Jay-Z Live Debuted "PSA" + More at His Farewell Show in 2003

November 25, 2003 was a significant day in hip hop history - Jay-Z's final show before his first retirement and the live debut of his most-performed track (billed as an interlude on The Black Album, but it's more than that!), "PSA."

The Madison Square Garden "Farewell" show in Jay's hometown of NYC boasted a 32-song setlist and boatload of special guests including his wife-to-be, Beyoncé.

The highly-anticipated set opened with another live debut-- The Black Album's "What More Can I Say," a rarity that has only been played 8 more times since, the most recent being as a set closer on the 4:44 tour in 2017.

And then the debut of "Public Service Announcement," a pun-filled sendoff if there ever was one. Jay has said about the song, "It’s called ‘PSA’ because it was supposed to be like a commercial, a brief skit. But it’s turned into an important part of my discography. For a song with no hook to have such an impact is unbelievable. The public made it something special."

The next live debut came five songs in, The Blueprint's "Never Change," which has only been performed THREE times to date.

Eight songs in, "It's Hot (Some Like It Hot)" got its first AND last performance ever, just before a trinity of Jay's most popular tracks at the time, "Big Pimpin'" "Dirt off Your Shoulder" and "Hard Knock Life."

Philly rapper Beanie Sigel and Roc-a-Fella affiliate Memphis Bleek joined Jay for the next batch of songs, including the live debut of "You, Me, Him and Her." Missy Elliot and Twista made an appearance for Vol. 3 track "Is That Yo Bitch" before the one and ONLY performance of Black Album outtake "Pop Pop The Burner."

Mid-set Beyoncé joined Jay on stage for "Crazy In Love" and "Baby Boy" (her top two most-performed songs to date) as well as A-side "Summertime," a song that she hasn't played since 2004.

"Dead Presidents" preceded the live debut of "Where I'm From" before Foxy Brown hit the stage to accompany Jay on "Ain't My Nigga." R&B icon Mary J. Blige hit the stage for the next two songs, featuring the live debut of "Can't Knock The Hustle" and "Song Cry" which hadn't been performed since 2001.

R. Kelly, whose legal troubles were just beginning, joined Jay on stage to perform a couple songs from their 2002 collab album, "The Best of Both Worlds" and " Take You Home with Me."

The Black Album's "Allure" got its live debut before the Pharrell-assisted "I Just Want To Love U."

The live debut of "Encore" was the second-to-last song played, before Jay wrapped up the show with "December 4th" a track he would only play one other time, after the end of his scheduled set on the 4:44 tour on December 5th, 2017.

Set the full setlist:

Jay-Z setlist

Fade to Black, the concert film from this MSG show, was released the following year. Jay returned to touring in 2006.

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