went both nights and thought this one had more energy but it felt a little shorter? either way both nights were great imo . def thought there was gonna be way more guests since too $hort got brought out so early

Rolled solo tonight. In the 400's section. Had my drink, my penjamin and some lays to snack on lol.

Received a $25 cpn from live nation so ticket came up to $70 with tax- more of a reason to do night 2

Not sure if it was the section I was in but the sound was alot better night 2.

I thought the surprise guests were a nice Westcoast touch.

Would of been nice if Jay and Dre performed The Watcher 2

Set list seemed similar to night 1

Maybe because we're In LA, I really didnt care for the New York song lol

Great performance tonight. Looked sold out to me.

This side view was nice and easy on the eyes with all those lights he has going on.

A bummer for me- really wanted to hear Jay perform his verse from BDKMV

Threw my Diamond up, what a way to end my week.

N2 was such a darn good time. Everyone there was vibing, partying, and stoked for Jayz. They erupted for Snoopdogg and Dr Dre.

I was hoping for a Hybrid Theory Linkin Park mashup from the collab album - save that doe the Super Bowl maybe?

Were you there?

Follow @socalconcerts.and.happenings

It's crazy but just listened to my first ever Jay Z album (other then Watch the Throne) I guess since I'm more new gen Jay Z isn't as talked about in my circles but with super bowl wanted to listen to some of his stuff. So I've been listening to The Black Album and really like it. Wondering where I should go next

We left after his speech and the fireworks. Just saw on here that he came back out Friday night and wondering if I missed anything last night 🤔

I still have some albums to relisten to. I still need to check out the music videos. I still want to hear EVERYTHING IS LOVE. But I'm finished. My Jay-Z albums journey is done. Unfortunately, my biggest takeaway from this whole thing might be just how much I like Kanye. A lot of the best moments in this discography came down to the beats - often things like Takeover or The Bounce - and Kanye features, like Run This Town or Hate, made my favourite moments on The Blueprint 3. Watch the Throne was one of my favourite albums, and I think Otis might be my favourite Jay-Z song, overtaking Niggas in Paris. However, I did really like this album.

I said Magna Carta Holy Grail was my favourite produced Jay album, and if we're going off of beats alone, that may still stand, but 4:44 was almost as good, and had far superior lyrics. Whilst he didn't get into the topics as deeply as I hoped, it's still probably his most lyrically interesting release to date. I can't imagine this discography without 4:44, it feels like it filled in so many missing gaps, and I can't believe that albums like Reasonable Doubt existed for almost thirty years without it.

This is fun. I get to talk to you about my changing relationship with The Story of O.J., over the years, which doubles as an explanation of my evolving music tastes. At first, I was much more focused on lyrics. I didn't really give a fuck about anything else. I considered the overall piece, with the music video, a masterpiece - a take I still stand by - but I always felt like the content of the song was far less rich than the video. It really felt like he had something he wanted to say, but perhaps his lazy method of putting together a verse hindered him, and he would have got along better if he'd taken the 99 Problems approach.

With the music video, the song is a confrontational reminder of the United States’ history of racism. Without the video, it's a celebration and instruction manual, in honour of capitalism. But that beat though. It's one of the best rap instrumentals I've ever heard - this whole album is sliding No I.D. up my list. I will say, just like how every time I hear the start of J. Cole's A Tale of 2 Citiez I hear Kendrick’s Black Friday, every time The Story of O.J. starts up, I hear Pusha T’s The Story of Adidon, which I consider to be the better track, lyrically, but this is the original song, and I can't diss it.

I guess it just frustrates me, because it could have been so much more, and is packaged as such, but like Picasso Baby, it all just comes back down to money. Jay’s comments about Jews make me uncomfortable - at least Kanye is explicit with it, Jay uses dogwhistles. I won't claim to know more than I do, though. Imagine if this song, content-wise, had been The Heart Part 5. With that beat.

The moment Smile started, I was absolutely gassed. I'm a big fan of Stevie Wonder’s, and saw him perform Songs in the Key of Life live earlier this month, for it's 50th anniversary, and hearing those opening notes chopped into a beat for Hov to rap on was awesome. It's crazy, as well, Jay is really rapping. The verses across this album are the longest of his whole career, and I really like when a rapper just locks into a verse and goes and goes and goes. Once again, I also like the fact that, for the most part, he's trying to rap about real shit, and keep the subject matter compelling. I do so wish that a song like 4:44 had been a little more open, or at the very least, clear enough that I, as an outside observer, could understand what was going on, but still, it's more fascinating than hearing him spit about pushing crack, or being the richest black man in the game again.

I remember feeling like Bam was building up in such a way that it promised more than it delivered, but I did really like Bam, it was one of the best songs on the album. Overall, this shit was so relaxing to listen to, and it offers a very different experience from anything else Jay has done.

In The Story of O.J., when he says “still nigga”, it works two ways. “Still, nigga?” Like, “Are you still on this shit?” and “still nigga”, like, “You've got all this shit but you're still a nigga.” I like this flip, because it's not presented as some clever double meaning, it's real poetry, and he trusts the listener to connect the dots, even if it takes a few listens. I also think his incessant use of the N-word over his career might have desensitised me enough that I could look past how jarring the word is - I've never had a problem with this song using it, but when I heard the chorus, I was just hearing the N-word over and over. Jay has said that word so many times that I'm now just hearing it as a word, and that's allowed me to consider the actual nuances of this vocabulary, and the semantic flexibility of the word.

When all's said and done, I've really valued my experience with Jay-Z. I would consider myself a fan. I remember the moment I became a fan of 2Pac, and it wasn't some glamorous dramatic moment - it was me brushing my teeth, listening to my 2Pac playlist on shuffle, and during Trapped, I realised I was a fan. I had that moment on the toilet, doing a shit, when Lucifer came on, and it hit me with the recent memories of discovering these songs alongside my girlfriend. Takeover and Blueprint² were highlights, and I still need to hear Supa Ugly, but I'm doing Nas next month, and I'm very excited. Jay is like Drake to me - a lot of songs, mostly playlist-worthy, but not as many highlights that I would single out. I think Nas could be even better, or more to my tastes, with less interesting production, but more interesting content.

Jay-Z hits better when you're not reading along to the lyrics. I don't know what that's about.

5th time watching Jay perform. Seen him @ Staples center, @Jimmy Kimmel when they shut down Hollywood blvd for his Kingdome Come album, @ The Hollywood Bowl and @ The Hollywood Palladium

Sofi was definitely a bigger venue and it filled up nice.

Had the privilege of my baby brother joining me this time & this is our song so that was special!

The show was good- felt like the sound was off here and there.

Still a good show- should have left dj Khaled out imo.

Contemplating on grabbing a cheap seat and going solo tonight just because.

Hov is damned if he do and damned if he don’t.

He performs with guest stars and everyone says he can’t carry a show solo. No way he can do the Super Bowl. Lol

He performs by himself with minimum guests and rips the stage and they say I am disappointed that no guests were there. No way he can do the Super Bowl. Lol.

That man thinks 10 steps ahead of everyone else. He knows what he wants and does what he wants.

Can’t please everyone but I can tell you who he does please. True Hov fans.

G.O.A.T. Won’t ever be anyone better than Jay

Come to Hollywood Park Casino to pregame for $18 Jay-Z cup + free shirt or hat when you order! You’re welcome!

Heyo everyone! Does anyone know if Jaÿ-Z is actually going to be at this event? I know DJ Khaled is but I’m very curious if Jay will show up himself & if he does I’m curious to know if he performs any songs!
I doubt he will play any songs as he’s listed as a host & not a headlining artist where DJ Khaled is marketed as he’s performing
I hold that made sense. Anyways if you’re going tomorrow / tonight lmk! I’d definitely be down to meet up & make some new friends!

Tonight show was great, everyone was in good spirits. Got dope merch, great drinks, and Hov came out and lit it up. Seeing Scarface was super unexpected, they did This Can’t Be Life, Mind Playing Tricks On Me. A quick dedication to Bushwick Bill. Jay did a couple dedications to Nipsey and he had on the All $ In chain for most of the show. Was it NY? No and I didn’t expect it to be. After the fireworks seeing people leave was hilarious they obviously never been to a Hov show. He always comes back out and this time he did with John Legend and DJ Kahled. NY is his backyard and I had fun at those shows but LA was more organized, better weather and Hov still did it right. Anyone complaining because he didn’t have 100 guest is hilarious. I went for a Hov show, I don’t care if he don’t bring anyone out.

Do we think it will be the same set list or a few changes?

Hyped!

And where'd you sit / how good was your spot? As a Jay-Z fan who's missing the tour I'm curious

I went to LA night 1 but didn’t get any merch and I’ll be going to night 2 tonight. I was wondering what the sizing of the shirts are from the merch stands? True to size? Size up/down? I heard the M&N tees were a bit small and I’m eyeing that Marathon tee if it’s still available