Jay-Z‘s first headline solo show in the UK in more than a decade saw him bring out Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean and Giggs. Watch the footage below.
The rapper has brought his massive ‘JAŸ-Z 30’ world tour – which is marking the 30th anniversary of his debut album ‘Reasonable Doubt’ – to the UK this week, headlining Tottenham Hotspur Stadium yesterday (September 4) with an additional show tonight.
It was a star-studded affair, with Idris Elba kicking off the show with a performance of the intro track to Jay-Z’s 2007 album, ‘American Gangster’.
As Jay-Z took to the stage, he recalled coming to London in 1989 with his mentor Jaz-O and seeing “what was possible”, and it became a “special” place in his career. He also took a moment to thank his fans, adding that “music saved my life”.
As with his shows in New York, the rapper had enlisted many special guests – the first being DJ Khaled, who appeared to perform ‘God Did’.
Shortly afterwards, Giggs joined the stage, appearing overwhelmed with his hand over his face while he looked out at the crowd before performing his track ‘Talkin Da Hardest’ alongside Jay-Z.
This was the moment Giggs told Jay Z to hop on the Talking the Hardest beat and we got Welcome to the Jungle.
The artistry. pic.twitter.com/kaEW1ODQ7P
— Lawrence (@iKillCuriosity) September 4, 2026
The surprise guests didn’t stop there, as Lauryn Hill and Wyclef Jean of Fugees appeared to perform their hits ‘Ready or Not’, ‘Killing Me Softly With His Song’ and ‘Fu-Gee-La’.
It was a full-circle moment, with Jay-Z recalling how he had once supported them on their European tour.
Beyoncé fans may have been hoping she’d join him on stage during the concert, which also happened to take place on the day of her 45th birthday, though she didn’t appear.
However, towards the end of the show, Jay-Z mentioned it was a “young lady’s birthday”, joking that he couldn’t make her perform on her big day.
Instead, he asked the crowd to join him in singing Happy Birthday to his wife, who was sitting in a private box.
The rapper closed the show with ‘Public Service Announcement (Interlude)’ and his collaboration with Linkin Park, ‘Numb/Encore’, telling the crowd that it was a “legendary night” that he would “never forget”. Watch highlights from the show below.
JAY-Z says Bey isn’t performing on her special day, then proceeds to shine the helicopter light on her, tells the crowd to sing her Happy Birthday, FILL THE SKY WITH FIREWORKS IN THE MIDDLE OF HIS CONCERT & THEN WENT INTO NIGGAS IN PARIS 🤯🔥🔥
JAY-Z30 x London 9.4.26 pic.twitter.com/sMu7x2BqZh
— 💎🍾 (@TheRocSupremacy) September 4, 2026
Night one of JAŸ-Z’s 30th anniversary shows in London at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is officially underway 🔥👀 pic.twitter.com/mK9l5vwOZy
— HotNewHipHop (@HotNewHipHop) September 4, 2026
Jay-Z brought out the Fugees, (Lauryn Hill & Wyclef Jean), to perform ‘Killing Me Softly With His Song’ at his concert tonight in London. pic.twitter.com/lDqa2OveP0
— Pop Base (@PopBase) September 4, 2026
Jay-Z had the crowd sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to Beyoncé at his concert tonight in London. pic.twitter.com/RejruFG0wN
— Pop Base (@PopBase) September 4, 2026
Jay-Z at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium played:
‘Intro ‘(with Idris Elba) (American Gangster)
‘Pray’
‘Bam’
‘Jigga My Nigga’
‘Izzo (H.O.V.A.)’
‘Beach Is Better’
‘Fuckwithmeyouknowigotit’
‘Jigga What, Jigga Who’
‘Run This Town’
‘On to the Next One’
‘Empire State of Mind’
‘Family Feud’
‘U Don’t Know’
‘Dead Presidents’
‘Where I’m From’
‘Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)’
‘Lucifer’
‘No Church in the Wild’ (JAY Z & Kanye West song)
‘Can I Live’
’99 Problems’
‘Girls, Girls, Girls’ / ’03 Bonnie & Clyde’
‘Excuse Me Miss’ / ‘La-La-La’ (Excuse Me Miss Again) / ‘I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)’
‘Dirt Off Your Shoulder’
‘I Know’
‘Never Change’
‘Song Cry’
‘GOD DID’ (DJ Khaled cover)
‘Talkin the Hardest’ (Giggs cover) (with Giggs)
‘Heart of the City (Ain’t No Love)’ (includes 9/11 Freestyle)
‘Ready or Not’ (Fugees cover) (with Fugees)
‘Killing Me Softly With His Song’ (Lori Lieberman cover) (with Fugees)
‘Fu-Gee-La’ (Fugees cover) (with Fugees)
‘Niggas in Paris’ (JAY Z & Kanye West song)
‘Public Service Announcement’
‘Big Pimpin”
‘Numb / Encore’ (Jay-Z and Linkin Park cover)
Jay-Z’s shows kicked off with three nights at Yankee Stadium in New York City that featured Beyoncé, Alicia Keys, Usher, Eminem, Nas, Pharrell Williams, Rihanna, Slick Rick, Fat Joe, Jadakiss, Teyana Taylor and many more as surprise guests.
After the London shows, the rapper will head to Paris on September 10, before going back across the pond for gigs in Los Angeles on October 23 and 24. Visit here for tickets.
For a while now, there has been speculation that he is working on the follow-up to his last album – 2017’s ‘4:44’ – however, friend and collaborator Cash Cobain has dismissed rumours and said that the rapper told him recently that he is “absolutely not dropping an album” anytime soon (via Variety).
Jay-Z recently dropped a new song with Eminem and Rakim, though – their first partnership in 25 years – and also delivered his first original rap verse in four years on a new remix of Beyoncé’s ‘Morning Dew (Donk)’.
A new docuseries about Jay-Z has been confirmed for a MUBI release, too, and it will see the rapper digging back into his catalogue while in conversation with Rick Rubin about his life, career, and music.
