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Fade To Black

2004, Movie, R, 105 mins

Fade To Black: Review

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Patrick Paulson and Michael John Warren's document of hugely successful rapper and record mogul Jay-Z's November 2003 self-proclaimed retirement performance (he subsequently returned to touring) at Madison Square Garden alternates concert sequences with backstage horseplay and behind-the-scenes footage of Jay-Z and a shifting band of collaborators working on his final recording, The Black Album. Jay-Z — whose real name, Shawn Carter, appears in various capacities throughout the film's credits — provides gee-whiz voice-over narration whose recurring theme is how privileged and lucky he is to have achieved so much and worked with so many incredible artists. Though much is made of the fact that Roc-a-Fella Records cofounder Jay-Z sold out Madison Square Garden as a solo performer — not as part of a multiple-act lineup — the stage is in fact crowded with an all-star lineup of Roc-a-Fella recording artists and Jay-Z collaborators, including Mary J. Blige, Memphis Bleek, Missy Elliott, Beanie Sigal, Foxy Brown, Pharrell Williams and Jay-Z's girlfriend, Beyonce Knowles. Producers Kanye West and Rick Rubin — who blows Jay-Z's mind by working on a hard-core rap project in his studio while hosting a free-Tibet strategic planning session upstairs — also make appearances, though no one is identified on screen, presumably on the assumption that anyone who cares knows them on sight. And while billed as "an intimate look" at Jay-Z, the film reveals next to nothing about him beyond the fact that he possesses a formidable ability to spin and remember lengthy rhymes, however vulgar and reductive their content. There's something disingenuous about the scenes in which Jay-Z suffers through the ordeal of sampling other artists' beats as though he were himself mired in the torturous process of creation, and soft-spoken Pharrell Williams, the only person in the entire film who evinces any technical knowledge of music, is by far the most appealing personality in the behind-the-scenes sequences. The main event, however, is clearly the performance footage, whose highlights include Jay-Z's duets with the glammy Blige ("Can't Knock the Hustle") and Beyonce ("Crazy in Love"), backed by five high-heeled hoochies in sequined minidresses; his sexed-up repartee with Brown on "Ain't No ******;" and "Is That Your Chick?" featuring the insouciant Elliott. The show, which included an emotional tribute to Tupac Shakur, benefited several charities, including the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network and the Shawn Carter Scholarship Fund. leave a comment --Mailtand McDonagh
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