Glastonbury Round Two
Fresh from his controversial stint at Glastonbury that is either viewed as a major triumph or a dismal catastrophe, Jay-Z went from Glastonbury mud to concrete cows in the space of twenty-four hours as he embarked on his Project Revolution stint.
Sticking very much to the previous night’s set, only condensed and chopped a bit, Jay-Z’s Project Revolution slot basically resembled that shown on the BBC the night before, indeed for those who watched it they probably could have guessed not only the next track but the next spill of speech. But for all his predictability Jay-Z certainly brings style and class to every performance and Milton Keynes was no exception. From the suited backing musicians to the video footage strategically popping up on giant screens in perfect timing, Jay-Z offers a showmanship that boosts his rapping onto a completely different playing field to anyone else and that is why his shows are engaging.
Never one to shy away from the controversy or one to sensor his work, Jay-Z tackles every subject from the appalling treatment of the Hurricane Katrina victims, to the American politics right down to the tongue in check remarks about his stints in the tabloids, its all there and delivered with polished professionalism. ’99 Problems’ insures the crowd in jumping as is to be expected with the rappers biggest hit but it is his versions of ‘Rehab’, ‘Umbrella’ and ‘American Boy’ that also make welcome appearances and with ‘Numb/Encore’ blatantly left out of the set, there is little doubt as Jay-Z leaves the stage that this will be the last we see of him tonight.