Jay-Z is making quite the case for being the king of New York as his Yankee Stadium run continues to make history. Night two of JAY-Z 30 included an iconic lineup with Pharrell Williams, Eminem and Slick Rick coming out to rock with Jigga.
The over 45,000 people in attendance for the second show of three in Jay-Z’s victory lap celebrating the 30th and 25th anniversaries of Reasonable Doubt and The Blueprint, respectively, were treated to a show for the ages. Though night one was a family affair with Beyoncé and Blue Ivy making headlines by joining Jay onstage, night two was all about lyricism and the true essence of hip hop.
Long time Jay-Z fans know the beauty of the music that Hov and Pharrell have made together. From “I Just Wanna Love You (Give It 2 Me)” to “Excuse Me Miss,” when it comes to Jay jumping on a classic Neptunes beat, there are few collaborations in hip hop that do it better. He and Pharrell breezed through some of their classic tracks including the latter’s on song “Frontin’” for which Jay delivered one of rap’s best guest verses to date.
The Blueprint may have shot Jay into the stratosphere and really crowned him as one of rap’s all-time greats but a white rapper from Detroit, who stood toe to toe with Jigga man on the track “Renegade,” would also get his debut to the world via the project. Eminem’s wordplay and intricate internal rhyme schemes immediately made rap fans kick it with him a minute before even knowing who he was. The two have only performed the track once before and it was a definitely a surprise to see them reunited in the Bronx. Em also took a solo moment to perform his Oscar winning track “Lose Yourself.”
When it comes to both New York and hip hop, few people mean more than Slick Rick to Jay’s generation of rappers. In fact, his first track on The Blueprint, “The Ruler’s Back,” is an homage to Slick’s 1998 song of the same name. Jay opened night two by bringing out his OG to give the people a lesson in honoring the history of the art form.
As was the case on night one, the celebrities were front and center to watch Jay-Z be the legend he is. Gayle King, Michael B. Jordan, James Harden and Lebron James were all spotted showing Hov love on night two.
It’s safe to say the people have been waiting for Hov to make his return to the stage. Jay will close out his stay at Yankee Stadium with his “Extra Innings” show on Sun, Jul. 12 before continuing his celebrations this fall with shows in Los Angeles and Paris. With an already impressive lineup of special guests, one can only imagine what he has up his sleeves for the remaining shows.
