Best of Both Worlds Tour (Jay-Z and R. Kelly)
The
Best of Both Worlds Tour was a United States-only, 40-city tour to promote
Unfinished Business, headlined by Jay-Z and R. Kelly. Artists affiliated with
Roc-A-Fella performed with Jay-Z during his solo sets. It was sponsored by Atlanta Worldwide Touring. The tour was originally planned for 2002, but was scrapped after the R. Kelly accusations surfaced. It was originally announced on August 19, 2004, with initial tour dates coming on August 27. The remaining shows were announced on October 6. The concert was expected to gross $30 million. Although the concert was well received by critics, they noticed tension between R. Kelly and Jay-Z. The two only performed together on stage for the beginning and finale sets. Sean Daly of
The Washington Post wrote on their interactions, "Did any of it look remotely genuine? Absolutely not. How about "As the Best of Both Worlds Turn?". To help promote voting in the
upcoming presidential election in the United States, Jay-Z used the tour dates in
Ohio to register eligible voters using his organization Voice Your Choice and music executive
Russell Simmons' Hip-Hop Summit Action Network.
Concert synopsis The concerts began with a video depicting a news report high-speed police chase of two buses heading to the arena. At the climax, the arena is darkened and the two vehicles crash and break a faux-wall on the stage. From there, R. Kelly and Jay-Z exit their respective vehicles clad in white suits and perform "The Best of Both Worlds", "Shake Ya Body", "Take You Home With Me A.K.A. Body", and "Somebody's Girl" from the
Best of Both Worlds album. R. Kelly then goes backstage while Jay-Z and his entourage perform their set. From there, the two transition with 10 to 20 minute sets consisting of their songs. After about five, they then conclude with the songs "
Fiesta Remix", "
Big Chips" and "Hell Yeah".
Controversy During the first Rosemont concert, R. Kelly ran a skit that made light of his court case. Due to national outrage, he removed the act from the second concert. For reasons both Jay-Z and R. Kelly dispute, Kelly was more than two hours late for the next day's concert that ended at 1 AM—and, to make matters worse, R. Kelly left before the final joint set. The tour was unable to make it to Cincinnati, Ohio, for the next concert and was therefore canceled. Although various media reports dispute the actual time of the disturbance, it is presumed to be near the beginning to an hour into R. Kelly's set. Madison Square Garden security then searched the area but found nothing and gave clearance for R. Kelly and his bodyguards to return. They further claimed it didn't deny that the rapper refused to work with R. Kelly after the Madison Square Garden incident and thus broke the contract. Jay-Z referenced R. Kelly's lawsuit on a
remix of the 2004
hip-hop song, "
Drop It Like It's Hot". These niggas givin' out cases like a liquor store Runnin' to the DA tryin' to get me for it All the money it made, I'm like forget the law I'm not 'fr-iz-aid, it J-iz-ay homie you got pl-iz-ayed Take it like a man, the flow ran you off the st-iz-age (go sit down) Wastin' ya time tryin' to sue S Dot tell ya lawyer Take that civil case and drop it like it's hot Ty Smith was arrested and charged with
third-degree assault, which carried one year of prison, on November 12 for the pepper-spraying incident. In November 2005, R. Kelly filed another lawsuit against Jay-Z, claiming Smith was awarded with vice president of Def Jam's
artist and repertoire. Regardless, he pleaded guilty to
disorderly conduct in 2006 in a
plea deal that contained no jail time.
Tour dates ==Critical reception==