OTTAWA - He’s sold more records than Elvis and holds the record for No. 1 albums in the Billboard 200. He co-owns the NBA’s New Jersey Nets and swank nightclubs. He’s the former CEO of Def Jam Records and he’s married to Beyonce.

Yeah, life’s sweet for Jay-Z, and the King of Hip-Hop has paved the way for younger producer-musicians such as Timbaland, Ruff Ryders, The Neptunes and Kanye West, and at last night’s big jam at Scotiabank Place, it’s obvious Jay-Z isn’t done with music yet.

Not by a long shot.

The 39-year-old rapper-producer and entrepreneur has been touring hard to promote his new album Blueprint 3, which went gold and put him ahead of Presley in album sales.

Wearing black, including his signature Wayfarers, the confident Jay-Z rose statue-like out of centrestage to Paul McCartney’s Bond theme song Live and Let Die with a massive, state-of-the-art 10-screen video display behind him that gave the gig the look and feel of a Broadway extravaganza. He busted the show wide open with Run This Town and D.O.A. Death of Auto-Tune to start the party.

Backed by an explosive 10-piece band, including two drummers and a three-piece brass section, the Brooklyn-based rapper, who’s real name is Shawn Carter, performed to perfection, dazzling the 7,800 with his skills at the microphone on older songs such as 99 Problems, Show Me What You Got, Izzo (H.O.V.A.), Interlude, Heart Of The City (Ain’t No Love), Thank You, On To The Next One, and Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem).

Later, he gave a big, proud shoutout to his hometown New York with Empire State of Mind with singer Bridget Kelly filling in for Alicia Keyes with the Manhattan skyline lighting up the stage, before being joined for a rap-off with Pharrell Williams, who opened the concert.

Speaking of which, Williams is one mean intoxicating music machine. He and his band N.E.R.D. generated an inexhaustible torrent of glass-breaking yet gorgeously textured musical vibes giving the fans at Scotiabank Place a rare experience of studio-quality sound.

Showing why Shakira, Madonna, Lindsey Lohan, Maroon 5, the list goes on of pop icons, who have gone to Williams to ramp up their musical credibility — backed by N.E.R.D.

Between vocalizing, drumming, even choreographing a couple of dozen dancing fans at one point, the multi-tasking Williams pushed the fans hard, battering them with an extraordinary 45-minute set that featured ferociously fresh raps, dueling drummers, a superb live band and, best of all, a bold vision and voice for hip-hop.