and made my way to meet my girls and make our way to Hyde Park. As we entered the park the adrenaline kicked in , not only was I seeing HOV , I was seeing him in the most iconic park in this city I have fallen in love with. I almost pinched myself. Tickets in hand we headed on in...
The warm summers sun rippled on my skin as we made our way to a small tent to see local hip hop newcomer Tinie Tempah and as we grooved to his tunes I had to stop and smile as a mere month ago I was having a drink and a chat with him at the Glamour awards - too surreal!
We made our way back over to the main stage to watch Lily Allen take the stage , for what was her last live performance for a very long time (Lily is leaving the music industry to open up her own vintage clothing store and has also just announced her pregnancy) she took to the stage in a gorgeous white jumpsuit and Louis Vuitton scarf - this prom dress teamed with Nike high top wearing girl has come a long way. Lily was fantastic and struck a personal chord with me. Her latest album 'The Fear' was an album that Ben and I had discovered - and listened to non stop for 3 weeks - at a very happy time of our relationship. Every song she sang bought back a memory and when she dedicated the two songs which reminded me of two very prominent phases of our relationship - 'Are you Mine' & 'Chinese' - to her boyfriend in the crowd , emotion took over and I found myself crying behind my Dolce & Gabbanna shades - and so is the power of music. Proffessor Green was soon bought onto stage , personal friend of Lily's and they performed his debut single on which Lily features much to the crowds pleasure! It was wicked!
Lily's set was over , tears wiped away (for now) - and the countdown began for HOV to take centre stage. Charlotte and I couldnt contain our excitement. All four of us , Rachel (Charlotte's sister) and friend Emma are die hard Jay Z fans and we were now more ready than ever for our main man to blow us all away. We edged closer through the crowd to try get the best position possible. As I looked around me I noticed something , i was surrounded by the most varied mixture of people. Young, Old, Male, Female, English, Mixed Race - everyone was here for one reason - to see Jay and it just speaks volumes about the wide range of fans he attracts. 
The countdown was up on screen and everyone had their diamonds in the sky, their roc's up - now to explain what this iconic hand sign means for those of you who dont know - it has several meanings. It is a sign for the greek letter Delta as explained by Kanye West's song 'Through the Wire'. For Jay Z and the Rocafella family (Jay's record company is called Rocafella Records) it means diamond , a play off the word Rock , in Rocafella Records - which means the hardest stone on earth as well as the most precious, this sign was coined as the dynast sign by Jay Z. As the countdown continued I've never seen so many roc's up at once! 
When the man himself made his way on to stage to drop the opening lyrics of 'Run this Town' the adrenaline hit me and my heart felt like it was about to explode out and through my chest. The rush of the moment , the fact that he was merely metres away from me gracing the stage was overwhelming and I couldnt believe this was finally happening. It was a 2 hours I'll never forget.
I've seen a lot of live performances. Amazing productions by Kylie , Destiny's Child , Lady GaGa - involving costume changes different sets and many bells and whistles. What I saw on the 4th of a July was a talented poet , in black shorts a shirt and shades , a microphone , some amazing lighting and video projection but more then anything pure passion and music. Probably the most amazing live performance I've yet witnessed. From all the old school tunes like '99 Problems' to the ever popular 'Empire State of Mind' , to the incredible acapella freestyling sets but by the time it came around to 'Forever Young' - where Mr.Hudson joined him on stage - Jay had me in tears. Forever Young is a song that means a lot to me. The first version released in the days of The OC touched my heart with every lyric. I've always said I want to be young forever , and every lyric in that song means something to me. When Jay released his version it felt like a sign - my favorite song , with my favorite artist , what an incredible combination - and when he performed it , I was in tears. The power of music is truly incredible. He closed the show with my all time favorite Jay tune 'Encore' (every lyric came out of my mouth with so much passion I could feel myself losing my voice) and as he reluctantly left the stage - smiling like a big kid as he thanked London - we left Hyde Park with a bitter sweet feeling. Cant believe how amazing it was , so sad its over - kinda sums it up. As Charlotte and I walked out arms wrapped around 
each other talking about the highlights of the show - I smiled - Jay you made my dream came true. I saw you live and you did not dissapoint , you exceeded my every expectation! Whether you like Jay Z or not fact is the man has had 11 back to back #1 albums - making him the most succesful artist on the US charts beating even Elvis's record so do yourself a favour If you dont lsiten to all 11 albums download The Blueprint's 1 & 2 , The Black Album and The Blueprint 3 and let your education begin. Till next time xoxo Deni 
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