“I’ve been away too long,” Jay-Z told a hyped-up SoFi Stadium crowd soon after taking the stage on Friday night. The rap icon was met with cheers as he, at last, brought his yearlong victory tour to Los Angeles.
Indeed, it’s been close to a decade since Jay last played a full-fledged solo concert in the city, with Shawn Carter closing out his 4:44 Tour across the street at the Forum in 2017 and playing the Rose Bowl for his joint On the Run Tour with Beyoncé a year later. After a historic three-night run in New York at Yankee Stadium and a few more shows in London and Paris, not to mention an eight-part HBO docuseries directed by Rick Rubin, it’s finally L.A.’s turn, as Jay kicked off the first of two much-anticipated concerts Friday night in celebration of the 30th anniversary of his debut album Reasonable Doubt and 25th anniversary of The Blueprint.
The result was a career-spanning tour de force from one of hip-hop’s most seminal figures, and perhaps more Yankee hats and jerseys in the crowd than SoFi Stadium has ever seen. Kicking off just before 9:30 p.m. local time, the show opened with a video of Jay and Beyoncé alone in the seats at Yankee Stadium, with Bey behind him playing with her husband’s hair.
Flanked by an impressive backing band and starting the night with “Hovi Baby,” Jay powered through a collection of hits and fan favorites for two hours, from “FuckWithMeYouKnowIGotIt” to “Run This Town,” “Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem),” “Lucifer” and “99 Problems.”
“Let me take you back to my home for a second,” Jay told the crowd before launching into “Empire State of Mind” toward the end of the evening.
Whereas Jay brought an overwhelming set of surprise superstar guests to his shows in New York, including Eminem, Rihanna, Nas, Usher and wife Beyoncé, L.A.’s opening night was comparably subdued in that department as he performed much more by himself. Still, his daughter Blue Ivy did come out on the keys for “The Story of O.J.” and “Dead Presidents,” while Scarface joined for “This Can’t Be Life” and “Mind Playing Tricks on Me.” DJ Khaled and John Legend helped close it down for the last song for “God Did.”
Much of the audience was of course waiting in anticipation Friday night wondering if Jay would address or confirm the reports that he’d chosen himself as headliner for the Super Bowl Halftime show in February. It’d have been a perfect time to make any news on the matter, performing in the very venue hosting the big game, though the world will have to wait, as Jay didn’t so much as reference the news on Friday, keeping it very much about the current show at hand.
Perhaps he’s saving some more headline news as he finishes his L.A. stand — and his broader Jay-Z 30 shows — on Saturday night.
Night One Setlist:
Hovi Baby
Izzo (H.O.V.A.)
Beach Is Better
FuckWithMeYouKnowIGotIt
N***a What, N***a Who (Originator 99)
Run This Town
The Story of O.J. (with Blue Ivy Carter)
Dead Presidents (with Blue Ivy Carter)
Where I’m From
Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)
Lucifer
No Church In the Wild
Can I Live
Family Feud
U Don’t Know
On to the Next One
Clique
Dirt Off Your Shoulder
I Know
Never Change
This Can’t Be Life (with Scarface)
Mind Playing Tricks on Me (with Scarface)
Song Cry
99 Problems
Girls, Girls, Girls
Excuse Me Miss / La-La-La (Excuse Me Miss Again)
Change the Game
Give It to Me / Money, Cash, Hoes
Jigga My N***a
Heart of the City (Ain’t No Love)
Empire State of Mind
Paris / Big Pimpin’
God Did (with DJ Khaled and John Legend)