Alicia Keys tapped JAY-Z to perform their iconic 2009 collaboration “Empire State of Mind” at Sunday night’s 2024 Tony Awards. The event was held at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City. “Are we in New York tonight? Are we at the Tony Awards tonight? Gotta do some crazy stuff. This is my hometown,” Keys said, introducing the show.
From there, the camera cuts to JAY-Z performing his song outside the venue. Soon after, Case joined him on the chorus. As for the awards show itself, Hell’s Kitchen, the musical inspired by Keys Records, was nominated. It details Case’s childhood in Manhattan in the 1990s.
Alicia Keys and JAY-Z perform at Tony Awards
NEW YORK, NY – JUNE 16: Jay-Z and Alicia Keys perform at the 77th Annual Tony Awards at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center on June 16, 2024 in New York City . (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Tony Awards Production)
“Empire State of Mind”, a collaboration between Keys and JAY-Z, is the single from the latter’s 11th studio album “The Blueprint 3”. 100 No. 1 on the leaderboard. It was also nominated for three Grammy Awards, winning both Best Rap Song and Best Rap/Song Collaboration. Check out Keys and JAY-Z’s performance of the song at the Tony Awards below.
Alicia Keys brings JAY-Z to Tony Awards
Prior to the performance, Keys appeared to tease about an upcoming collaboration with the legendary rapper. In a post on social media, she wrote: “1 dream, 1 song, 1 billion live streams [prayer hands emojis]. Thank you! we love you. What’s next…. [eyes emoji] [shushing emoji]” Stay tuned for further updates on Alicia Keys and JAY-Z and the HotNewHipHop Tony Awards.
About the author
Cole Blake is currently the editor of HotNewHipHop in Brooklyn, New York. He started interning at the site in 2018 while studying journalism at St. John’s University. Since then, he has graduated with a bachelor’s degree and has written extensively on popular culture, film and television, politics, video games, sports, and other topics. He has also covered music festivals such as Gov. Ball and Rolling Loud. You can find him publishing for HNHH Monday through Wednesday or on the weekends. In terms of sports, Cole is an avid fan of the NBA and NFL, and his favorite teams are the Indianapolis Colts and Los Angeles Lakers. He also cheers on the Yankees whenever he appears at Yankee Stadium or Red Storm Stadium with other SJU alumni. His favorite hip-hop artists are Billy Woods, Earl Sweatshirt, Cam’ron, MIKE and Mach-Hommy.
