After over 20 years since the iconic event, the entire JAY-Z performance at Hot 97’s 2001 Summer Jam concert has been released.
Courtesy of Hip Hop VCR, the nearly one-hour footage captures Jiggman performing his early hits including “Hard Knock Life”, “What’s My Name”, “Big Pimpin”, and “I Just Wanna Love U”. He also was joined on stage by his his Roc-A-Fella camp, Missy Elliott, violinist Miri Ben-Ari, and more.
With his Blueprint album due in a few months at the time, Hov previewed some music off the classic LP. At about the 6 minute mark, Hov debuted his Mobb Deep and Nas diss record, “Takeover”, while displaying a rare vintage photo of Prodigy on the jumbotron. The record sparked a feud from both sides and it became one of hip hop’s most legendary battles.
Closing out the memorable performance, Jay brought out his surprise guest Michael Jackson at about the 51 minute mark. The King Of Pop did not perform but instead blew kisses and said to the crowd, “I love you very much” before exiting the stage. Jay then proceeded into the Blueprint‘s first single, “IZZO (H.O.V.A.)”, which notably samples The Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back”.
The historic event took place at New York’s Nassau Coliseum on June 28, 2001 with acts Destiny’s Child, OutKast, Ludacris, Nelly, Eve, and more.
