Blue Ivy Carter brought a piano to the center of Jay-Z’s JAŸ-Z30 celebration at SoFi Stadium, accompanying her father on two songs that span more than two decades of his career. The 14-year-old played during “The Story of O.J.” and “Dead Presidents” on Friday, Oct. 23, as the rapper opened the first of two anniversary shows in Inglewood, California.

The performance was one of several guest appearances across Jay-Z’s Los Angeles finale, but the choice of songs gave Blue Ivy’s contribution its own connection to the anniversary. “Dead Presidents” reaches back to the era of his 1996 debut album, “Reasonable Doubt,” whose 30th anniversary inspired the run. “The Story of O.J.,” from 2017’s “4:44,” brought her playing into a later chapter of his catalog.

The official JAŸ-Z30 recap confirmed that Blue Ivy played the piano melodies on both songs. Entertainment Weekly reported that, after her appearance, Jay-Z acknowledged his daughter’s playing with a playful bow before the two embraced. The account places the moment within the concert itself, where she joined him as a musician rather than simply appearing beside him onstage.

It was also a return to a role she had already taken on during the anniversary run. At the first of Jay-Z’s Yankee Stadium shows in July, Blue Ivy played piano while he performed “Feelin’ It,” another song associated with “Reasonable Doubt.” MusicTimes previously reported on that New York appearance, which came during a night that also featured Beyoncé.

Friday’s SoFi set moved through Jay-Z’s catalog with a different group of guests. Scarface joined him for “This Can’t Be Life” and “Mind Playing Tricks on Me,” the latter associated with the Geto Boys. Later, John Legend and DJ Khaled appeared for “GOD DID” during the encore, according to the concert recap and Pitchfork’s report.

Beyoncé was in the audience with her former Destiny’s Child groupmates Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams, Entertainment Weekly reported. The three were seen together in a suite during the first show, giving fans another recognizable gathering alongside Blue Ivy’s performance. The report describes them watching the concert; it does not report an onstage Destiny’s Child performance that night.

The guest list changed when Jay-Z returned to SoFi on Saturday, Oct. 24. Too $hort joined for “Blow the Whistle,” while Snoop Dogg appeared for “Murder Was the Case.” Dr. Dre then came out for “The Next Episode,” beginning a sequence that also included “California Love,” “Nuthin’ but a ‘G’ Thang” and “Still D.R.E.,” according to JamBase.

Those appearances gave the second night a strong California connection. While Friday brought Scarface into the set and ended with “GOD DID,” Saturday drew on the work of artists closely associated with West Coast rap. The two nights shared a headliner and anniversary occasion but offered different guest combinations to the audience.

Friday’s official concert setlist opened with “Hovi Baby” and “Izzo (H.O.V.A.)” before moving into the Blue Ivy-assisted songs. The main set later reached “Empire State of Mind” and “Public Service Announcement,” with the “GOD DID” collaboration listed as the encore. That placement put the family performance among the evening’s catalog selections rather than at the close.

The full setlists also reflected the breadth of Jay-Z’s own recording history. JamBase’s account of Friday lists songs including “Izzo (H.O.V.A.),” “Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem),” “Dirt Off Your Shoulder” and “Empire State of Mind,” alongside the material with Blue Ivy and Scarface. Saturday’s set again included “Dead Presidents,” with the Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg sequence adding another set of familiar songs.

The Los Angeles concerts followed the three-night New York stand as well as stops in London and Paris. Across the run, the anniversary framework gave Jay-Z space to revisit older material while changing the collaborators around him. At SoFi, that meant a pianist who had already appeared with him in New York, veteran rappers with their own deep catalogs and an encore built around a more recent collaboration.

For listeners who saw clips of Blue Ivy at the keyboard, the answer to the immediate question is clear: she played on two songs at the first SoFi show. The appearances were part of an anniversary finale that continued the following night with a different set of guests, closing Jay-Z’s Los Angeles run with both family and hip-hop history in the spotlight.

Tags
Jay-Z, Blue Ivy Carter, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg