Jay-Z played "Numb/Encore" for Chester Bennington at first '4:44' show, V Festival
Jay-Z played his first shows since releasing 4:44 at England’s V Festival over the weekend. He headlined the festival’s Weston Park stage on Saturday (8/19) and the Hylands Park stage on Sunday (8/20). The shows included the live debuts of several 4:44 songs, including “Kill Jay Z,” “The Story of O.J.,” “Family Feud,” “Bam,” and “Smile.” Jay also played some classics, including “99 Problems,” “Heart of the City (Ain’t No Love),” “Dirt off Your Shoulder,” “Big Pimpin’,” and more; and he paid tribute to the recently-deceased Linkin Park frontman Chester Bennington by performing “Numb/Encore” off 2004’s collaborative Jay-Z/Linkin Park album Collision Course. You can watch a video of that tribute and one of Jay playing “The Story of O.J.” below.
He also played his Rihanna and Kanye West collaboration “Run This Town,” and though neither guest joined him on stage for it, Rihanna was seen watching Jay from backstage. Here’s an excerpt of The Times review of Jay’s set:
Have you ever seen a billionaire hip-hop oligarch eat humble pie? It would probably look something like Jay-Z’s extraordinary headline show at V Festival on Sunday, when he performed tracks from his emotionally raw new album, 4:44, live for the first time, while standing beneath a monumentally huge Jeff Koons balloon-dog statue. Touching on the alleged infidelity that his superstar spouse, Beyoncé, addressed on her magnificent Lemonade album last year, plus other personal issues, these songs found the 47-year-old rap plutocrat in unusually sombre and apologetic mood. His core lyrical message was clear: Black Wives Matter.
Read the rest of the review here and check out a partial setlist below.
Jay-Z has many more tour dates coming up, including Philly festival Made In America Labor Day Weekend, NYC festival The Meadows in September, Austin festival ACL in October, and NYC-area shows at Barclays Center (11/26 & 11/27) and Nassau Coliseum (12/2).
In other news, V Festival’s other headliner was Pink, who is rumored to have a new collaboration with Jay-Z’s “Renegade” parter Eminem coming soon.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWgHqDYPjbI
Jay-Z at V Festival 2017 Setlist (incomplete, out of order)
Kill Jay Z
The Story of O.J.
Family Feud
Bam
Smile
99 Problems
Dirt Off Your Shoulders
Heart of the City (Ain’t No Love)
Big Pimpin’
Run This Town
Public Service Announcement
Empire State of Mind
Niggas In Paris
No Church in the Wild
Numb/Encore
