It’s 2003 and Jay-Z is planning a farewell live performance at Madison Sq. Backyard to rejoice his retirement from music.
However his bass participant is unavailable. Adam Blackstone, a jack-of-all-trades who performs bass, drums, piano, organ, tuba and sousaphone — and can also be a songwriter, producer, composer and every thing else below the musical solar — is greater than able to step in.
Twenty years later, Blackstone, now 40, remains to be working intently with Jay-Z; each are Emmy winners for final yr’s hip-hop-heavy Tremendous Bowl halftime present. And the musician who has helped everybody from Rihanna to Justin Timberlake shine is moving into his personal limelight.
Rihanna carried out in the course of the Tremendous Bowl LVII halftime present in February.
John W. McDonough/Sports activities Illustrated by way of Getty Photos
After profitable an Emmy in 2022 for music path, Blackstone is nominated once more. This time, nonetheless, he’s a double nominee. Not solely is he competing for his work on Rihanna’s explosive Tremendous Bowl efficiency (a nom shared with Omar Edwards), however he’s additionally nominated because the musical director of the 2022 Rock & Roll Corridor of Fame induction ceremony, when Dolly Parton, Eminem, Carly Simon and Lionel Richie obtained the group’s honors.
“I wish to be up in opposition to myself 5 instances subsequent yr,” says Blackstone, whose musical director credit embody the Oscars, the Grammys, BET Awards, The Voice and The Masked Singer. “And that’s no disrespect to another present, however simply extra about placing the greatness course of on myself to be acknowledged.”
Blackstone says profitable the Emmy for the 2022 halftime present starring Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, Kendrick Lamar and 50 Cent “validated hip-hop.” He provides, referring to himself, that it “validated a younger African American male who generally is deemed ‘hip-hop.’”
“The music and path that I delivered to the Tremendous Bowl did permeate the world on the extent of Kennedy Heart Honors, on the extent of the Oscars, on the extent of Grammys, on the extent of Saturday Night time Stay and on the extent of Tony Bennett,” he provides. “It was a win for the tradition.”
Blackstone was booked and busy earlier than including “Emmy winner” to his résumé, however he says the glory has “introduced extra eyes and a spotlight” to the work he’s been doing for many years.
Justin Timberlake and Adam Blackstone carry out on the 2017 Academy Awards.
Kevin Winter/Getty Photos
He’s been the musical director of 4 halftime exhibits, together with these starring Timberlake, Jennifer Lopez and Shakira. He’s additionally labored with Rihanna on her 2023 Oscar efficiency, all 4 of her Savage X Fenty tv specials and on her excursions. He’s carried out on the street alongside Nicki Minaj, Janet Jackson, Chris Stapleton, Jonas Brothers, Kanye West and Demi Lovato; and he’s written songs for Usher, Al Inexperienced, The Roots, Mary Mary, Kem and Vivian Inexperienced. He earned his first Grammy nomination for co-writing Musiq Soulchild’s 2007 R&B hit “teachme.” And he’s performed bass or keys on albums by Alicia Keys, Corinne Bailey Rae, Joss Stone, Marsha Ambrosius and Estelle.
When the Oscar-, Tony- and Grammy-winning songwriting duo Pasek and Paul wanted a particular contact on music for the field workplace smash The Best Showman, they known as on Blackstone. “They knew my stay arranging ability set and credit, whether or not that be for Rihanna or Justin Timberlake or no matter, and we wished to convey that to the film display,” he says.
Quickly after The Best Showman, Blackstone landed on a observe with none apart from Barack Obama. Blackstone was summoned to work on “One Final Time (44 Remix),” a tune that includes Obama, Christopher Jackson and BeBe Winans from the album Hamildrops, impressed by Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton. On the observe, the previous U.S. president delivers George Washington’s farewell handle.
“They wished that soulful church swag,” Blackstone says of the tune, which landed Obama on the Billboard Sizzling R&B songs chart at No. 22 in 2019.
It wasn’t his first time working with 44. Blackstone was the musical director for 2 of his farewell events on the White Home. He says that prepping for Obama’s soirees was all the time a ball.
“What would you like the vibe to be tonight? Are we going to go full Essence Competition? We dancing? We electrical sliding? Are we going to go extra traditional? Nat King Cole? Or are we going to be a little bit extra hip-hop?” Blackstone recollects querying. “He loves The Roots. He loves Frequent, Jill Scott, Erykah Badu. We did every thing from Hamilton to Usher to gospel with Yolanda Adams. My wheelhouse is to make every thing I do really feel genuine, and I’m glad to be on President Obama’s name checklist for that.”
His ties to Obama don’t finish there. The politician’s extensively learn playlist of favourite songs final yr featured Blackstone’s “‘Spherical Midnight,” a collaboration with Jazmine Sullivan from his debut album, Legacy, launched in September 2022. “Quick-forward years later, he and Michelle are followers of my music,” he says proudly.
Blackstone was capable of carry out the Obama favourite on tour because the opening act for Jill Scott — one other full-circle second as a result of he credit the Grammy-winning soul visionary with giving him his first alternative as a musical director.
“I’d seen Adam across the studio usually, only a man carrying a bass and a simple smile. He appeared to like what he was doing. I favored that vitality and I’d heard he was ‘actually good wit dat factor.’ Rumors had been true [and] I employed Adam as my music director,” stated Scott, who has additionally written songs with Blackstone for her personal albums. “What I cherished most was that nothing was not possible with Adam. There wasn’t a wild thought or dream he couldn’t create for my imaginative and prescient. Adam is a legendary music director and now he’s his personal. My coronary heart swells for his wonderful future. I really like my buddy and so happy with my colleague.”
Legacy helped Blackstone attain one other top: “‘Spherical Midnight” earned a Grammy nom for finest conventional R&B efficiency this yr. “I [have been] a part of 4 Grammy-winning songs,” he says, however provides: “As an artist myself, Adam Blackstone, [to win] is a purpose of mine, for certain.”
His jazzy album options collaborations with Scott, Queen Latifah, John Scofield, Leslie Odom Jr., Robert Glasper, Mary Mary, DJ Jazzy Jeff and Kirk Franklin, whereas Simone Boseman honors her late husband Chadwick Boseman with a rendition of Sammy Fain and Irving Kahal’s “I’ll Be Seeing You.” Blackstone met Simone in 2021 on the Stand As much as Most cancers telecast, the place she carried out “I’ll Be Seeing You” in remembrance of Chadwick.
“It was so lovely, and placing it on my album and making it a tribute to him — that has been nothing wanting wonderful,” he says. “She is an unimaginable artist that I believe, at the moment particularly, her voice could haven’t been discovered or was even muted due to grief. And for her to execute that and are available out and sing it as lovely sounding because it was, super-duper excited for that second.”
And there’s an opportunity the duo might create extra music magic collectively. “We dibbled and dabbled with some issues, however I believe within the correct time span, it’s going to occur once more.”
Whereas we wait, we additionally marvel: Is there anybody Blackstone — who has roots in hip-hop, pop, jazz, R&B, nation, gospel, musical theater and extra — hasn’t labored with? He solutions by naming Eric Clapton and Garth Brooks, and provides that though he personally is aware of Quincy Jones and Stevie Marvel, he’d prefer to work intently with these music maestros.
For Blackstone, there are not any limitations to his artwork and ability set.
“After I first acquired known as to do The Masked Singer or after I get known as to work with Tim McGraw and Religion Hill, I don’t go into it saying, ‘Nicely, no, I’m the Jay-Z man,’” he says. “I’m going into it saying, ‘I’m an ideal musician and my music serves a goal it doesn’t matter what colour, what age, no matter.’ This has the flexibility to translate ears and cross genres and all of that.”
It’s why the New Jerseyan who additionally established roots in Philadelphia was so prepared when the decision — a referral from Questlove of The Roots — to play bass for Jay-Z got here alongside twenty years in the past.
“And right here I’m as we speak, 20 years later, simply tremendous grateful for that,” he says. “As a result of that live performance alone spawned me assembly a younger Mary [J. Blige], a younger Kanye, a younger Beyoncé — all of those people who find themselves now my associates. And due to the integrity that I stored to maintain that music up, I used to be capable of work with all of them all through the course of my profession.”
A model of this story first appeared in an August stand-alone challenge of The Hollywood Reporter journal. To obtain the journal, click on right here to subscribe.
