Shawn Carter is arguably the biggest rap star there ever was, but he’s not one for the theatrics. It’s all about the music, hence the tour’s stage name.
Speaking of which, that whole “music” thing still sparks an argument six months removed from its release. It’s worth noting that the album’s rollout and calculation caused it to be a record-breaker but, it was definitely not one of Hov’s finest moments behind the mic.
Which is where we offer up a few suggestions.
Obviously artists release albums these days solely to spring a tour from but sometimes we don’t just want to buy the old albums. Rolling Stone recently printed the setlist for the tour (subject to change, of course) and we took heed to it and offered up a few alternatives that could be just as suitable.
Proceed on to gallery to see the current setlist and pick off which ones you would swap out for our selections.
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Photo: Kevin P. Coughlin/New York Daily News
Set List:
“U Don’t Know”
“Crown”
“On to the Next One”
“Holy Grail”
“Fuckwithmeyouknowigotit”
“Beach Is Better”
“99 Problems”
“Picasso Baby”
“Dead Presidents II”
“Pound Cake”
“No Church in the Wild”
“Tom Ford”
Timbaland Interlude
“Somewhere in America”
“Big Pimpin'”
“Jigga What, Jigga Who””Dirt Off Your Shoulder””I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)”
“N***s in Paris”
“PSA”
“Clique”
“Run This Town”
“Encore”
“Empire State of Mind”
“Izzo (H.O.V.A.)”
“Hard Knock Life”
“Young Forever”
“Party Life”
American Gangster’s promotional vehicle only came with half a tank which was disheartening since it was truly a masterpiece. Jay even teases on the jazzy track that he might let the song play for seven minutes. With a live band backing him, that would make for an incredible performance.
“Brooklyn We Go Hard”
It was a record intended to be The Blueprint 3’s first single, but that idea was as short-lived as Santigold’s tenure with the Roc. The song still goes hard, though. Pun intended.
“Rehab (Remix)”
Rap shows love their fallen artist tributes and here’s one that could keep the people moving without missing a beat.
“Where I’m From”
Although this Vol. 1 joint may be a little too rugged for the hyphen-less Jay Z crowd, real fans can mouth every word like they learned it grammar school.
“Put It In The Air”
Another record that would scare Barneys shoppers straight. Still, seeing the look on their faces as M.O.P. run amuck would be nothing short of priceless.
“Trouble”
Kingdom Come gets a bad rap for a variety of reasons, yet if the bulk of Magna Carta… can get some burn on stage, this should too.
“Snoopy Track”
14 years later and this song still has a jolt of energy to it. Since then, the only thing that has changed is not even the homeless wear Iceberg.
“Big Spender”
Unlike a few select members of State Property, Freeway never fell out of Hov’s good gracious. They could catch the crowd by surprise and ease into more popular numbers like “What We Do.”
“I Can’t Get With That”
If Jay really wanted to troll the audience, he’d hit them off with this and see how many people have actually been around since day one. (Or, had the decency to do their homework.)
“I Wanna Rock (G-Mix)”
The craze for this 2009 hit has since died down but when given a hype environment, the party will feel mighty familiar.
