Last Wednesday, it is 4:09 p.m. when the information falls on the social networks of the Vuitton Foundation: Jay-Z will perform on the stage of his auditorium on the occasion of the exhibition “Basquiat X Warhol, À Quatre Mains” two days later.
Tribute, and marriage of convenience?
The news spread like wildfire and the 1,500 tickets put up for sale are snapped up for this tribute to the two figures of contemporary art. The last effervescence of the genre in the enclosure of the famous trunk maker was Kanye West for a series of charity concerts in 2015. The event is a surprise that is both predictable and unexpected. Jay-Z is no exception. He has a complex personality, he’s a Che Guevara bling bling! (cf: “Public Service Announcement” in the Black Album). Predictably, the native of the Marcy Project district (Brooklyn, New York) has never hidden his admiration for Basquiat (also born in Brooklyn) with whom he shares a passion for hip-hop culture and music. Besides, a capillary mimicry that he cultivates, the one nicknamed Young Hov, Jigga or even HOVA collects the paintings of the master (he is the owner of Most Kingz and of Mecca) and does not miss the name dropper from “Most Kingz”, in “Kingdom Come”, to “Picasso Baby” in which he proclaims himself “the new Jean Michel”! The other reason that also makes the show predictable is more marketing. The power couple he forms with the singer Beyoncé is the image of Tiffany & Co, the New York jeweler which belongs to the luxury giant LVMH, owner of the place where the concert takes place. On this subject, during the brand’s last campaign, the two lovebirds were displayed alongside a work by the artist of Haitian and Puerto Rican origins. With the collaboration on a pair of Nike Air Force One sneakers (sneakers raised to the rank of icon in hip-hop culture by Jay-Z in particular), the turquoise blue brand continues desperately to forge street credibility by sponsoring a concert … at 140 euros the entrance all the same! In short, when you love, you don’t count as a famous adage says or to quote Oscar Wilde: “The follies are the only things you never regret”. Let’s hope this is the case! This show is unexpected when the Parisian public is firmly waiting for their sweetheart next month at the Stade de France. The rapper is rare. Ten years have passed since Jay-Z’s last solo concert on a Parisian stage (In 2014 and 2018, he performed at the Stade de France with Beyoncé). We expect a concert of the ilk of his legendary MTV Unplugged or a B-Sides type show at Terminal 5. This tribute is a real pleasure for fans of the first hour in a cozy and intimate setting at the antipodes of his last mega concerts.
The Lous Vuitton Foundation has pulled out all the stops. The simple and neat scenography consists of three scenes. One on each side welcoming the musicians and a central one offering Jay-Z a 360-degree view of the audience around him. The whole draped in purple-colored velvet and topped by a series of circular cells that serve as a ceiling light (a nod perhaps to Prince or Jay-Z’s outfit during the prestigious Roc Nation Pre-Grammy Brunch in 2017?).
Initially scheduled for 9 p.m. sharp, the show begins ten minutes late. A sacrilege, a crime of lèse-majesté for the LVMH group which has a portfolio of Swiss watch brands!
The place to be du who’s who international
The first notes of the remix of “Diamonds From Sierra Leone” with the sensual voice of Shirley Bassey ring out as an introduction before a Jay-Z, dressed to the nines, makes his entrance on the very soulful “Roc Boys” of the scrapbook American Gangster. This title is a perfect introduction, like an echo of the Cotton Club atmosphere of his clip where the stars are legion. In the evening public, the VIPs are counted in spades. There is celebrity per square meter: Beyoncé of course, their daughter Blue Ivy, Rihanna, A$ap Rocky, Pharrell Williams, Chris Rock, Jill Scott, Gims, the founder of Twitter Jack Dorsey, Fally Ipupa, Bernard Arnault ( the master of the place), the Minister of Culture Rima Abdul Malak, Marco Verratti, Parick Bruel, Gilles Lellouche or even Christophe Chassol (who will perform at the Philharmonie for a concert inspired by the work of Basquiat on April 22). A varied skewer that proves the unifying side of the evening star and the crossover he achieved during his career.
If the foundation scene is used to welcoming the biggest names in classical music, Shawn Corey Carter (the name of Jay-Z in the civil status) has chosen to deceive them with his own classics. Those who wrote his legend maintained by impressive figures: 13 solo albums (including 11 number 1 in the USA), more than 50 million albums sold worldwide, 24 Grammy Awards for 88 nominations and a personal fortune estimated at 2 .5 billion dollars!
Jay-Z and Basquiat, common fists?
“Can’t Knock Hustle”, “Never Change”, “Empire State of Mind”, “Heart of the City”… the concert begins with a bang and the color is announced for aficionados who rejoice. There’s no room for hits here: Jay-Z serves up his tunes for the OGs (diehard fans). The evening is a celebration of almost 30 years of career, a longevity at the top quite rare in the rap game which loves youth. Like Basquiat, he broke down the doors in order to fight the glass ceiling he faced in Racist America of the 80s that still persists today. Basquiat with his brush denounced it and Jay-Z with his flow does the same. Despite their success, their American dream, the fact remains that blacks remain marginalized, as the work reminds us. Taxi, 45Th/Broadway present in the exhibition. In the book Know What I Mean by Michael Eric Dyson (Editions BPM) for which he signs the introduction, Jay-Z evokes the subject when speaking of the work of the author: he’s there to say out loud to that mass of people in America whose minds are stiff with religious fanaticism, puritanism and contempt that hip-hop is American. That black culture is American. That darkness and negritude are American. Whether they like it or not, I’m American. A few lines later, he adds: it showed skeptics and critics that hip-hop is an art movement in its own right and was created by young, working-class men and women of color. Yes, our songs can detail the illicit drug trade and our choruses can dance to our most lustful desires. But not all of these stem from inferior minds, defective imaginations, or lack of morality. All of these things came straight out of our lives. They just come from America. (…) The fact that we live and grew up in neighborhoods with a bad reputation does not make our lives rotten, useless and worthless. It may be the opposite. Our lives and our cultures are even more worthy of being studied and analyzed precisely because we have succeeded in imposing ourselves, despite the social failure that we are promised, in each apartment, in each popular American neighborhood.. »
A plea for Black Excellence
The evening is a celebration of a certain Black Excellence and nothing has been left to chance so that this moment can honor it. The shadow of soul and jazz icons is present in the room just as it haunts the works of Basquiat. The songs have been skilfully re-orchestrated by Young Guru, his faithful sound engineer and musical director. The transitions between the songs have been meticulously worked highlighting the original samples while letting songs such as “Walk of Love” by Isaac Hayes breathe on Can I Live or Bobby “Blue” Band’s “Ain’t No Love in the Heart of the City” for “Heart Of The City.” Sometimes it’s additions of samples that weren’t originally in the songs. The few notes of “Ready or Not” by the Fugees right in the middle of “Heart Of The City” or even the mash-up between Gil Scott Heron’s “New York Is Killing Me” and “Empire State of Mind”, its duet hit with Alicia Keys, can attest to that.
This desire for originality is supported by an orchestra of musicians (drums, brass, guitar, bass, keyboards, etc.) all dressed in purple, which adds a well-felt visual touch to this exceptional moment. The orchestra exudes joy and gets in tune with the headliner, offering soulful, jazzy and sometimes rock moments during the “Public Service Announcement / U Don’t Know” sequence which further increases the atmosphere of a notch after a fiery “Ni**as in Paris”! Jay-Z, less stingy than some of his colleagues, invites the public to applaud his musicians. Certainly, he is not known to be a beast of the stage but his happiness to be there is obvious. He is having a good time and does not hesitate to indulge in small signing sessions on vinyls, snapback caps and even a pair of white Nike Air Force Ones! The pleasure is certain especially when he shows that his technique is intact. He raps a cappella the end of “Heart Of The City” or “Excuse Me Miss”. The interpretation of his non-stop four-minute verse on “HOV DID” is further proof of this. Sometimes, he plays the humor card in front of Beyoncé by knowingly forgetting Family Feud’s “Leave me Alone Becky”, a song in which he talks about his infidelity.
Time flies and the concert ends with a “Thank You” for the occasion before putting an end to his performance with a magnificent “Encore” far from the version with Linkin Park to which he had accustomed us live. The bassist embellishes this original version by incorporating the double bass, which gives a more jazzy character and a crooner side to a Jay-Z whose charisma is undeniable. The public asks for more, without being answered.
It’s 10:25 p.m. and the live is coming to an end. It was a little short but sumptuous, a sublime moment giving its true letters of nobility to rap on stage and to the art of sampling which was once considered the AIDS of music.
And Warhol in all this?
A question still remains at the end of this concert. Holding this event was a tribute to two sacred monsters of 20th century contemporary art by one of the figures of current pop culture. A legitimate approach when you know Jay-Z’s interest in art in general and contemporary art in particular (cf: the video of “Picasso Baby” with the performer Marina Abramovic in particular or that of “Apeshit” tour at the Louvre). We perceive the inspiration represented by Basquiat – whose paintings he owns – and certain correspondences between their works and their careers. But what about the relationship between the MC and the Factory’s most famous resident, Warhol? One of the cartels (explanatory texts of the work) of the exhibition like that of the painting “Dollar Sign, Don’t Tread On Me” offers perhaps the beginning of an answer. Just like the Pope of Pop Art in his time, Jay-Z seems to perfectly embody the portrait of the artist as a businessman of our time. Everything he touches turns to gold (diamonds). Wasn’t he rightly rapping on “Diamonds From Sierra Leone Remix” by his colt Kanye West which introduced tonight’s concert: “I’m not a businessman, I’m business man! »