Gig played on 27/09/06

The lights drop as the 'Hustler Symphony Orchestra' saw a tumultuous torrent of noise before a raging, vivid screen, stretched across the stage. Russell Crowe's defiant words from "Gladiator" ring out as the sound of two clashing swords join the melee. "Are you not entertained? Is this not why you are here?" Crowe challenges, as the darkened, hunched shape of hop hop's most iconic figure emerges in the shadows. "Never been a nigga this good for this long…" swaggers Jay Z into the light, as the music breaks and the Royal Albert Hall finally plays host to its first ever hip hop show.

As comebacks go, it's a deeply impressive return. Ten years since escaping the Brooklyn streets with a fistful of dollars, a pocketful of crack and a head full of rhymes, Jay Z is back, way beyond reasonable doubt. This is the closing date of the UK leg of his Kofi Annan-approved world tour, which seeks to reappoint Shawn Carter rap's undisputed king-pin and also help eliminate global water shortages. In two short hours, in the most unlikely, historic of settings, it's clear that one of these objectives has been achieved for sure, while the other is probably also in hand.

Jay Z gets a lot of help tonight, not that he needs it. An all-girl 25-piece orchestra, led by our lavish conductor 'Rosie', provide the sweeping arrangements, augmented by a DJ and fellow Roc-A-Fella rapper Memphis Bleek. In fact, the sound is the only possible let-down. Opener "What More Can I Say" is swamped by Hova's pummelling rhymes, "99 Problems"' ballistic collision of beats and "Back In Black" is lost, while elsewhere the flows, clicks, twists and nuances of this most pioneering musical force are subjected to a bass-light sound sustained only by a level of belief demanded from some stunning performances.

These are, of course, led by Jay Z. But it's also Bleek that takes a crazed, indisputably fortunate crowd through a constant steam of winners from debut "Reasonable Doubt" to 2003's supposed "Black Album" curtain call. Nas, famously decimated on Jigga's "Takeover", signals the end of his beef with the man who's now his boss, airing a string of classics, though none from the quite incredible "Illmatic". Beyonce explodes onto the stage for the dazzling symphonic yell of horns and fireworks that is "Crazy In Love" before vamoosing like a pop culture dream. Rather odd though is the appearance of Chris Martin - contributing doomy piano on "Dead Presidents II" and vocals on "Ain't No Love" - and his wife, Gwyneth Paltrow, who sings quite spectacularly on "Song Cry".

However, Mafia Don and Chairman Of The Board combined is Jay Z. At one point he stands alone under a spotlight, no musical accompaniment, grinning as he rips a free-flowing, spontaneous machine-gun rhyme; during "You Don't Know", he powers through line after line, finishing with the words "I will not lose, ever, f*cker"; "H To The Izzo", "Girls, Girls, Girls", "Hard Knock Life", "Hola Hovito" are all rolled out, culminating in a glittering coronation, as the Royal Albert Hall resounds to the inevitable chants of "Hova, Hova, Hova" and Jay Z returns for "Encore", telling us: "I came, I saw, I conquered…"

Now, are you not entertained?

by Ben Gilbert