When Madonna shared an unassuming Club Confessions poster to her Instagram Story early last week (July 8), I knew I was in for what would undoubtedly be a once-in-a-lifetime NYC weekend. Because I wouldn’t just be experiencing Madge and superproducer Stuart Price bringing Confessions II to life at Knockdown Center on the border of Queens and Brooklyn, the following night, just a borough away in the Bronx, I’d also bear witness to the highly anticipated finale of Jay-Z’s historic, three-night Yankee Stadium residency.
As an early Gen Z Flatbush boy, I was practically born into Hov’s legion of Brooklyn-bred die-hards; growing up, I’d look up from whatever fantasy novel I’d be lost in, only to be met with a portrait of Shawn Carter staring back at me in the Brooklyn Public Library’s central branch. The summer I got my first three-month Spotify prescription, Madonna was one of the artists I plunged into a deep dive of, nearly instantly activating what had to be a dormant allegiance to the undisputed Queen of Pop. Though both Madonna, 67, and Jay-Z, 56, are more than double my age, they’re two of my favorite artists of all time — and I promise, dear reader, both of them being New York icons has nothing to do with it!
