By now, you’ve probably read about or seen videos of Jay-Z’s 9/11 charity concert, “Answer the Call,” which took place last night at New York’s Madison Square Garden. Folks are already calling it one of S. Dot’s best performances. A barrage of guests came out in support, including Kanye West, Pharrell, Swizz Beatz, Mary J. Blige, Beyoncé and even John Mayer. What more could you ask for? Well, we’re greedy. Here’s our unchecked wish list:
DMX – Although X is a little, um, out of it, it would’ve been dope to see the Dog burst on stage in all his ferociousness and perform “Money, Cash, Hoes” with Jay and Swizz, followed by a brief solo set. No one has stage energy like DMX. But to be fair, it’s hard to get him into a city, let alone an arena. Let us pray…
Dame Dash – We know, we know–there’s seemingly no repairing this battered brotherhood. But Jay is the same guy who made up with Nasir “you-36-in-a-karate-class” Jones on stage. So forgive us if we were a little misty-eyed as Hov ran through “Big Pimpin'” and “I Just Wanna Love You” with no pot-bellied Dame and his faux-rolling-dice move in sight.
Ja Rule – Since this concert was all about the Big Apple’s resilience, we figured Jay would do some kind of NYC interlude and bring out a bunch of local rappers like the L.O.X. or Fabolous. But that didn’t happen. We would’ve settled for Ja Rule performing “Can I Get A…” or “New York,” which might’ve be a problem if the following guy showed up… (see below).
50 Cent – Anytime you get Jay-Z, Diddy and Kanye West in the same room, it’s like a Forbes Hip-Hop Cash Kings reunion. Only dude missing last night at MSG was a guy named Curtis. A 50 cameo would’ve been a pleasant surprise given he and Jay’s recent no-shots shots on “Flight 187 and “A Star is Born,” respectively.
J. Cole – Three letters (and they’re not R.O.C): WTF? Color us confused that Kid Cudi performed “Already Home” with Jay, while Shawn’s own artist was nowhere in sight. We’re sure there’s good reason, but it would’ve been ill if Hov closed out the show by passing the baton to Roc Nation’s premier artist and maybe even christened him with a Roc-A-Fella chain. “Big Brother 2,” coming soon?