April 27, 2008 -- The question isn't why rap's reigning king, Jay-Z, would undertake a real, honest-to-goodness double-bill with Mary J. Blige in a year when his popularity is at an all-time high. It's why the two have never hooked up for a co-headlining tour before.
The two, who are sharing the stage in the most celebrated urban music tour of the year, will play their "Heart of the City" concert on home turf at Madison Square Garden for three nights, starting Friday.
The double bill is a natural because the pair has a long history. Jay's second chart single was a 1996 duet with fresh-faced Mary, then a rising talent who hadn't yet been crowned the queen of hip-hop soul.
So when Mr. Z and Ms. J. step onto the expansive stage at MSG and open the show with that song, "Can't Knock the Hustle," they're doing it to say this is where it all began. Meanwhile, years have passed and the musical flow is still there - as is their friendship.
It isn't the first time Jay-Z has attempted to merge his star power with another hip-hop juggernaut. Three years ago, he and Chicago R&B crooner R. Kelly mounted the "Best of Both Worlds" tour. But when Kelly and Jay-Z played the Garden, the tour imploded.
Kelly claimed concertgoers were waving guns at him while he was performing, making him fear for his life and prompting him to run off the stage, where he was pepper-sprayed.
Jay-Z saved the show by turning that performance into an all-star hip-hop extravaganza in which most of his Roc-A-Fella crew, as well as Foxy Brown and Usher (all there to watch), ended up performing. One of the guest stars who helped keep fans from rioting that night was Blige. That, Jay-Z said, was the genesis of this tour.
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