Last night, on the eighth anniversary of the 9/11 terror ist attacks, Jay-Z honored the fallen heroes and the resil ience of the New Yorkers who have stuck with the city since with an amazing concert at Madison Square Garden.
Although the show was timed to this week’s release of Jay-Z’s latest CD, “Blueprint 3” it was clearly a thank you to New York by the hometown rap icon rather than a record promotion.
Tagged the Answer the Call show, the rapper staged a two-hour performance of both new and old material with all the evening’s proceeds being donated to the New York Police & Fire Widows’ & Children’s Benefit Fund.
The excitement level was high at the Garden with the house breaking into spontaneous chants of “Hova, Hova, Hova” in an attempt to lure the emcee to the stage earlier than his 9 p.m. start.
When the show did get underway, it was the classics such as “I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)” and “Izzo (H.O.V.A.)” that moved the hometown crowd.
Among the freshly minted tunes featured in the set were “Run This Town” — which Jay dueted with sexy guest singer Rihanna — and “D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune).”
You might wonder what Jay’s connection to 9/11 is and why this show is important to him.
His first “Blueprint” album, released on that date in 2001, gave his devoted fans hope in the wake of the attacks, making it one of Jay-Z’s most loved works.
On stage at the Garden he told the sold-out house of 18,000: “Let’s not forget in 2001 terrorists attacked New York City and took down our towers. They thought it would weaken us, they were sadly mistaken. We stand here tonight even stronger. This is my town.”
After that quick, heartfelt speech, Jay got the concert to sizzle with a string of favorites and guests including his wife, Beyonce, Mary J. Blige, Kanye West, Diddy and guitar whiz John Mayer.
If you’ve seen any of the Jay’s recent shows, such as his All Points West gig last month, this was a typical Hova — lots of energy and special guests sending the crowd home with smiles plastered on their mugs.
Unlike other acts in hip-hop, Jay-Z saves most of his flash for the lyrics rather than stage gymnastics.