By Oluwole Leigh
I got a call from my editor – Ayenithegreat informing me that Jay-Z and Beyonce‘s management team got in touch with thenet.ng.
Live Nation wanted a representative from this News medium to witness the final leg of the ‘On The Run Tour’. The final concerts were to be held on the 12th and 13th of September at Stade de France in Paris. Since I already had a Visa I was assigned the ‘arduous’ task of flying first class from Lagos to Charles De Gaulle to witness this concert. I was picked up at the airport and ferried off to the Four Seasons Hotel on Avenue George V, Paris. I dropped my luggage off and joined the press reps from around the world at a Press Conference in the hotel lobby. A few hours before the concert, we were picked up from the hotel and taken to Stade de France in a long convoy of cars. We were led to a private entrance in the Stadium which gave us direct access to the VIP Section. After a few selfies with members of Jay-z/Beyonce Posse, we settled down to the choicest of wines and escargots.
If you believe what I have written earlier, you probably believe in fairy tales
I was on my way back to the country and had a night’s stopover in Paris. My plan was to attend a Lauryn Hill show that evening. I saw it as a once in a lifetime opportunity to witness the performance of a living legend. As I was about to buy the tickets, I quickly scanned the events calendar for other events before my final decision was made. I had to clean my eyes as ‘On the Run Tour with Beyonce and Jay-z’ popped out onto the screen. I saw that the date and time was the same as the Lauryn Hill event. Confusion set in as I weighed both options. This was because I consider myself as a comrade at the barricades, a member of the proletariat fighting for the oppressed against the interests of the bourgeoisie. I wondered what would happen to my career if other comrades heard that I had abandoned the struggle in the face of enticements from members of the upper cadre. Lauryn Hill sang about Redemption and Zion which was emblematic of our struggle. How would I be able to inspire others in the working Class if they heard that I abandoned Lauryn Hill for Tom Ford? I saw Lauryn Hill on the left and Jay-z/ Beyonce on the right. I looked down at my well worn out copy of Karl Marx‘s ‘The Eighteenth Brumaire of Loius Napoleon’. I quickly said a prayer to Karl Marx and apologized for my decisions. I moved over to the right side and bought tickets for ‘On The Run Tour’.
After setting out from a Bed and Breakfast on the Northern side of Paris, I made a quick detour on my way to Stade de France. My port of call was my favourite watering hole called ‘Baba Miliki’. The only way to avoid spending exorbitant amounts on food and drink at the concert was to make sure I was filled up before getting there. The only way I could get filled up was to hold some quick conversation with a plate of pounded yam , egusi and Goatmeat at Baba Miliki’s restaurant. There were no funny occurrences during this visit. The only change I noticed was a notice requesting that visitors to the restaurant make use of the convenience facilities within the restaurant. Apparently, their Nigerian customers were fond of emptying their bladders on the surrounding streets after leaving the restaurant. The Neighbors had reported to the authorities and they were in the danger of being shut down. After finishing the meal, I walked grudgingly to the train station and made my way to Stade de France.
I made my way along with thousands of young people as we walked towards the stadium. Memorabilia shops and food stands were open for those who were interested in buying official Tour Merchandise. France is supposed to be in the middle of an economic recession with jobs and opportunities in short supply. I didn’t see much of that as people forked over 30 pounds for T-shirts that were made for the Jay-z- Beyonce Tour. As we walked into the stadium, I was pleasantly surprised to hear P-Square‘s’ E no Easy’ on the Stadium Speakers. This was my first encounter with a Nigerian export that evening.
My Ticket number was assigned to the stadium pitch and I was positioned not too far from the stage. As I pushed my way to the front, a few thoughts came to my mind. As a Nigerian, I am affiliated with one of the major religions – Christianity. One of the tenets of Christianity is ‘Flee appearances of evil’. I wondered if my Christianity would not be affected by the sight of a skimpily clad Beyonce dancing with a bevy of equally unclothed ladies. I wondered how my church members would react at the sight of the female form gyrating and contorting in such an exquisite manner. In order to appease the Christian in me, I convinced myself that ‘God was with me’. The Nigerian version of God is the one that helps a Pastor in his quest to sleep with his female members or erect unapproved buildings. This ‘God’ also supports bloggers as they steal stories that others have written. I received a ‘higher level of grace’ from on high to watch the wonders of Beyonce.
The concert started about an hour late with Jay Z and Beyonce bursting on to stage. They started off with ‘03 Bonnie and clyde’, ‘Upgrade u’ and ‘Crazy in love’. There was neither a hype man nor an opening act preparing the audience for the next performance. This was a well-rehearsed movie that was playing in front of us. About 75,000 fans rocked to the songs of the 2 Americans. I looked around a little to see how well the fans were doing with the words of the songs. Interestingly, they seemed to have no issues pronouncing the English words. There is a certain darkness that descends on the soul of the French when they are about to utter words in English. The face changes and composure is lost when English words form in their mouth. However, there was no restraint about the French fans as they sang along with Jay-z and Beyonce.
At this stage, my Christianity was at its last ebb. Things got worse as Nicki Minaj appeared on stage and dealt it a huge blow. Nicki is an embodiment of that which is heavenly ungodly. I quickly did the sign of the cross as I watched her perform with Beyonce on ‘Flawless’.
The concept of the show was wrapped around characters played by Jay-z and Beyonce in some short clips. Jay Z was the Gangster while Beyonce was the Queen. These clips were played between the songs and served as a backdrop for the whole show. Shortly before Beyonce started her ‘Run the World’ sequence, there was another Nigerian visitation. I stood with goose pimples as Chinamanda Adichie‘s voice wafted in through the speakers. It was a short recording of her speech at Ted-X Euston where she spoke about Feminism and Human rights. I had an out-of body experience of sorts as thousands of Beyonce and Jay Z fans stood up to listen to one of Nigeria’s finest. I was brought out of my trance by Jay-z’s ‘Izzo’ song. There’s this good feeling that washes over you when ‘Izzo’ comes on. It makes you forget that is wrong with the world for a moment. The concert was not always upbeat. Somewhere along the line, Beyonce slowed it down with ‘If I were a boy’ and ‘Song cry’. I think it was in Resentment that Beyonce stopped to hold back emotions for a second. It was hard to decide if the emotions were real or otherwise as ‘This is not Real Life’ was pasted on the screens.
Jay Z came on stage with Hard Knock Life. I am of the opinion that this song should be used as the French National Anthem in place of La Marseillaise. Phrases like ‘Le jour de gloire est arrivé !’ do not represent France in its Current state. Jay-Z’s lines – ‘Instead of treated, we get tricked, Instead of kisses, we get kicked’ are more reflective of France’s condition. With the economy experiencing a sustained period of little or no growth, the country seems to be in perpetual state of despair. President Hollande’s approval ratings have been consistently below 20% and I wonder why he is still measured on a scale of 1 to 100. Instead, I think his approval ratings should now be measured on a scale of 1 to 20 .
The height of Jay-Z’s performance that night was ‘Ni**s in Paris’. The crowd went absolutely mental. I could have sworn that the whole audience rapped along word for word. It would have been perfect if Kanye West had tagged along for the show but I guess he had his hands full. As the night wore on, Jay-z waxed philosophical as he reminded us that his Brooklyn background did not stop him from getting to the top. The Nigerian in me was waiting for him to make some sort of altar call asking us to commit our lives to ‘Hovaism’ or whatever he wanted to call it.
The night ended on a lovey-dovey note as the Queen came out in a black gown with an excruciatingly long train while the Gangster came out in White. They pledged their undying love for each other. As I walked away from the Stadium, Jay-z’s ‘Forever Young’ played in my mind. It reminded me of a friend who supported my first attempts at writing.
Hey! Let’s dance in style, let’s dance for a while
Heaven can wait, we’re only watching the skies
Hoping for the best but expecting the worst
Are you gonna drop the bomb or not?
Forever young I wanna be forever young
Do you really want to live forever?
Forever, forever
R.I.P. Nonso Ozaveshe Onyeabo (22/04/82 – 23/10/10)
