Jay-Z and Mary J. Blige: The Heart Of The City Tour
April 2, 2008
Air Canada Centre

When an event this big happens, it simply cannot be missed. To prelude a story such as this would really be useless, as the main event needs no introduction.

The queen of hip hop soul and the king of New York hit the stage together at around 8:20 and everyone left at around 10:50. Every minute was just pure energy! The pair kicked off the show with their collabo hit “Can’t Knock The Hustle” as they crossed the elaborate stage set which featured a 12-piece horn section, two drummers, two keyboard players, a DJ, a guitarist and a bass player, not to mention a huge double staircase, one for Mary and the other for Jay.

After the song Jay-Z exited the stage and Mary J did her thing for about an hour. She debuted a lot of new material in her set but also pleased the crowd with her r hits. Much to everyone’s delight (this got a standing ovation practically) Mary did her breakthrough hit “Real Love” and then broke into the remix, which originally featured The Notorious B.I.G., but she had Jay-Z make a cameo and spit Biggie’s verse! Another highlight was the performance of Mary’s verse from the remix of The Game’s “Hate It Or Love It.” Her powerful voice seemed to carry to every corner of the Air Canada Centre as if she didn’t even need a mic. Along with not being able to miss her voice, her sequins outfit made her look like a mirror ball with legs, and what legs they are. The beauty, voice, and soul of Mary J. Blige was a mellow experience not to be forgotten.

By the time the God MC hit the stage everyone was more than ready as this was Hova’s first Toronto date in a few years. Coming out to “Say Hello” and then going into “Roc Boys” both from his latest disc American Gangster, this was the start of a solid set, to say the least. Bringing out gems from his entire career, the crowd seemed to love selections from Jay’s debut, Reasonable Doubt and The Black Album the best. A highlight of the set was Jay-Z bringing out his right hand man Memphis Bleek, as they did “You Don’t Know (remix)” but with the original verses! After this, Jay-Z asked the crowd “Do you want to bring it up to another level?” After the cheers Jay and Bleek yelled out those fateful words: “If you having girls problems, I feel bad for you son, I’ve got 99 problems but a bitch aint one!” as the guitar brought in the distorted riff that rocked the concert goers into a frenzy. Bleek served as Jay’s hype man but they both let the crowd handle a lot of the lines in the song as the guitarist switched up the “99 Problems” riff with AC/DC’s “Back In Black” as things just progressed to a level of energy that no one could’ve predicted!

Basically, you name the track you wanted to hear, and Jay did it. Jay-Z’s nearly two-hour set showed that the self-proclaimed, crowd certified, best rapper alive can really hold down that title without any question.

The ROC was in the building. Long live the Jigga man!

- Michael Kopko