"Fade To Black" Film Review
With ten consecutive multi-platinum albums, a multi-million dollar record company, the first non-athlete sneaker from Rebook and an elite sports club named the 40/40, Jay-Z sums up his music career here with a documentary / concert film in "Fade to Black".
With the back drop of a sold-out Madison Square Garden concert, "Fade to Black" brings the audience live concert footage and back stage peeks as well as bringing studio and behind the scenes material from the creation of his last album ever - The Black Album - up on to the big screen.
Arguably one of the most important mainstream hip hop acts in the past eight years, Jay-Z is a former street hustler who came out of that scene to become just a self proclaimed "kid who went from Marcy to Madison Square”.
From inside the studio we are given an inside glimpse into the creation of Jay-Z’s last album - The Black Album - where he works with some of the most creative producers in hip hop today (Timbaland, Pharrell, Kayne West and Rick Rubin). "Fade To Black" shows the creative process that each song he makes goes through, never writing down lyrics at all but creating them on the spot at the same time as hearing the beat/arrangement for the first time, which is some kind of crazy. He also takes time to sit down and talk about the state of hip hop, where it’s come from and where it’s going with such people as Q Tip from Tribe Called Quest fame, which makes me a happy guy. Most of the film, though, is comprised of concert footage - either Jay-Z alone, back by a live band (led by ?uestlove of The Roots) or some of pop and hip hop’s elite (Missy Elliott, Pharrell, Beyonce, R. Kelly - how is this guy still famous? - and Mary J. Blige).
“Fade To Black” could be called self indulgent at times thanks to the overly dramatic voice-overs Jay-Z does himself, but his honesty is never questioned despite what he’s saying. It’s humorous at times with GhostFace Killah’s preparation of adorning himself with three plate size gold and diamond necklaces as well as the ever “not so dressed” lil’ kim busting and falling out of her top during her performance on stage. “Fade To Black” also does well at transferring the energy and charisma of his live show - I’ve always been one to say that hip hop shows are some of the best high energy live shows around. He can look a little lost out there on the stage when performing by himself backed by nothing but speakers and video screens, but when accompanied by a backing band or other musicians the stage is just not big enough to contain them all.
The gold segments are really the inside the studio looks, the creation of the album and interaction with other performers and the producers that he collaborates with. The only problem is that these looks are too few and “Fade To Black” who have benefited from more of these segments making it a stronger documentary than “concert film”. The film also has a hard time transferring between the concert footage and other segments in a balanced way, sometimes leaving the audience with a displaced energy feel, wanting more of either the concert or behind the scenes look when transferred to other.
Whether or not “Fade To Black” deserves a theatrical release compared to a dvd issue (which obviously will come) fans of the artist will be appreciative of all aspects of this offering from Jay-Z. “Fade To Black” is also a clear testament of the state of hip hop today, where a solo m.c. can sell out Madison Square Garden in less than 2 hours with a music that was once, and slightly still considered by some a “fad”. With no new ground broken in the world of documentaries or concert footage, it’s clear that if you avoid all things hip hop you’ll probably only attend if you’re dragged by a child or white friend who needs an “and one” accompaniment to the theatre (haha), but “Fade to Black” will leave an imprint on those that it was made to draw in to it’s world.
You can view the website for "Fade To Black" here to view the trailer and get the complete list of all performers that are included in the movie.
