Jay-Z wrapped up his three-night New York anniversary run with one of the biggest concerts of the year, pulling out all the stops at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx to deliver a show fans will be talking about for years. Jay Z’s concert sent fans into a frenzy after inviting Rihanna on stage for performance. The concert on Sunday, 13 July, did not kick off until 12:16am due to a major crowd surge outside the venue that forced organisers to temporarily lock the gates. Thousands of ticket holders were left waiting in the streets for hours before the rapper eventually walked onstage to address the situation directly. “It was like 10,000 people outside, and they closed all the doors. And somebody rushed the door, and they closed the door for you guys’ safety and everybody’s safety outside,” Jay-Z told the crowd. “If there’s 10,000 people outside, I’m not going to start music, and people get trampled. I’m really sorry for the inconvenience, but I had to make sure everybody’s okay.”
Beyoncé and Rihanna light up the stage Once the show finally got going, the delays were quickly forgotten. Beyoncé joined her husband onstage, and the two delivered a charged performance of their 2013 hit Drunk in Love, sending the crowd into an absolute frenzy. It was not Beyoncé’s first appearance at the residency either she had helped open the very first night of the series, singing along to Mary J. Blige’s part on Can’t Knock the Hustle. Rihanna’s arrival was arguably the night’s most unexpected moment. The Barbadian superstar, who has not released a studio album since 2016, stormed the stage to perform Run This Town alongside Jay-Z before launching into her own hit B Better Have My Money, drawing one of the loudest reactions of the entire evening. Subscribe to watch new videos An all-star finale at Yankee Stadium The final show quickly transformed into something closer to a music festival than a solo concert. Usher, Pharrell Williams, Swizz Beatz, Jeezy, Teyana Taylor, Clipse, The Dream, Fat Joe, Jadakiss and Jermaine Dupri all made surprise appearances across the night’s marathon set, which eventually wrapped up around 3 a.m. ET.
The Jay-Z 30 concert series marks 30 years since his 1996 debut album “Reasonable Doubt” and also honours the 25th anniversary of “The Blueprint,” released on 11 September 2001. The first night celebrated “Reasonable Doubt” and featured Blue Ivy and Alicia Keys among the guests, while the second night paid tribute to “The Blueprint” with Eminem and Pharrell Williams in attendance. Sunday’s finale, billed as “EXTRA INNINGS,” combined elements of both shows to meet the overwhelming demand from fans. Jay-Z is set to take the anniversary series to Paris on 10 September and London on 4 September a date that happens to fall on Beyoncé’s birthday before heading to Los Angeles on 23 October.
