Jay-Z: Live in Abu Dhabi

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Jay-Z onstage in Abu Dhabi

Courtesy of Flash Entertainment

Although he's a legendary rapper with a net worth of half a billion dollars who's married to one of the most famous women in the world, Jay-Z isn't content to just go through the motions. The 14-time Grammy winner, who's racked up over 50 million album sales, got the crowd at Abu Dhabi's du Arena going with "U Don't Know," accompanied by his band, and producer Timbaland.

Wearing a Brooklyn Nets cap (the basketball team he's an ex-part owner of) and a black shirt with a thick gold chain, he then went to work with "On To The Next One," one of the highlights of the night. From there he cruised through a mix of some of his hits – "Holy Grail," "F***WithMeYouKnowIGotIt," the crowd favorite "99 Problems," the Panjabi MC collaboration "Beware," and "Tom Ford" – until he suddenly stopped and walked off stage with the rest of his band in tow. Had someone or something pissed him off? Had we just witnessed a Jay-Z prima-donna tantrum? Our questions were answered minutes later when the band came back on stage and a smiling Timbaland announced that they'd blown a generator. 

To get the crowd into the groove again, Timbaland played some of his own songs. Jay-Z returned to the stage and asked the fans to help him start over. They were happy to oblige. He ran through songs from a wide range of his 15 studio albums, including "Big Pimpin'," Dirt of Your Shoulder," "Niggas in Paris" and "Public Service Announcement." The crowd went nuts for the Rihanna and Kanye West collaboration, "Run This Town," after which Hova said goodbye. No one believed him. 

The inevitable encore included more classics like "Izzo" and "Hard Knock Life," before closing with the ubiquitous 2009 Alicia Keys collaboration "Empire State of Mind" (intro: "Since you welcomed me to your hometown, I'd like to tell you something about my hometown"). It was a cheesy move, but still kind of endearing.

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