Nov. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Jay-Z took time out from his North American tour for a one-off show at London’s Alexandra Palace last night. Sadly, the world’s biggest hip-hop star left his mojo somewhere over the Atlantic.

Jay-Z, 39, married to Beyonce Knowles, has won five Grammy Awards, sold 30 million albums and is said by Forbes to be worth $150 million. The gig was there for the taking: Following his triumphant turn at 2008’s Glastonbury, he has taken a shine to Britain. London has certainly taken a shine to him. Many of the 7,000-strong crowd knew all the (very many) words.

To begin with, he delivered, riding high on past glories and his new “Blueprint 3” album. Jay-Z, wearing sunglasses and a black shirt emblazoned with peace logos, tore through “D.O.A. (Death of Auto-tune)” and “99 Problems.”

The band’s horn section added a slick sheen to the luxury- goods-worshipping funk of “Show Me What You’ve Got.” It also enabled “Empire State of Mind” to come close to pipping Sinatra’s “New York, New York” as the ultimate Big Apple tune.

On disc, Jay-Z’s raps flow beyond the grid of the backing beats. He balances aggression and aggrandizement, intelligence and affability. Unfortunately, such qualities were often muffled amid the puff of being onstage and the boom of the big hall.

The set failed to flow. There were pauses between tracks, then a bluster through a medley of hits, all choruses, few raps. Slower numbers like “A Star Is Born” were mawkish. Attentions waned. A call to “make some noise” was needed to ensure that the encore “Thank You” burst in on more than just polite conversation.

Protege’s Turn

Mr. Hudson, surely soon to be an embarrassing footnote to the compendium of ill-advised proteges, appeared. He sang “Young Forever,” Jay-Z’s underwhelming cover of German synthesizer band Alphaville’s modest hit, detracting from the original.

The audience participation -- singing along, lighters in the air -- was deemed insufficient for a video promo being recorded. A second take was requested. Then the lights went up as the band played out, Jay-Z-free, a truncated version of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit.”

Rating: **.

What the Stars Mean:
****       Excellent
***        Good
**         Average
*          Poor
(No stars) Worthless

Jay-Z’s tour resumes in Fresno, California, on Nov. 7. Information: http://www.jay-z.com/index.php

“Blueprint 3” is on Roc Nation/ Atlantic priced at $7.99. Download prices vary across services.

(Robert Heller is a freelance music critic who also writes for Bloomberg. The opinions expressed are his own.)

To contact the writer on the story: Robert Heller in London on roberthelleruk@yahoo.co.uk

Last Updated: November 5, 2009 04:01 EST