Jay-Z announces huge shows in Paris and Los Angeles to “celebrate legacy”

Jay-Z has announced huge shows in Paris and Los Angeles, taking place later this year and celebrating his “legacy”.

The new dates come following the rapper returning to the stage for a rare solo performance last month, headlining Roots Picnic 2026 as his first festival date in seven years and breaking out some of his biggest hits.

That set also saw him take aim at Nicki Minaj, Drake, Kanye West and more in a freestyle, and came ahead of his upcoming anniversary shows planned for New York’s Yankee Stadium. Those three shows which will celebrate 30 years of his debut album ‘Reasonable Doubt’ and 25 years of his sixth record ‘The Blueprint’.

Now, two more anniversary shows have been confirmed, taking place at the Stade de France in Paris on September 10 and at the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles on October 23.

Like the New York gigs next month, this announcement also features the rapper’s name written with an umlaut on the Y – the same style he used on his 1996 debut album – indicating that the setlists will feature mainly focus on his early discography.

Tickets go on sale on Friday (June 12) at 10am local time, and pre-sale options will be available from Thursday (June 11). Visit here for tickets and more information.

There have been rumours that Jay-Z is working on a new album – which will be the follow-up to 2017’s ‘4:44’ – swirling for years now, although friend and collaborator Cash Cobain recently put a dampener on hopes for new material, saying that the rapper told him recently that he is “absolutely not dropping an album” anytime soon (via Variety).

With his recent gig at Roots Picnic, Jay-Z rattled through the biggest hits from his 30-year discography and also called out some famous faces with a freestyle.

He took aim at Nicki Minaj and her recent efforts to cosy up to Republican politicians, hit back at Drake after the Canadian rapper called him out on new album ‘Iceman’, and responded to Kanye West after he made offensive remarks about his and Beyoncé’s children.

Last year, it was his company, Roc Nation, who was behind Kendrick Lamar being chosen to headline the 2025 Super Bowl Halftime show, and the huge slot came amid the rap battle between K.Dot and Drake. After the record-breaking show, Jay-Z later revealed that he was not a fan of the highly publicised feud.

“Now, people that like Kendrick hate Drake, no matter what he makes,” he said, adding that the hit diss track ‘Not Like Us’ felt like an “attack on [Drake’s] character”.

“I don’t know if I love that. I don’t know if it’s helpful to our growth where the fallout lands, especially on social media,” he added. “It’s too far. It’s bringing people’s kids in it. I don’t like that. I sound like the old guy wagging his finger, but I think we can achieve the same thing, as far as sparring with music, with collaborations more so than breaking the whole thing apart.”