Jay-Z spent the weekend blowing fans’ minds during his epic three-show run at New York’s Yankee Stadium. But after night one brought cameos from wife Beyoncé, daughter Blue Ivy, Nas and Alicia Keys and night two dialed up an even wilder lineup featuring Eminem, Slick Rick and Pharrell, Sunday’s (July 12) show hit a snag.
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Following a three-hour delay in kicking off last night’s final gig, Jay addressed the delay after taking the stage, telling fans that the start of the show was pushed back due to security concerns caused by a large crowd gathered outside the venue.
“Let me explain the delay to you guys. It was like 10,000 people outside, and we closed all the doors, and somebody rushed the door,” Jay said after finally taking the stage after midnight ET on Monday morning (July 13), according to a video posted by XXL. “They closed the door for you guys’ safety and everyone’s safety outside. There’s 10,000 people outside; I don’t want to start the music and people get trampled. I’m really sorry for the inconvenience, but I had to make sure everyone was OK. I appreciate your patience.”
Jigga then promised his faithful that he had plenty more surprises in store for the epic Extra Innings finale of his Yankee Stadium run, which started nearly three hours later than the previous editions on Friday and Saturday night and was not constrained by the album anniversary-focused nature of the first two night’s shows.
The faithful who stuck around until nearly three in the morning were treated to a rare live appearance from Rihanna, who joined in on “Run This Town” before taking a solo turn with her 2015 Billboard Hot 100 No. 15 trap anthem “Bitch Better Have My Money,” as well as another cameo from Beyoncé on “Drunk in Love” and a cameo from multi-hyphenate Teyana Taylor, who joined Jay to sing the Mary J. Blige hook on “Can’t Knock the Hustle.”
Usher also popped-in for “Heart of the City (Ain’t No Love)” and “Throwback,” while Pharrell came out again for a medley run that included “Love U (Give It 2 Me)” and “Frontin’,” and The-Dream subbed in for Frank Ocean on “No Church in the Wild” from Jay and Ye’s 2011 joint Watch the Throne album. Other guests included Jermaine Dupri, Fat Joe and Jadakiss, the Clipse, Jeezy and Swizz Beatz.
The weekend run was a celebration of, respectively, the 25th anniversary of Jay’s The Blueprint and the 30th anniversary of his seminal 1996 debut, Reasonable Doubt. Jay’s first significant run of shows since his 2017 4:44 tour will include a Sept. 4 show at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, a Sept. 10 gig at Stade de France in Paris and an Oct.23 date at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif.
