Tonight's the night. This evening, Jay-Z officially opens the Barclays Center with a string of 8 shows in the shadow of Hov's humble beginnings in Brooklyn.
If Jay-Z did nothing but stand onstage and Rap, the shows would still be historic simply because of where Jay came from and ended up...but these shows need to be more. They are an opportunity for something truly historic. Hell, Jay's performance at the 'Made In America' Festival had many "oh shit" moments, the Barclays Center shows need even more of those.
Here are 8 Moments That Need To Happen During Jay-Z's Barclays Center Shows.
FABOLOUS AND UNCLE MURDA JOIN JAY TO PERFORM "BROOKLYN"
Imagine the refrain of "Broooooklyn, Broooooklyn" reigning throughout the brand new Barclays Center as Jay spits:
"I'm right here Fab, waving the flag, I'm from Nostrand Ave/I came to take the game in my Daddy Kane chain"
JAY-Z SQUASHES THE BEEF WITH R. KELLY AND PERFORMS "BEST OF BOTH WORLDS"
Not exactly a Brooklyn moment, but Jay Vs. R. Kelly has been one of the weirdest long standing music beefs. Earlier this week, Jay-Z sent the following tweet:
"Usually I don't do this but, uh go on and break em off with the preview of the remix". twitter.com/S_C_/status/25…
— Mr. Carter (@S_C_) September 26, 2012
How long has it been since Jay (directly or indirectly) mentioned Kellz? Jay bringing the R. out to perform "Best of Both Worlds" would obviously do a lot more for Kelly than it would Hov, but it would make for a YouTubeable moment.
HOLOGRAM BIGGIE FOR "BROOKLYN'S FINEST"
"Jay-Z, Biggie Smalls n*gga shit ya drawers"
I'm thinking a number of people in the Barclays Center would literally shit their drawers if Jay was able to secure Hologram Biggie (or shit, at least cardboard Biggie) for a performance of the "Reasonable Doubt" classic "Brooklyn's Finest." I mean seriously, the roof might blow off that muhfucka.
BLUE IVY MAKES HER FIRST STAGE APPEARANCE
Blue Ivy better get the chops together 'cause the Barclays Center show would be a great opportunity for Blue Ivy to perform her spot on "Glory" live for the first time. I mean seriously, Blue Ivy crying on "Glory" is better than Bow Wow's whole career.
JAY PERFORMS SOME REAL GUTTER, STREET TRACKS FROM HIS CATALOGUE
Yeah probably 50% of the people in attendance at Jay-Z's Barclays Center shows will be corporate suits whose Jay-Z knowledge probably extends to "Empire State of Mind", but there is also going to be some real Hip-Hop heads up in there. It would be very dope if Jay dug into his catalogue and brought out some of these bangers:
JAY-Z ANNOUNCES HIS NEW ALBUM
"The Blueprint 3" dropped in September 2009...it's time for another Hov album. In fact, I would argue that Hip-Hop would rather have another Jay-Z album now rather than "Watch The Throne 2", which is rumored to be in the works. The Barclays Center shows are a perfect time for Jay to announce his new album...and possibly perform a new single?
JAY-Z BRINGS JAZ-O ONSTAGE
The beef between Jay-Z and Jaz-O is long standing and complex. 47-year-old Jaz-O was Jay-Z's mentor and had an opportunity to sign with Dame and Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella in the 90s but reportedly didn't trust Dame and Biggs (maybe Jaz was on to something?). Hov talked about Jaz's decision not to sign on the "Blueprint 3" track "What We Talkin' About":
"Dame made millions, even Jaz made some scraps, he could've made more but he ain't sign his contract"
Look, it would be a Brooklyn peace moment to see Jay-Z and his mentor come together onstage. Both of these dudes are in their 40s so you would think "beefs" would be a thing of the past. I mean when it comes down to it, the whole thing does seem a little trivial although the constant shots both men have taken at each other over the years may prevent this from happening.
JAY-Z BRINGS OUT GLORIA CARTER (NO TINA KNOWLES)
Gloria Carter (along with Voletta Wallace, Afeni Shakur and Chingy's mom Vernita Bailey) is one of the most important women in Hip-Hop. She gave birth to one of the greatest rappers of all-time and also one of the greatest American success stories of all-time.
Unlike Voletta Wallace and Afeni Shakur, Gloria Carter has stayed out of the spotlight for the most part over the years. What better place than Brooklyn for Jay to bring momma Hov out onstage for a little appreciation:
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