How Jay-Z Pulled Off His Roots Picnic Performance, According to Co-Musical Director Adam Blackstone

It's rare for a single verse to dominate the rap zeitgeist. But a couple of days later, Jay-Z's scorching freestyle at Roots Picnic 2026 still has the internet talking.

The freestyle—where he takes aim at everyone from Kanye West to Drake to Nicki Minaj—was the highlight of what was already a masterclass performance. It was Jay's first headline set in the States in seven years. Backed by The Roots, Jay—who introduced a new afro—touched every era of his decorated career while finding ways to honor Philadelphia, bringing out local legends like State Property, Meek Mill, Jazmine Sullivan, and more.

Jay and the Roots were at the center stage. But not far behind was Adam Blackstone—the co-musical director for Roots Picnic and a longtime collaborator with Jay-Z.

Blackstone, alongside Roots leading man Questlove and engineer Young Guru, played a pivotal role in helping Hov map his way back to the Main stage.

"Big Homie had us locked in for about two or three weeks prior to," Blackstone told Complex. "I'm thankful that we did that because it felt second nature once we was up there and I was able to just have a good time, man. Just play some good music with my favorite artists."

Blackstone is a busy man. Coming off the Roots Picnic—where he also directed a Waiting to Exhale tribute in honor of the film's 30th anniversary—he's also about to host Jay-Z's three upcoming Yankee Stadium shows: one Reasonable Doubt-themed, one Blueprint-themed, and a third still under wraps.

A couple of days after the Roots Picnic, we talked to Blackstone about preparing for the show, Jay’s freestyle, and more.

You're the co-musical director for Roots Picnic. Tell me about that job.

The musical director is responsible for everything live music oriented. So that's putting the set list together, building the transitions, the mashups, and even sometimes hiring the people, the band, the crew—sending sketches to the artist.

Now for this, because it was a Roots gig as well…Questlove was able to oversee all of the things. But when The Roots don't play we have our own Jay-Z band that myself and Omar Edwards heads up when it's not The Roots.

There had been some online rumble where [people were talking about] Yankee Stadium being held for a week or something like that. I think he sent out a simple text of like, "Get ready." He's a man of few words over the text, specifically.

So the “get ready” text means get ready. And as far as me thinking about songs and set lists and stuff like that, Young Guru has been recording Jay from “God Did” and he is also instrumental in letting us know the vibe that Big Homie is in as far as what songs [he wants to play] and stuff like that.

We knew we wanted to make this a set of hits. But also knowing who my big brother is, Amir “Questlove” Thompson, he likes to dive into a B side every now and then.

I didn't find it to be a hits driven show. He didn't do “Hard Knock Life” and “Encore.” But he did stuff like “Jigga My Nigga.”

That's the crazy part about the artistry of Jay-Z is that you're calling something a B-side when “Jigga My Nigga” was my biggest introduction to Swizz Beatz and Ruff Riders. We could look at “Feeling It” as a B side, but that's one of my first introductions to having upright bass and jazz being flipped with a hip-hop.

So yeah, we didn't do “Hard Knock Life.” Yeah, we didn't do “On to the Next One” and stuff like that. But when you talking about “Hovi Baby” or “U Don't Know” those are like Jay-Z anthems.

So you would say that when it came to the track list, it was more Jay, Guru and Quest crafting it?

Yeah, I would say Jay, Questlove and then the team effort of myself, Guru and Omar Edwards—just kind of making the ideas even musically make sense.

Questlove is a genius. I come from under his wing. He's taught me so much since 2001, 2002. He has perfect pitch. So even some of those songs going from key to key is just genius. They feel seamless. We're able to do some seamless things, but then I might say, "Hey, let's extend this ‘Roc Boys’ out of the bar and let the horns drive in and then we go into ‘Give it to Me,’ because that's my era of Jay. He's like, "Oh, shoot. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense." So it's a team effort, but definitely from the top down.

Was the freestyle planned?

No. If you check the band’s faces, we're like, "Hey, we're supposed to start this next song. What are we doing right here?" We're huge rehearsers because we just liked it to be great. So I'm like, "Wait, am I supposed to start the song or what are we doing?" And Guru was like, "Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on. " I'm like, "OK" And then he said what he said.

I've been working with Jay for about 20 years now, so I know that the plan is to always be creative. The creativity drives the ship and so it didn't surprise me. What surprised me was how dead on he addressed the shit. That's what surprised me the most.

And I think that is such an awesome way to start an evening and not end it. It was just like he could have did that freestyle in any of those interstitial spots. And he chose it there to just say it at the top and then just go with it.

Did you talk to him afterward about the freestyle?

Not about the freestyle. He pulled me to the side and just said, "Yo, the energy on stage is incredible.” He got the bug now and we’re excited to see what Yankee Stadium has in store for us, man.

Are you and the Roots involved with the Yankee Stadium shows too?

Yeah, I'm playing Yankee Stadium. I don't think that the Roots are. They now have Roots Picnic in LA and Roots Picnic in London, which is incredible for my brothers and I'm so glad that they now have a global brand. But I will stay back and handle Yankee Stadium for sure.

I have to say, man, I think every Jay-Z show is so curated to its own thing. I've been working with him for a long time. I don't remember the last time we've technically done the same thing. So we did a pop-up show Friday night—just to almost get a little quick soundcheck type of vibe going and that was even different from what the playing show was on Saturday.

How was that different?

Well, we had no guests, right? So the biggest thing is our set list changed. So when you're talking about curating a set list and break to break and all of the things, us not having Jasmine, us not having State Property, us not having Meek, that automatically changes the flow. And then he didn't do the freestyle. So automatically, for Saturday now, I'm thinking we doing what we just did on Friday.

So it's like those sort of whole nuanced things where it's like every show is going to be special to the moment and I'm thankful for that.

It was your idea to have all Philly guests?

Not my idea completely. I know that he wanted to do State Property, but I brought up Bilal because he is Philly royalty and so Jay let us kind of explore that option and it worked out incredibly. Brought up Jasmine Sullivan, he let us explore that option and worked out incredibly.

I thought it was interesting that he let Meek Mill kind of have the stage. Was that always planned?

No, that was not planned, but it also wasn't planned on him to stay out. I think he's a feel it in the moment type of person, feeling it off the crowd reaction. Now he stays for the other guys because they all got songs together,

I think that also it shows the solidarity of when he said the Roc will never crumble. That line alone—saying that at the top of the show and then you bring out the family—no one wins when the family fueds. So that show of solidarity right there from a hip-hop sense is just unmatched.

As far as lighting and stage design and all that stuff, what did you have in mind?

I think Jay was going for a more elevated festival style thing. We didn't have a set design per se, but it's like the elevated festival vibe just really shows the grit and the hustle of Brooklyn, but also that worker brotherly love Philadelphia grind too. Him and the creative director, Willow Paren, came up with an awesome lighting idea and design and I think that they work so well together as to where they're hitting the breaks every time the band hits the symbol and all that kind of stuff, you're seeing the flashes of greatness.

When did you first see the fro?

I saw the fro maybe five minutes before we walked on stage Saturday. And remember I did a whole show with him that Friday night and for about a week he wore a hoodie and a dura, which is not uncommon.

It wasn't like, why does Homeboy have on a durag? We've seen him out at the fricking Met Gala in the durag. So it's like that wasn't a red flag or anything like that, but yeah, I saw it about five minutes prior to walking on stage on Saturday.

During the Friday show, which happened to be everywhere, he wore a hoodie and a durag at the private show. So that's just what it was. And I think if I know him like I know him, every stage of a hair cut or a hair growth has been a statement of getting to work.

I found it a little surprising when he said The Roots made him step his live show up.

He says that all the time. And then I've tried to take that same moniker and add it to somebody like a Meek, take the backing vocal track out. He hasn't done that in a very long time. I've tried to do that for somebody like a Jasmine Sullivan where it's like she's singing over hip-hop samples. So it's like those are the things that that Unplugged album gave us, those gems and here we are what, 23 years later, 24, 2 two years later, still doing and executing it the same way.

It was funny because there was talk about, "Oh, this is the first time Meek has really performed without the backing vocals." This might be like a stupid question for you, but what is the benefit of having backing vocals?

The benefit of having the background vocals is generally the support. However, artists like Jay-Z, an artist like Nas, Snoop [Dogg], [Dr. Dre], Eminem, even [Lil] Wayne, they want the live experience to be its own thing and not necessarily be the album vocal.

I think about somebody like Wayne, I think about Jay. It's like when he gets hype in “I’m in Paris getting fucked up too.” He didn't rap it like that in the studio, but that's the emotion that comes out live. So there's nothing to match that except that live vocal. Sometimes artists want the backing vocal there to give them the support, but I think we elevate it by taking it out. How in allowing people to experience a live vocal, you can then have different inflections, then have different emotional responses.

And it happened for Meek. It really did. He was able to pull that mic down, have the crowd say every other word because that was his Philly family. And the backing track is not there. But also he was able to elevate his emotion and knowing that that 808 drop. It's a different level. And so it just elevates it a little bit. I liken it to the genius of Michael Jackson or Whitney Houston or anybody like that where they wouldn't sing technically over their backing live lead vocal as well. So very similar.

Yeah, because I think Meek maybe stumbled a little or caught him off guard a bit, but then he caught on pretty quickly, I thought, and probably had one of the highlights of the night.

For sure. He's just a great artist, man, great rapper. So getting him out of his comfort zone, it might've just socked him for a quick second, but then he fell right in pocket, bro.

I noticed these little little breadcrumbs, like Jay rapping “Marcy Me” over “Where I'm From” or even how he did the Snoop Dogg Flow on “Jigga My Nigga,” I’m curious, was there a little breadcrumb that people missed?

There's a couple breadcrumbs. I don't know if they have been picked up on. I would rather leave that one alone, but I think one of the bigger moments for me, one breadcrumb that I don't mind saying is at the end of the freestyle, he said the show ain't even begin. So that allows me to know again—it's go time. It's work time.

Going to throw a hypothetical at you. I only have money for one Jay-Z show: Reasonable Doubt, Blueprint, or the third show. Which should I go to?

It's hard to say, man. Reasonable Doubt for the hustlers. He gave the rules of how to not do what he's done. Blueprint, he literally gave the blueprint of how to overcome what you've done and succeed. Night three may be a combination of both the rules, the blueprint, and life as a father, life as a businessman, life as a husband. You know what I'm saying? So I can't tell you. You got to do something to get your bread up and come to all three, my brother.,

Which one would you go to?