Jay-Z did not end his anniversary run alone. Closing his Jay-Z 30 tour with the second of two sold-out shows at SoFi Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 24, he handed the stage to Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg for a run of G-funk standards, after opening the evening with Too $hort, Consequence, Pitchfork and Rolling Stone reported.
The tour marked 30 years since his debut album, Reasonable Doubt, and 25 years since The Blueprint, according to Consequence. Earlier stops included Yankee Stadium, where, per Pitchfork, the run broke the venue's ticket sales record and drew guests including Nas, The-Dream, Rihanna and Beyoncé.
The finale
After starting with "The Watcher 2," Jay brought out Too $hort for "Blow the Whistle," folding in a freestyle over the 2006 track. He moved through "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)," "Run This Town" and "Dirt Off Your Shoulder" before the night's centerpiece.
Rapping his own "D'Evils" over the beat of "Murder Was the Case" brought Snoop Dogg out, Rolling Stone reported, and Dr. Dre followed. The pair then ran through "The Next Episode," "California Love," "Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang" and "Still D.R.E."
Jay also honored the late Nipsey Hussle, who was killed in a 2019 shooting. Pitchfork reported that he projected a black-and-white photo of the rapper while playing "Hussle & Motivate" and worked "Last Time I Checc'd" into "On to the Next One." He brought the run home with "Empire State of Mind," "Big Pimpin'," "Public Service Announcement" and "Encore."
Night one and the ticket talk
Friday's opener at the stadium had a guest list of its own. Blue Ivy Carter played piano on "The Story of O.J." and "Dead Presidents," Scarface came out for "This Can't Be Life" and "Mind Playing Tricks on Me," and John Legend and DJ Khaled closed the night with Jay on "God Did."
Before the finale, unconfirmed social media reports claimed tickets for Saturday's show had collapsed in price or were being given away, Rolling Stone noted. Jay addressed the chatter from the stage, telling the crowd to trust their own eyes and ears: "People will tell you that nobody was in here tonight, but you got eyes," he said, according to Rolling Stone.
Reporting sources: Consequence, “JAY-Z Brings Out Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, and Too $hort at Final JAŸ-Z30 Show” · RSS: News, “Watch Jay-Z Bring Out Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg at LA Tour Closer” · Music News, “See Jay-Z Bring Out Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre for Medley at Los Angeles Show”.