by NY Boogie
Whew…what a week! Your girl Boogie might be Boogied out; between work and NYC happenings I am tired! But I have lots to tell you all about.
Of course the big buzz in NYC this week was Jay Z’s Blueprint III concert at MSG. Even jaded industry folks like myself get excited for Hova. Off the heels of his incredible September 11th Answer the Call concert (also at MSG and one of the best shows I think I’ve ever seen) we were all ready to see what Jay was going to bring this time. As speculation began about guest appearances, rumors started spreading early in the day that Lil’ Wayne – whose sentencing was delayed due to a fire in Manhattan’s criminal court – was going to make what would be his last appearance for the next year as a surprise guest.
So what do you do to kill time before the Jay-Z show? Pre-concert dinner at Nick + Stef’s! This super conveniently located steakhouse is a hot spot before a big MSG show. You’re likely to spot any number of industry execs and tastemakers eating, drinking and table hopping before heading inside the arena, and I found Roc La Familia there, all blacked out, holding court. Oh, you didn’t know that the “All Black Everything” is serious?? The entire Roc Nation crew could be identified on site by their all black uniform. In fact, even if you had VIP credentials, you couldn’t gain access backstage unless you were in, you guessed it, black. As Jay took the stage, the Roc coalition, a sea of black led by LeBron James, made their way to the VIP seating area behind the soundboard. Diddy, Rick Ross, Gweneth Paltrow (with Apple in tow – wearing noise cancelling headphones, of course), Beyonce (in black with gold, but she can do that) some of the Roc Nation freshman class of artists, and misc other friends and fam had their own little party during the show. Side note: you know what’s almost as entertaining as watching Jay? Watching Beyonce watching Jay.
One of the highlights of the show was definitely Weezy’s not-so-surprising “surprise” appearance to perform “I Get It In” with Jeezy, Drake (who inexplicably showed up in all-white. Guess he missed the black memo) and Nikki Minaj. Who did Jay bring out, you ask? Um…Trey Songz. And Bleek, but Bleek’s a given. But do we really need anybody other than Jay? Of course we don’t. So basically the bottom line is, Jay rocked the Garden as always. He even went into overtime which is like a gazillion dollars a minute at MSG. You gotta love that kind of loyalty to your fans. Throw your diamonds up and all that.
The next day it was back to the hustle. Right now I’m working with three brand new artists who I’ll tell you more about as time goes along. Breaking a new artist is what almost every industry exec loves most about their job. Most will tell you that it’s the reason we got in the game in the first place, and when you have an artist with genuine star potential and actual talent?! That’s like hitting lotto. There’s a lot to do though; countless strategy and planning meetings, listening sessions, fittings, photo shoots, promos, etc etc etc. But it’s amaz
