Jay-Z draws crowd of adoring fans, protesters to EMU show

The crowd outside Eastern Michigan University's Convocation Center bustled into Wednesday night's Jay-Z concert with the sort of alacrity usually reserved for homecoming football games.

There was high-energy tailgating in the parking lot and bass thumping from cars. By many accounts, the frenzied reception was an appropriate response to the 39-year-old hip hop artist recently named the "best rapper alive" in a poll by MTV.

"It's kind of a big deal," said EMU junior Ann Riggs, who worked the concessions with her Tri Sigma sorority sisters. "Everybody always kind of makes fun of Eastern, so having someone this big, it's definitely a good publicity thing for our school. I've never seen anybody this big here before so I think it's awesome."

A curious amalgam of young and old fans alike filled the 6,200 seats for the sold-out show, indicative of the Brooklyn-born entertainer's ability to transcend generations with his beat-driven, often poetic, urban ballads about street life.

Jay-Z's appeal to a mass audience has been the secret to his longevity, stretching from the beginnings of his professional recording career in 1996 when he formed Roc-A-Fella Records. He recently made a crossover into mainstream rock, showing up on the remix version of "Lost" on Coldplay's latest album.

"He's the realest rapper alive," said Ypsilanti resident Tasha Tubbs who came to the concert with her cousin, Brian Tubbs. "Just the way he carries himself and the message he puts out to people, he doesn't get into most of the other stuff that other rappers do like trouble, violence and all that. He just spits the good message."

In case the significance of Jay-Z's appearance in Ypsilanti isn't already apparent, take a look at the facts: The rapper, whose real name is Shawn Carter, has become the solo artist with the most No. 1 albums of all time — 11, according to Billboard — surpassing Elvis Presley; he now trails only the Beatles overall.

"It's consistency," said Gary Ringer, a Detroit city firefighter who was among those in the crowd Wednesday night. "He's been in the game for a while and his lyrics are true to what he's done, what he's about, and he's never strayed from that."

One of the rap industry's most shrewd businessmen, Jay-Z has a net worth of more than $150 million, according to Forbes.com. The seven-time Grammy winner came riding into Washtenaw County on the buzz of his latest album, "The Blueprint 3," released Sept. 11.

Despite what fans had to say, a group of about 30 born-again Christians showed up to Wednesday's concert to protest Jay-Z's use of the nickname "Jay-Hova," as in Jehovah. Members of the Life Changing Word Center of Ypsilanti carried signs as they marched in protest outside prior to the performance.

"We're born-again, spirit-filled believers and we believe that this man is perpetrating himself as somebody like he's God and we don't take that lightly," said Gina Davis, who drove in from Southfield. "He's trying to portray himself as Jehovah, and that's a great offense because the name of our God is Jehovah."

Concertgoers said they thought the rapper's appearance in Southeast Michigan marked a bright spot for a region that has seen hard times recently with the economy in the doldrums and unemployment rampant. With tickets priced at $35, many said it was just affordable enough for them to attend.

"Somebody with his status, I didn't think he'd do a show like this for EMU," said Darrell McCain of Inkster. "And then with the tickets so low, that's good looking out, too. That's showing mad love."

Concert promoters said EMU was the smallest venue Jay-Z planned to target during his tour, which includes stops in cities like Cleveland, Toronto, London, Los Angeles, Nashville and Philadelphia.

EMU junior Alex Heidtke said he thought it was a great move by the university to reel in a big-name act.

"I think it's great to have him here because last year we had The Killers and that gets a great crowd, but it doesn't get the same crowd," said Heidtke, who was at Wednesday's concert with teammates from EMU's Fighting Hellfish ultimate frisbee team. "It's nice to have Jay-Z here and have that other side of the crowd."

Ryan J. Stanton normally covers government for AnnArbor.com but in this case made an exception to skip a county board meeting. He can be reached at ryanstanton@annarbor.com or 734-623-2529.