One of the biggest artists in hip-hop, rapper Jay-Z surprised fans in 2003 when he announced he would retire following the release of his hotly anticipated collection The Black Album. In November of 2003, not long after the album hit stores, Jay-Z staged a special show at New York Citys Madison Square Garden, in which he performed alongside some of the most popular and influential acts in hip-hop and R&B, including R. Kelly, Beyoncé Knowles, Mary J. Blige, Missy Elliott, ?uestlove, Pharrell Williams, P. Diddy, and more. Billed as Jay-Zs final solo performance (though he would stage a collaborative tour with R. Kelly in the fall of 2004), Fade to Black is a concert documentary that captures both the action on-stage and the celebration behind the scenes; the film also features an inside look at the making of The Black Album. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide