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Fade to Black (2004)
Look, I heard people say I'm
the luckiest man on the planet. I like to think I stay ready. A wise man once told me luck isn't some mystical energy that dances around the universe randomly bestowing people with satisfaction and jo y. You create your own luck. My whole career, I been thinking of a night like this. Like what's about to happen. That's what's going on. I was like, "Oh, shit." This is it right now. A night with all the stars in line. I ain't trying to get too dramatic on y'all, but that night, I felt like the luckiest man in the world. Or as my man C-Thru would say, "Lucky Lefty." I'll be at the Trump International. Ask for me. You out of here now. You said it's o ver. I got you. It was like a whole energy. I was just standing up on the seats. I ain't did that since going to see Michael Jackson. This is history right here. Jay-Z in the Garden. All by hisself. He just sold out the shit by hisself in four minutes. Dear Jay. Why you leaving the game, baby? You're supposed to stay and keep it thorough and finish rapping. It's done. It's a wrap. Garden is no more. Modern-day hip-hop, this is what it's supposed to be. A show like this, where it's big and the nigga's feeling it and it's real music. I hope you had a great time. I had a wonderful time. I feel like I waited too long for it to be o ver this fast. For real. I knew saying goodbye was the right thing to do. But this goodbye began like a long kiss. Let me take y'all back to the beginning. Of the end, that is. Anytime you gonna make an album, especially if this is your last album, every single track has to be a statement. In your mind, you thinking, "I have to make the perfect album." That's what you think. Anybody know me know I'm dead serious. I will sit there, drive myself crazy till I find that right track. Don't waste my motherfucking time! That nigga's depressed. He gotta get out the basement. Only two things that get you through this, man. That's patience and persistence. Not easy, bro. You do a lot of bullshit before you get the jewels. This right here we call the Magic Moment. Right now I'm thinking, "Where's this going? What does this track say?" I look at music like a puzzle. I try to figure it out. Figure out what I'm gonna say on it. Figure out the emotion of the track, what it's saying. Then I go through my Rain Man. I can't explain it to y'all, man. It comes out of the air for me. I start mumbling. They say you put the right artist with the right track in the studio, leave the door cracked, and let God in. It's almost time now, niggas! Yeah, Hot 97 Funk Flex. - Jay-Z. - Yes, sir. - Memphis Bleek. - Yeah. Of course, the concert. You know what it is. Jay-Z is coming to the Garden. Tickets go on sale Saturday. This is a very big deal, New York. There hasn't been something in the Garden in so long. And it's beautiful. And you know what, man? When I was looking once again at the Jumbotron, it wasn't an R&B concert and you're on it, or it wasn't a reggae concert. It's Jay-Z. And I think this is such a great thing, man. It's nice to see you at the Garden. From Marcy to Madison Square, man. This isn't the short Summer Jam joint. This isn't a condensed show. This is Jay-Z all evening long. Are you gonna do the collabo maybe with Beyonc that night? That might happen. You know where I'm going now, right? That might happen. Jay-Z has just stopped looking at me. We in the Garden, nigga. That may not be a big deal for pop acts or rock acts. They sell out the Garden a couple nights in a row. But for hip-hop, we wasn't even allowed in the building. Passes only! No one's getting in without one. Allow me to keep it real. The Gun is here. Bleek is here. Freeway here. If Jay don't show up, we gonna shut this shit down even more. I'm the fucking king of New York after tonight. That's what the fuck I'm playing. The people with him have to get frisked. Gonna have a problem upstairs. You should have your fucking credential anyway. You ready? His lead security guy is stuck down there, but his name is on the list. You find a man for me? Fucking long-ass walk, man. Everybody gonna retire like that. No, no. No, no. Jay retiring 'cause he's that fucking nigga. Jay earned that 'cause he's nice. Don't get it twisted. He worked hard. Tell Ahmir I need a drop on that last shit on "Song Cry" with the L.L. shit. Tell him to come see me. They want to do one more song. You tell me. You got four minutes. Whatever we gotta do, let's do it right now. We gotta all get our pictures 'cause I have to really go. Thank y'all for coming. You got it crazy downstairs. It's like Saddam Hussein trying to get up in this joint. Damn. Tickets in your hand, please. I've gotta get in my zone now. There's gonna be no talking. I'm gonna go in, I'm gonna think, and I'm gonna envision myself tearing this down. That's how you do it. You gotta envision it first. He's back there just being calm. You can't get ex cited. It's another day. He said, "Treat it like it's Boston." It's Boston. Ladies and gentlemen. Tonight we come to Madison Square Garden, New York City, to see and hear a legendary superstar. From Marcy Projects, Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, New York, presenting the one, the only undisputed, undefeated heavyweight champion of the world of hip-hop. He is Jay-Z! Put your motherfucking hands up! Put your motherfucking hands up! Ho v-I, baby! What more can I say, New York? I done said it all. Done it all. I'm gonna keep my motherfucking jacket on. Hey, I put together a special evening for y'all tonight. I brought y'all some different shit. I want y'all to see how far we can take it as hip-hop artists. I'm opening back up this Madison Square Garden for hip-hop. Tonight is a charity night. We still gonna have a lot of fun, though. Y'all leave this motherfucker do your job. I'm gonna do my job. Tonight I brought you with myself? uestlo ve and the Illadelphonics. Me myself. I go by a couple names. Sometimes they call me Jigga. Sometimes they call me Jigga Man. Sometime they call me Ho v. The One. But tonight I'll be... One more time for them. One more time. Sounds so beautiful. Don't you agree? I'm glad everybody could be here with me tonight. Y'all could have been anywhere in the world. But y'all at the Garden. Let's get it popping. Two, three, four! Like I said, when you're making your last album, you want everything to be perfect. In order for everything to be perfect, everybody has to be focused. You don't know how hard it is to get everybody on the same page at the same time for one thing. You had a meeting in the studio? You stopped the music? Don't ever stop the music. Take that shit to the hallway, to the office. Anywhere. Don't ever stop the music. That's what pay the bills. You can't stop the music. We have nothing to meet about if we don't have the music. Don't ever stop the music. Didn't know I was interfering with the music. Yeah, this nigga's already crazy, unfocused, video-gamed out. Wake up the morning, I see this nigga on the rap. Trucks with four video games in it. He's going around looking for old Atari games. That's how he spends his day. No, that was just set up for the shoot. Nigga, I seen all the ones you had. You had Coleco Vision. All that shit. But I bought that. That wasn't for the shoot. You been at that shit. And the things you say out your mouth. "Yo, I just motherfucking make beats to support my video-game habit." I was like, "Carline, get this nigga on the phone right now." I thought about that statement for a minute. And I looked at the date, and it was the 15, and we ain't make one record together. He's gonna play dirty. He's not gonna do shit until he done with everybody. If it's done and it's hot, he just ain't gonna make it. He knows that. You know that, right? I'm on my last album. We inside here. This ain't the media. I'm not even playing. I can't wait for y'all to hear my new shit. I just want to hear what y'all think. Beats don't just come out done. There's an idea. And there's the ex ecution of that idea. Hopefully, you don't just lose everything in the ex ecution. And you've got collaboration. You know what I need. I need that bounce. But by far, for me, the most important thing is inspiration. As an artist, if you ain't inspired to work, then you start thinking. Once you start thinking, you start forcing music. It's never good. I'm backed in the corner. Nigga said, "Don't bring no beats." I got some shit on the bus, too. I think just as important as knowing when something is hot and knowing that this is the one is knowing when it's not. That one right there is very limited. All right. I hate when he does that. I need Memph Bleek for this one. Okay. Okay. You take that side. I'm gonna take this side. Everybody on this side, y'all say, "Nigga what?" Yeah! Yeah! Y'all say, "Nigga who?" One, two, three! Madison Square Garden, are y'all having a good time tonight? Y'all making a lot of noise. I gotta know who's making all that noise. Is Jersey in this motherfucker tonight? What's up, Dirty Jersey? Is the Bronx in this motherfucker tonight? Is Queens in this motherfucker tonight? Is Manhattan in this motherfucker tonight? Is Brooklyn in this motherfucker tonight? Hold on,? uest. Hold on,? uest. Hold on one second, my nigga. Let's keep it bouncing. I Io ve it. Y'all motherfuckers crazy tonight. Everybody in this building, make some noise! Thanks a lot, Carline. I'm just sitting here patiently waiting for Jigga Man. Ho v. Jay-Z. Whatever his name is. All right. That was Carline. Jay's running an hour late. You know how superstars be on their bullshit. My feeling is, whenever inspiration don't find you, you have to find it. And luckily for me, I been in this business a minute. I know a couple people. Some of them are just permanently inspired. Play me something, man. You play. Play me something. I know where I'm going. Play me something. Play me something. Why do we go through this every freaking time? What? I ain't. Go ahead. I ain't got nothing. Untuck the hop, then, man. Follow me on this. Follow me. Run the marathon. Aw, man. You confused? What? You confused? No, motherfucker. Yeah, right. Let me get another one. You got bounce? He got no bounce in anything. - He ain't got... - Calm down. You got no bounce, nigga. You ain't got no bounce, nigga. The bounce coming up. That shit right there is crazy. Oh, man! That's that... All right, you take your pick. I'm like Ric Flair. You ever seen the wrestler Ric Flair? I'm the best there is. You got that? This is on the fly, man. I'm gonna fuck up a lot. It's all in memory. I think he's the greatest. The person that can do about 30 raps in his head and not forgetting any one of them. It's ingenious. One more time. Yeah, nigga! All rappers. Every rapper that's out that's supposed to be "hot" will be terminated. I'm telling you. Oh, God. That's how you end a motherfucking song, nigga. Yeah. That's how you end a song. How many people in this building from the hood? We ain't gonna stop. Give me something for everybody from the hood, yo. He's doing this. That's right. Everybody, feel me. You had a hard-knock life. I need y'all to sing. God damn! Put the peace sign up for the homey Biggie Smalls. Keep your peace sign up for Big Pun. For Left Eye. For Jam Master Jay. Now take your twos and make an "A" for Aaliyah one time tonight, y'all. Put your twos in the air for Tupac Shakur. You know how we do this. We gonna let them know they gone, they'll never be forgotten. You gonna fly with it. I want everybody to feel this in this building right now. Give me something. I need to feel y'all in my soul. Put your twos back in the air. We ain't done. Give me something else. Yes! Yes! Hold up. Hold up. Hold the fuck up. Put your twos back in the air. God damn. Of course, the only way we can continue in hip-hop is we pay respect to the past. So I had to pay respect to the past so I could continue on to the future. Can I introduce y'all to my future? Roc-A-Fella Records, give me some! Memphis Bleek. Yeah! You know! Beanie Sigel, get the fuck out here! Oh, man. I got you. We about to shut this shit down, man. Early. You know how we do. To the Garden. Yeah, Memphis! What's up? Let's get it popping. This floor's shaking, man. I know. It's crazy. I thought I was getting dizzy and shit. I know I ain't smoked weed and shit. Holla! Y'all aren't gonna get tired on me, right? Are y'all tired out there? Okay. I'm just checking with y'all. I'm gonna check with y'all three more times. Yo, Bleek. - What's up? - We need you on this one. Okay. It's for the ladies right here. That's what I'm... It's for the ladies right here. Hold on. Let me look. You got me? Okay. Question. Let's slow it down for them. Hold on, hold on, hold on. Wait. Wait, wait. Okay, let's slow it all the way down for them. Let's slow it down. Make some noise for Missy Elliott and Twista one time tonight. Old-school hip-hop. They say that's when it was at its best. They call it "The Golden Years." I know that's when I fell in Io ve with it. Since this album's gonna be autobiographical, I had to go to one of the few people that could recapture that feeling I had when I was a kid. That's incredible. My man, thank you. That's incredible. You may have to rewrite the third verse after this 'cause you just took it. The whole song just went like this. Rick ain't normal. I don't give a fuck. I know all producers have their idiosyncrasies, meaning quirks and some weird shit, but he's just strange by strange standards. While we was downstairs doing hard-core rap records and shit, upstairs he had a bunch of people who having... leaves and doing some type of Tibetan freedom concert planning. When was the last time you seen a bison in a nigga's studio? Next is Johnny Cash for us. Yeah. This thing had a Grammy. I told you? I was upstairs, and the guy behind me had a Grammy for Best Producer of a Country Album. Oh, yeah? He's just chilling? He's in the back somewhere. Nigga did done L.L. Johnny Cash. Beastie Bo ys. Over 20 years into his career, dude ain't changed. He got his own vibe. I mean, it's Rick. You gotta Io ve him for that. You guys are late. I did eight songs already. I'm just playing. Hey, start this one o ver. Pull back. I'm gonna leave holes in this. Then I'm gonna come back and fill in. I want to hear that. Yeah, 'cause I want to fill in it. I'm thinking maybe we start a capella with... If you're having girl problems, I feel bad for you, son. I got 99 problems, but a bitch ain't one. Hit me. Right into the first verse. That's money. - Back in the game, right? - Guess so. Apparently so. All these records I used to listen to. These guys are the creators of it. The architects of what we do right now. I'm just fortunate, man. You want to take this? Yeah. - Yes, sir. - Let's do it. Just to see the way he writes. I've never seen anything like it. He doesn't write anything down. He does it all up here. Just kind of sits there, listens to the track, writes a verse and then goes and does it. Let me do the cop o ver. You're gonna hear your old v oice. Do you want to hear the... You don't want to hear the effect? Give me after "legit." It felt great. Beautiful. Looking good, man. It might be something special. That's strong. Strong. - Strong. - That shit is nice. It's like Slick Rick-style shit. Yeah, yeah. I wanted to take it on some old-school storytelling shit. I don't tell too many stories. They don't know about my storytelling abilities out there. Jay-Z, I Io ve you, I Io ve you, I Io ve you. Can I get the band back? I want to fuck with the ladies real quick. You ready, "B"? Let's go get them. One, two, three, four! You ready? Say what? Say what? Say what? One, two, three, four! History in the making, Madison Square Garden! It's crazy! Right, baby? No doubt, no doubt. On your way to the stage? I'm gonna go to the stage. I'm gonna wait. Homegirl got three songs. She gonna let me come in on the third song. I'm just gonna do my part and get off the stage. Go back to the joint, go take a shit, go to sleep. You know what I mean? How y'all doing, New York? Yeah, yeah. Don't trip off the stage. Ghost, let me see your mike. I got something special for y'all. Beyonc. Give it up, y'all. The Garden. That's right. Yeah, I like that. Y'all, give it up. Jigga Man! The man! God damn! Make some noise out there! Every now and again, I step outside of myself and I just look at my life objectively. Sometimes I find myself saying, "Who is that dude right there?" If you'd have told me 20 years ago that my life would be like this, I'm not sure I would have believed you. I think when we was growing up, it was an iller time than it was now. Way more dangerous. Way more... - Outback? - No, I'm cool. You want some? I'm gonna order from Outback. I'm good. Thank you. You know it used to be worse than this, right? Yeah. There was a lot of drugs in the street. It used to be way... Come on. - It used to be worse than this. - Yeah. Right. That's what it takes. People to keep talking out and speaking out. You're not that type of rapper. I still not. For two lines out of a 60-minute tape, for 30 seconds, I felt like saying something to speak on about what's going on in the hood. Should I not do that? Should I ignore those feelings? You know how we grew up in the '80s in this shit. So the shit you talking is real, and I feel like a lot of the cats who maybe emulate you or the pictures that you present force that shit. And it feels forced. What about this guy? - Who? - Him. Him where? What about me? You rapping on shooting and killing people. Yes. Say that shit to him. What you think about that? No, that's all right. That's cool? That's what people want to hear. They the one who buy it. They want to hear it. Truthfully, it's wack. I've been feeling that way, too. I don't be wanting to do that. It seems like sometimes that's all the niggas want to hear. You get fed up. You gotta take the long route. That shit is aggrav ating. Why would you write a rhyme that you don't want to write? That's what I'm saying. I'm still trying to find myself to this day, Guru. That shit ain't hard. Be the fuck you. I know, but I'm saying to put it out to the people. That shit is aggrav ating. Then be you, man. You see how rappers are now? Turn the camera at me. See what the public... See what y'all did to rappers? They scared to be theyself. You know what I'm saying? Niggas don't think that people gonna accept them as theyself. Go back. Ty, turn around. Hey. Hi, Ty-Ty. Happy Birthday. Thank you. How are you? Good. We gonna party tonight. Start it from the top. Ma, at the top of here, I want you to tell that story about the... "I knew he was gonna be special 'cause he was 10 pounds." You know that story you told me before? You listening to me? Yes. That's what people don't understand about me. That I could make so many albums and just keep going. How the fuck you do that? Because it's me. It's really me. I'm just talking what I go through. Whatever it is, be it good... I might say the worst shit in the world, but it's me. But then you saying shit that make people in the hood do crime. You're gonna do it 'cause you want to do it, but then you don't help them. You saying that you sell drugs, that you've got a gun. This, that, that. My rhymes are not "Yo, nigga, it's all good." You know what I'm saying? More so now. You toned it down for whatever... Yeah, the evil. The bad side of... Yeah. "There's heaven, and then there's hell, niggas. One day you're cruisin' in the 7. The next day, your alibis ain't matchin' up, bullshit catchin' up. You hit with the rico. They repo that vehicle. Shit was all good just a week ago. About to start snitchin', ain't you? Ready to start bitchin' ain't you? I forgive you, I forgive you. Hustlin' just ain't you. Aside from the fast cars, honeys that shake they ass in bars, you know you wouldn't be inv olved with the underworld dealers, carriers of mac-millers, East Coast bodiers, West Coast cap peelers, little monkey niggas turned gorillas." These are my rhymes, "B"! This is my first album. How many people in this building been day-one Roc-A-Fella fans? How many people in this building got "Reasonable Doubt"? How many people know "Dead Presidents"? This right here is only for my day-one fans. I'm gonna take y'all back. Let me get "Dead Presidents." That's right. Brooklyn, make some noise! How real is this? How real is this? Oh, shit. That's right. I like that. Brooklyn! I Io ve you, baby. - Aiight, Jay-Z. - Yeah! Jigga! Standing out in the cold and shit, promoting your shit. You know what I'm saying? I wanna get paid. Holla. When I did the Twista song, I was making that shit like it was a sitcom itself. Or like a piece of a mo vie or something. Tape this nigga, man. You taping him? Go ahead. Say, if "The Black Album" was like "The Black Mo vie." So, the song, the soundtracks are like scores to scenes that's going on in the mo vie. Oh, my God! "The Black Album." One of the jo ys for me in the music business is watching a new artist develop into they own. I mean, that shit just brings me jo y. To see a artist come from nothing, and then, you know, they known, he has a name. That's Kanye West. That's Kanye. He signing autograph. I Io ve that shit. And right now, this nigga, he's just delivering it. And the passion he gots for his music, I don't think it's gonna stop. Kanye came and motherfucking did his job, didn't he? Did he not? God damn! This record ain't a record. It's a mo vie and shit. It's like a scene from a mo vie. I seen it. Yeah, like the basis of a classic album. This joint right here, yo, I'll take it. This is the verse I want you to do for me. Oh, it's money. That's my word. I never read the Bible in my life. I don't even know how I know that. That's phat. Oh, my God, leave that! Kanye, you did it again! You're a genius! We about to witness some historic shit. On my first album, I was blessed. I had a queen of hip-hop and R&B. Miss Mary J. Blige. You ready to go get 'em, Mary? I'm ready. I'm always ready, Jay. Come on. Thank you. All the ladies put your hands up. We going side to side with this one. It's so fucking soulful. It's so soulful. I need y'all hands up. God damn! Well, God damn! Can I get my L.L. on here? Let me get my L.L. on. Can I get my "L" on? L.L. on here. Can I do that for them, Mary? No doubt. Take 'em to church. Y'all gotta give it up for Jay-Z right now. He knows how to treat a woman. This is legendary. I had the power of Rick on when I was up on there. You see what I'm saying? That was cool. That's Io ve right there. All of that. Now, can I go check see in the mirror? What room is this? Peace, baby. No question. Mirror he can check himself out in? Matter of fact, where the room at? Whose room is this? Welcome to the "Best of Both Worlds." Go get 'em, Kel. New York, get your hands up! Yeah, I figured out what you're doing. Your career, right now. This is the end of "Carlito's Way." And you're just trying to get one more last job in before you get out. But I'm trying to tell you that I have the song. I have the beat that describes that moment accurately. And if you don't believe me, your man Guru is here. - What's your name? - Ti. Your man Ti is here, and Hip Hop is here. And niggas' faces are scrunched up. I'm telling you right now, Guru heard it and said... Didn't you say he gonna do the whole song tonight? He said you're gonna do the whole song tonight. Goodbye. There's no way I'm not getting my mo vie shit off on the last album. On the last album! I never got a chance to do "Dead Presidents" or "The World is Yours." So I gotta get my story shit off. But there's something about major seven chords. I think there were minor seven chords in "Dead Presidents." And he just... The way that nigga blacked out on it, it's just kind of like second to none. So, I'm dying to see when he comes to the studio, what's gonna be the first thing that happens. Yo, so you remember in "Carlito's Way" at the end. When the nigga was just trying to get out of the game. And... He's getting on the train. He's getting on a train? You heard me, right? Go ahead, Brian. That's it? That's the speech? That's the speech. That's what happened. Okay. All right. Sometimes you work with people because they legends. Other times, they just hot. Sometimes you work with people because there's a synergy there. We all work with a lot of different people in this business. But there's those special combinations that you know just brings out the best in you. That's right! A little louder! That's right! You know I Io ve y'all! I know you Io ve me! Make some noise for Pharrell one time! It's showtime. This man is made! He's killing all y'all jive turkeys. Y'all want more of the Jigga Man? If y'all want more of the Jigga Man, then I need y'all to help me bring him back to the stage. Say "Ho v a." Come on, say it! Ho v a! Ho v a! Ho v a! Ho v a! Are y'all out there? Yeah, see, that's what I'm talking about. They Io ve you, Jigga. They Io ve you, Jigga! Ho v a! Ho v a! Like you left the stage on a rap. Like you left the stage to do something. When the beat come back in, you come back on the stage. And the crowd will be... Yeah, see, that's what I'm talking about. They Io ve you, Jigga. They Io ve you, Jigga! What? What? Say what? Make some noise! I don't wanna party with y'all. I wanna vibe with y'all. Can I vibe with y'all? Let's go, Jeff. Can I vibe with y'all? That wasn't strong enough. You get one night like this in your whole lifetime. Can I vibe with y'all o ver here? And although I spent my whole life chasing this one night... Can I vibe with y'all? I can't say I'm sad to see it go. I'm actually happy that it happened at all. I feel fortunate. Can I vibe with y'all? Everything I do is inspired by life. So, of course, it's inspired by the people that's closest to me. Y'all inspired me. I couldn't be where I'm at without y'all. I Io ve all y'all. Way back in the days, when Jay first started rapping, I'd take him to certain places in the hood. He'd battle niggas and destro y them. I used to be the only one that could hear the rhymes. Now the whole world gets a chance to hear it, we all in this room hear it, and that's it. It's a grand opening, grand closing. Give me some light. Cellphones, lighter. I mean, I'm a kid from Brooklyn, New York. Now I'm onstage at Madison Square Garden, celebrating my whole career with some of the biggest artists in the music business. I wasn't really emotional about it. I was thinking, "This shit is crazy hot." I guess I am lucky. Holla at your bo y! Let me say that this money will be used for the upliftment of your culture. We thank you. 100% of this goes to the Christopher Wallace Memorial Foundation for books and computers. It ain't o ver. I don't care what he say. This ain't the last album. It can't be. After a show like that? Come on, man. Keep it rapping. Rapping. Yeah, rapping. Whatever that mean. "The Black Album." What this means to you. The whole retirement. The whole retirement. That mean the game is fucked up. |
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