Jay-Z is “gettin’ ready to go to work,” according to Pharrell, a key guest at the 25-time Grammy winner’s Yankee Stadium takeover closer.
The Louis Vuitton designer and “Change Clothes” co-producer, as was also the case at Saturday night’s show, again surprised attendees at Sunday’s “Extra Innings” set. Skateboard P joined HOV for performances of “Excuse Me Miss,” “I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me),” and more.
But it was P’s decision to liken the star of the evening to a poked bear that arguably packed the biggest punch, with some fans positing that the remarks could be his way of teasing that a new full-length project from HOV is on the horizon.
“One of the greatest to have ever done it,” Pharrell told the crowd, who had endured an hours-long delay due to a security breach. “The fact that he can come out here and do this at Yankee Stadium, three nights in a row, book Paris. Y’all understand, New York, this is your own. You gotta make some noise for your own. Y’all know him to be the giant that I know him to be. They poked the bear, and then the bear cut his hair, and now he got on his helmet. He got on his helmet and he gettin’ ready to go to work. I hope you kill all them n***as. Y’all know what I'm talking about.”
While P didn’t get specific as to who all “they” encompasses here, there are several likely possibilities, including Drake. In May, HOV tucked responses to the 6 god, among others, into his much-discussed Roots Picnic freestyle.
The last time we got a new solo Jay album, the year was 2017 and HOV was in a decidedly reflective, not to mention boldly vulnerable, frame of mind. That album, 4:44, became his 14th to top the Billboard 200 chart.
