When you reach Jay-Z's status all you really need to do is show up. He could have just walked on stage at the Meadows Music and Arts Festival in Queens, New York last night and played a dozen of his hits. That would have been enough. Jay-Z is big enough to coast. He did a lot of that during the Blueprint 3 and Magna Carta Holy Grail years—an era where Jay-Z didn't have much to say.
But this summer Jay-Z returned with a fantastic new album and a message on 4:44. Part of that message was personal—an apology to his wife and an acknowledgement of his friends and family and roots. So it was certainly meaningful to see Jay-Z return to New York on Friday night— just a few train stops away from the Marcy Houses, where he grew up—with his new, evocative material.
During his headlining set, he transitioned "Where I'm From" into 4:44's "Marcy Me" followed by "Empire State of Mind." That section of hometown pride was packaged with "99 Problems," "PSA," "Heart of the City"—a dizzying set of hits that included a tender dedication of "Numb" to Chester Bennington and a surprise appearance by Damien Marley for "Bam" off the new album and "Welcome to Jamrock."
But the most powerful moment wasn't the throwbacks to Black Album or The Blueprint, it was a quiet point near the middle of the set.
"I want to dedicate this song to Colin Kaepernick tonight," Jay-Z said while introducing, "The Story of O.J." to the audience. The song itself, a brilliant and controversial standout from his new album, isn't exactly festival material. It's quiet. It's thoughtful. It samples Nina Simone's "Four Women." It's a complex exploration of race in America—specifically, O.J. Simpson's belief that his success allowed him to avoid the reality of race in America. So he dedicated it to Kaepernick, a football player who, despite his success, refuses to stay quiet about race in this country.
"I want to dedicate this song to Dick Gregory," he continued, name checking the iconic comedian and civil rights activists who died last month. "I want to dedicate this song to any body who was held back and you overcame whatever it was."
He didn't need to say anything. But, like Kaepernick taking a knee, a single sentence from someone this influential can be a commanding statement.
