Jaÿ-Z transformed Yankee Stadium into hip-hop’s biggest stage last weekend, celebrating three decades of his storied career with three consecutive nights of music and special guests.
Before his first show officially kicked off last Friday (July 10), Jaÿ showed a video of himself sitting in the stadium stands while his wife, Beyoncé, cut his hair and recreated his classic low-cut Caesar look. The entire show was dedicated to commemorating the 30th anniversary of his debut album Reasonable Doubt.
Performing the classic record in its entirety, Hov was aided by special guests including Bey, who kicked off the show by performing Mary J. Blige’s part in “Can’t Knock The Hustle.” Nas then joined him on a medley of “Dead Presidents” and other songs, before Hough and Bay’s eldest son Blue Ivy took the stage to play piano for “Feelin’ It.” Memphis Bleek and Jaz-O also took the stage, and Alicia Keys performed “Empire State of Mind” for the final encore.
The second night of July 11th begins promptly at 9:11pm, with the evening commemorating the 25th anniversary of The Blueprint, which was released on the fateful day of September 11th, 2001. While Hough performed most of the album in its entirety, it’s worth noting that Hough chose not to perform Nasdeath’s song “The Takeover.”
Special guests on night two included Slick Rick from “The Ruler’s Back,” Eminem from “Renegade,” and a medley of Pharrell Williams that started with “Excuse Me Miss.” Of the three nights, the second night had the shortest show at just under two hours.
The show set the record for the most tickets sold for a Yankee Stadium concert, with 45,832 tickets sold, breaking his previous record of 44,916 tickets set the night before.
The third night on July 12 was called overtime, a tribute to his career hit. The final show was marred by lengthy delays after fans swarmed outside Yankee Stadium after a security breach forced officials to block the entrance. Jaÿ later apologized to fans after the show started and told everyone safety was the top priority to prevent anyone from being trampled on.
Hough didn’t take the stage until after midnight, but he made up for it with a show for ticket holders. For more than two hours, he played “Reasonable Doubt,” “The Blueprint,” “The Black Album” and more.
Night three was the longest show and had the longest guest list, with performers including Jeezy, Teyana Taylor, Usher, Jermaine Dupri, The-Dream, Usher, Pharrell, The Clipse, Swizz Beatz, Rihanna, Beyoncé (this time with her dancers), and Fat Joe and Jadakiss.
Relive all three shows below with each night’s setlist and video.
Watch Jaÿ-Z’s first night set and highlights at Yankee Stadium
“Can’t Knock the Hustle/Love On Top” by Beyoncé
‘Politics as usual’
“Made in the USA (Freestyle)”
“Best in Brooklyn”
“I love dough”
“Dead President” starring Nas
“The World Is Yours” starring Nas
“NY State of Mind” starring Nas
“Where I’m From” starring Nas
“Feelin’ It” by Blue Ivy on piano)
“demon”
“There is no church in the wild”
“Can I survive?”
“Jiga my nigga”
“This ain’t nigga”
“Sorry Miss”
“22 Twos”
“Friend or Foe/Friend or Foe ’98”
“Coming Of Age” starring Memphis Black
“Cashmere Thoughts”
“lure”
“Bring It On” by Jaz-O
“Pity”
“Encore”
“Empire State of Mind” starring Alicia Keys
“you do not know”
“The Best Me”
“whistle”
“La la la (sorry, missed it again)”
“Watch out boys”
“Change the game”
“Do it again (hands up)”
“You, Me, Him, Her”
“Roc Boys (The winner is…)”
Public Service Announcement
“Gas in Paris”
“Big Pimp”≈
Check out the setlist and highlights from Jaÿ-Z’s second night of shows at Yankee Stadium
“The Ruler’s Back” with Slick Rick
“take over”
“Izzo(HOVA)”
“Girls, girls, girls/’03 Bonnie & Clyde/Jigga That N**ga”
“you do not know”
“Hello Hovito”
“Heart of the City (Without Love)”
“Never Change”
“Singing and Crying”
“Everything I need”
“Renegade” by Eminem
“Lose Yourself” with Eminem
“Blueprint (Mom Loves Me)”
“Empire Mentality”
“Excuse Me Miss” starring Pharrell
“LA-LA-LA (Excuse Me Again)” by Pharrell
“I Just Wanna Love You” (Give It 2 Me) by Pharrell
“Frontin'” starring Ferrell
“Allure” starring Ferrell
Public Service Announcement
“Gas in Paris”
“Big Pimp”
Check out Jaÿ-Z’s set list and highlights from Night 3 at Yankee Stadium
“Introduction to Dynasty”
“Best in Brooklyn”
“Where I Come From”
“Wipe the dirt off your shoulders”
“I know”
“you do not know”
“Can’t Knock the Hustle” by Teyana Taylor
“Money Ain’t A Thang” by Jermaine Dupri
“Seen It All” by Jeezy
“Go Crazy” by Jeezy
“Hello Hovito”
“Heart of the City (Not Without Love)” starring Usher
“Part 2 (The Escape)” starring Usher
“Never Change”
“Singing and Crying”
“Isa (H OVA)”
“Beach is better”
“Fuck me you know”
“N**ga What, N**ga Who” (Originator ’99)
“No Church in the Wild” features The-Dream
“group”
“Run This Town” by Rihanna
“B*tch Better Have My Money” by Rihanna
“The Dead President”
“Can I survive?”
“Girls, girls, girls”
“03 Bonnie and Clyde”
“99 Questions”
“Rav Ryders’ Anthem/Welcome to the Jungle/So Shocked (Interlude)” by Swizz Beatz
Included in “Jigga My N**ga”. Swizz Betz
“On to the Next One” by Swizz Beatz
“This ain’t nigga”
“Excuse Me Miss” starring Pharrell
“La La La (Sorry Again)” by Pharrell
“I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)” by Pharrell
“Frontin'” starring Ferrell
“Allure” starring Ferrell
“Grindin'” by Clipse and Pharrell
“Drunk in Love/Tom Ford” starring Beyoncé
“Gas in Paris”
“The Big Pippin”
Public Service Announcement
“Empire Mentality”
“New York” starring Fat Joe and Jadakiss
“Dear Summer”
“Lucifer”
“Shake the Dirt Off Your Shoulders (Reprise)”
“Numb/Encore”
