t performed during any of the three Yankee Stadium nights, and you would walk away feeling like the experience was worthwhile. There were plenty of hits and bangers still on the table.
That’s sick. Only a few other artists can firmly pull that off. As I end this piece, I decided to dive into that exercise and create such a Jay-Z setlist. Here’s how it could go down for the “Mike Jordan of the mic recordin’”:
1. A Million and One Questions / Rhyme No More
2. Hovi Baby
3. The Watcher 2
4. Kingdom Come
5. Can I Get A…
6. Threat
7. Imaginary Players
8. Show You How
9. Already Home
10. Change Clothes
11. No Hook
12. Lyrical Exercise
13. December 4th
14. Hard Knock Life
15. Do U Wanna Ride
16. Get Your Mind Right
– BRIEF INTERMISSION –
17. The Prelude
18. So Ghetto
19. Thank You
20. Hey Papi
21. The Story of OJ
22. This Can’t Be Life
23. Holy Grail
24. Diamonds is Forever
25. Stick to the Script
26. Lost One
27. Lucifer
28. Picasso Baby
29. What We Talkin’ About
30. It’s Alright
31. Who You Wit II
32. What More Can I Say
Jesef Williams is founder and owner of Spectacular Vernacular LLC. The Florida-based company provides personalized communications, marketing and storytelling services that help individuals and organizations:
- Effectively convey sentiments
- Properly emphasize points
- Soulfully capture special moments, events and occurrences
- Successfully reach target audiences
Neither Jesef nor Spectacular Vernacular uses generative artificial intelligence in any of its written materials or designs. Everything is created solely by humans and executed with a personalized touch.
Visit SVwords.com to read about Spectacular Vernacular’s offerings and learn more about Jesef.
