Performance Details
- Jay-Z headlined Philadelphia's annual Roots Picnic on March 30, marking his first solo headlining show in over five years.
- The set lasted 90 minutes and included over 30 songs from his catalog, including hits like "Dirt Off Your Shoulders," "Empire State of Mind," "Run This Town," and "N*gga's In Paris," as well as deeper cuts like "Can I Live" and "Marcy Me."
- He was backed by the Roots, with whom he collaborated on his 2001 MTV Unplugged live album.
- Guests included Jazmine Sullivan, Meek Mill (who performed "Dreams & Nightmares"), and Bilal.
- An unofficial State Property reunion occurred, with Beanie Sigel, Freeway, Peedi Crakk, Memphis Bleek, and Young Gunz performing.
Surprise Freestyle
Minutes into his set, after opening with "Hovi Baby," Jay-Z performed a four-minute a cappella freestyle, which he said he had not rehearsed with the Roots.
"Have you n*ggas have no shame? You really wanna get under my skin? I'll really get under ya skin (stab)."
During the freestyle, he made remarks apparently directed at Drake, Nicki Minaj, and Kanye West. He criticized Drake's music industry dealings, and referenced disparaging comments Kanye West made about Jay-Z's children, rapping: "You ever heard of wonder-kin? My children are some of them."
Despite the remarks, Jay-Z performed multiple songs from his and West's joint album Watch the Throne, including "No Church in the Wild" and "Gotta Have It."
Context
- The freestyle followed a recent GQ interview in which Jay-Z discussed rap beef, characterizing it as part of hip-hop's four pillars (breakdancing, graffiti, DJing, battling) and expressing concern that modern diss tracks escalate to character attacks involving family.
- Jay-Z's most recent solo album is 4:44 (2017). In 2018, he released Everything Is Love with Beyoncé as The Carters.
- The Roots Picnic performance served as a prelude to New York shows celebrating the 30th anniversary of his debut album Reasonable Doubt and the 20th anniversary of The Blueprint.