Jay-Z opened his three night stand at Yankee Stadium on Friday, July 10, and the man came loaded. Beyoncé walked out in a pinstripe suit for “Can’t Knock the Hustle,” taking the hook Mary J. Blige made famous, and she did it before most of the crowd had even settled into their seats. Nas showed up for “Dead Presidents.” Jaz-O came through. Alicia Keys closed the whole thing out with “Empire State of Mind,” because of course she did. Any one of those moments would have carried a normal show.
None of them were the moment.The moment came when a 14 year old girl walked to a piano in the middle of a sold out baseball stadium, sat down, and played the solo on “Feelin’ It” without missing a single note. Blue Ivy Carter has been on stages before. She has danced next to her mother in front of stadiums full of people. This was different. This was her sitting alone behind an instrument with nowhere to hide, playing a song her father recorded 16 years before she was born, in front of 50,000 people who came to see him.
She bodied it.
“Make some noise for the legendary Blue Ivy Carter,” Jay said when she finished, and then he pulled her into a hug that went on long enough for everybody watching to understand exactly what was happening. Reports from inside the stadium say he was in tears. Watch the clip and you can see why. That was not a proud dad putting his kid on for a cute stage moment. That was a man watching his daughter step into a room he built and prove she belonged in it.
What makes it hit harder is the backstory. Jay told GQ back in March that Blue is a serious pianist and that she taught herself. He said she will not let them hire her a teacher because she does not want playing to feel like a job. He said she has perfect pitch, that she can hear a song once, ask to hear it again, and then work it out on her own. Coming from a father who has spent 30 years surrounded by the most talented musicians alive, that is not a small compliment. In the same interview he said he did not think they would be able to get her off the stage now.
He was right.
The whole night was built as a history lesson. “Reasonable Doubt” turned 30 in June, “The Blueprint” turns 25 this year, and Jay ran the debut album almost front to back with a live band while fans sat in bleachers on either side of him. He opened the show with a video of Beyoncé cutting off the afro he had been growing, a look he first debuted at Roots Picnic in Philadelphia and one he grew out in support of Blue in the first place. He walked out with the Caesar back, the bomber jacket on, the Roc diamond in the air. Full circle, on purpose.
But when people talk about this weekend in five years, they are going to talk about the piano.
Two more nights are coming at the stadium. Saturday, July 11 celebrates “The Blueprint.” Sunday, July 12 is billed as “Extra Innings” and combines both albums after demand blew the roof off the first two. Jay already holds the record for the most sold out shows at Yankee Stadium and he is about to add to it. The “Jay-Z 30” run continues overseas with a London date at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on September 4, which happens to be Beyoncé’s birthday, then Paris on September 10 and Los Angeles on October 23.
Bring tissues.
