The Wells Fargo Center in downtown Philadelphia was waiting for their superstar. In fact, they waited for 90 minutes after the supposed 8:00 starting time, listening to a DJ for the better part of 2 hours. But when Jay-Z came out to start his “Magna Carter World Tour” show at 9:30, he made the wait more than worth it. Coming out to a packed crowd, he owned the place early with both old-school(“U Don’t Know,” “99 Problems”) and new-school(“Holy Grail,” “Picasso Baby”) hits.
The collision of both old and new school was prevalent throughout the show, especially through his special guests. Brought along for the ride was old friend/producer Timbaland, who rocked the venue with a variety of beats while Jay was taking a break in the back. Then, as everyone was amped for more, Philadelphia product Meek Mill came out as a complete surprise, performing “Dreams and Nightmares” and “Ima Boss” to the crowd’s delight. Jay came back out on stage and gave props to Meek, while Meek closed by calling Jay-Z “the best of all time.”
The show closed out with some of Jay’s greatest hits, including the New York anthem “Empire State of Mind,” where he encouraged the fans to yell for Philly instead of New York. Just when everyone thought he was done, the man they call Hova came back out for a lengthy encore. It was then when Jay-Z, rap superstar, engaged with the crowd that had paid excess money to see him that night. Commenting on the signs and shirts the fans had on them; Jay picked out a young kid in the crowd and gave him the shout-out of a lifetime.
The energy in the crowd was sky-high all night long. As Jay explained during his encore “no matter how many No. 1 singles I have…I will never be jaded. I will always give 150,000%.” His energy gave off on the crowd, and the Philly crowd gave the same back to him. The fact that Jay brought 2 Philadelphia residents as a part of his band and recognizing the talents of other Philly artists gives Jay a universal approval to his success. In Philadelphia, like in any other city, Jay-Z sent the fans home happy.