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Jay-Z plays Montreal on October 30th at the Bell Centre and, by all accounts, half the city is going to be there and the other half is trying to find tickets. Not only is he one of the greatest rappers of all time, but he’s turned himself into one of the biggest, most important figures in the entire music industry. Jay-Z is coming to Montreal to run this town for the night…
Jay-Z, or Shawn Carter to his mom, is generally regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time. He grew up in the hard-knock Marcy Houses housing project in Brooklyn, New York and turned to a life of crime early on. But his bio reads like a classic ‘rags to riches’ realization of the American Dream. He built a music career out of poetically expressing his experience on the streets, and then parlayed his success into a multi-million dollar, global empire that now includes a music label, clothing line, and part ownership of the NBA’s New Jersey Nets, just to mention a few. He’s got the Grammys and the famous wife (some girl named BEYONCE?), but the real fans keep coming back for the music. And he’s coming to Montreal with a new album, THE BLUEPRINT 3, his eleventh studio album, along for the ride. Is it my favourite record of his? No- Reasonable Doubt or The Blueprint would probably get the nod for me. But does it have enough big hooks and block-rattling beats to make Montreal go wild? And does the man know how to rock a crowd? No doubt.
Of course, Jay-Z is bringing backup with him to the October 30th show. There’s also the Pharrell-fronted left-field hip hop outfit N.E.R.D., the up-and-coming and hugely talented WALE as well as J COLE, the first signee to Jay’s new record label, Roc Nation.
Now, I haven’t yet figured out where the after-party is going to be. But if/when/I’d-better figure out where it is, you can be sure I’ll let you know on http://twitter.com/FreeMurphy.
Montréal is one of the best cities for music in the world - from massive international fests to tiny hole-in-the-wall spots. Montrealers like to go out, eat, drink and be social. Possibly because it's a fact that Montrealers are extremely beautiful people. It's a big city that behaves like a small town, or maybe the reverse. I've been a music journalist for about 10 years now, and there is no better city than this one to be doing it. It's going to be a busy year.
BRINGING THE BELMONT INTO 2010
