Jay-Z wrapped his two-night London stand on Saturday (Sept. 5) showing the past, present, and future of hip-hop with some special guests for his across-the-pond crowd.
The 56-year-old emcee opened Night 2 of the JAY-Z30 Tour at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with the 4:44 cut "Bam” before launching into some of his hits, including “Jigga My N***a,” “Fuckwithmeyouknowigotit,” “Empire State of Mind,” and “Hard Knock Life.”
Sampha was the first guest to appear, taking the stage to sing Frank Ocean’s hook on "No Church in the Wild."
Hometown hero Dave drew the evening's loudest reaction, popping out to perform "Raindance," his hit with Tems. "London, make some noise for the young legend tonight, Dave!" Jay-Z told the crowd.
One of the more striking visual moments came midway through the show, when a helicopter passed over the stadium and swept a white spotlight across the crowd as Jay-Z performed "99 Problems."
Jay-Z also took time to recognize his personal tie to the UK and gave props to Jaz-O, his early mentor and collaborator who first introduced him to the UK market, and reflected on the trips the two made to London together in the early days of his career. “He brought me out to London. We stayed two months in a flat in Nottingham, and my whole life changed. I knew it was a bigger world for me out there.”
The full 34-song set closed with "Numb/Encore,” his first time playing the Linkin Park collaboration since 2017 after lead singer Chester Bennington died by suicide.
Night 1 on Friday set a high bar: Lauryn Hill and Wyclef Jean came together for a three-song Fugees segment, Giggs performed "Talkin the Hardest," Idris Elba delivered a spoken-word intro, and Jay-Z led the crowd in singing happy birthday to Beyonce, who watched from a private suite.
The JAY-Z30 Tour, built around the 30th anniversary of Reasonable Doubt, moves to Paris' Stade de France on September 10, then to SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles on October 23 and 24.
For more on the first night's guests and moments, check it out here.
