Fade to Black

I have just looked at this concert film on Turner Classic Movies. There have been a lot of concert movies running on that venue recently, and I run the risk of overdosing on them. Nonetheless, it was there, and it look at it.

First, I need to note that I am not the core audience for rap music. It's not my music at all, even though I can link it to the talking blues and recitative. The simplicity of its music and the crudeness of its language both bore me. So, can I place myself in the dual position of one of this show's audience, while standing far enough outside to judge its inherent value? You be the judge of that.

It is mostly a stage show, and an obviously and carefully plotted one, that makes its performers and the artists that walk onstage for an 'impromptu' rap battle look far less than spontaneous to my eye. Clearly, however, the theater audience doesn't care, and it's their energy that is infectious, energy that breaks through the constrained pace of the rappers.

When "Reasonable Doubt" was released, it was an instant classic by one of the best rappers of all time.

Jay-Z's "Fade to Black" is two movies in one. The first is Jay's last concert at Madison Square Garden promoting his latest and last album, "The Black Album." The second film is recording sessions that go behind Jay'Z's making of said album.

Well, the concert footage is great. One of the best concert films I've ever seen. Jay-Z's performance on stage is nothing short of adrenaline pumping. The guests are always game, even, if only for a verse. Some get more screen time than others, such as Memphis Bleek. Twista, Kanye West, Memph Bleek and Beanie Siegel make an impression. Mary J Blige is excellent. Others, such as Missy Elliott and Foxy Brown barely make an impression.

In short, this is an excellent concert film and if you are a Jay-Z fan, you should buy this one, because you will not be disappointed.

Some minor quibbles. The making of the album footage, while interesting, because Jay-Z never writes his rhymes down, he memorizes them all, and kinda freestyles in the booth, that's very compelling. But, it does get a bit redundant.

This film would be a ten if it was just the concert from beginning to end.

Minor quibbles. Great concert film. Energetic, always entertaining and humorous, this is a good film, especially if you're a hip hop fan. If not, something may be lost in translation. But, if you're inclined to read this, you will not be disappointed. Thumbs way up.

This documentary is part making of THE BLACK ALBUM and part his retirement concert in Madison Square Guarden intertwined with each other.

Throughout the documentary there is constant talk of Jay-Z's retirement with fans and friends talking about how they can't believe the Jigga man is retiring.

But of course that all turned out to be nothing more than a publicity stunt because 2 years later he released a new album and have made countless albums since.

So it definitely loses it's value from that fact, although tbh I and many others never believed him when he said he was retiring and there are enough good performances and insight on the making of the album that it makes worth watching regardless (if you're a fan).

Even if Jay-Z's performance on MTV's UNPLUGGED was a lot better though.

So yeah nothing amazing, and the retirement was just another hustle for Hov to put on his resumé and as he said 'you can't knock the hustle' so I guess we can't knock it too hard, and it's a hard knock life after all so knock knock on.

Rapper Jay-Z records The Black Album and performs his farewell concert at Madison Square Garden in November 2003. I'm not a big fun of his music other than a few big hits. I'm more impressed with his command, his producing, and his business skills. The man is a mogul and a genius. There is real energy at his concert. I love the audience. As for Jay-Z with his boys, there is too much fawning going on. I can't really expect different but it would be nice to see him in more varied situations. While I don't care that much about his recording, it's fascinating to see him spitting his rhymes. This is for his fans. For his non-fans, this may get a bit repetitive and they may not care about being at his concert.

Fade to black is one of the most amazing hip hop videos of all time...revolving around Jay-Z's magical night of performance in Madison Square garden...in his song "ENCORE" the lyrics "from marcy to madison square" were stated, and is exemplified in this terrific video. Showcasing his vast talents of rapping, getting the crowd to "vibe" with him, and with wonderful cameos and collaborations...from foxy brown, to the roc-a-fella crew, to R. Kelly, this is truly one of the best concerts caught on film...the footage of "the making of the black album" was incredible...i was dumbfounded at the method of Jay-Z writes his lyrics...this type of insight make this video an instant classic...i am giving it a rating that it deserves, 10 out of 10...Jay-Z mentions "this is history in the making" in the video, and with this video as proof, it only shows that "history has been made"...