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The saying goes, “He who laughs last, laughs loudest.” And as far as last night’s private concert was concerned, Jay-Z had the biggest laugh. As you know, the Empire state tycoon who continues to build his empire with the latest music-streaming venture TIDAL, has been the butt of many a jokes since its launch. The artist and business man even took to Twitter in a rare moment of explicit frustration to vent about how people had not given the platform a chance. Notably, Black Twitter side-eyed him for that.

But Jay-Z clapped back the best way Jay-Z always claps back: with his music. At New York’s Terminal 5 on Saturday night, he performed from his numerous albums to the enthusiastic audience who were all there for Jay-Z reminding everyone – from his friends to his foes – why he is the American Dream personified; the rags to riches story manifested. Specifically, he called out YouTube, Spotify, and Google as wanting to push him out of the game. He questioned Black people’s criticism against Black business owners who are trying to push forward. And perhaps most unexpectedly, he called out the deaths of Freddie Gray, Mike Brown, and Trayvon Martin. This was all in his freestyle.

Not going to lie, we were here for all of it. Peep the video below to catch the freestyle.

For 2024’s iteration of MadameNoire and HelloBeautiful’s annual series Women to Know, we knew we wanted to celebrate the people who help make the joys of film and television possible. To create art is to create magic. This year, we spotlight Hollywood Executive’s changing the face of cinema.