S. Samuel
Rap mogul Jay-Z fused hip-hop and rock over the weekend when he took to his Made In America stage and performed "99 Problem" alongside iconic band Pearl Jam to close out the event.
In addition to rocking together, Pearl Jam also performed their own hit records Sunday (September 2) night.
If closing out a two-day festival with an intense two-hour set wasn’t enough for Pearl Jam, then bringing out the man who organized it sealed the deal. Jay-Z joined the group for its second-to-last encore Sunday with a rocking version of his signature hit “99 Problems.” While Jay closed out the first night of the Budweiser Made in America Festival, he handed the torch to the Seattle-based band grunge rockers and they did not disappoint. Their 25-song set saw tens of thousands of fans jumping, dancing, and singing on the muggy September night to the band’s well-known tracks like “Alive,” “Better Man,” and “Jeremy.” (Huffington Post)
Yesterday, Young Hov also relied on Run-DMC to help bring some throwback vibes to the Philadelphia concert.
Reunited rappers Run-DMC, whose two principals hadn’t performed together in 13 years – their DJ Jam Master Jay die in 2002 – were the biggest crowd pleasers of the day. Rappers Darryl McDaniels and Joseph Simmons set off the crowd with 1980s rock power-chord boosted bangers like “it’s Tricky,” “My Adidas” and of course, their trailblazing Aerosmith collaboration “Walk This Way.” (Joe Perry and Steven Tyler were only, heard, and not seen, at Made In America, however.) In a touching interlude, the group handed over the wheels of steel to Jam Master Jay’s two sons Jason Mizell Jr. and TJ Mizell, both of whom grew up to be Deejays. For an added thrill, the big video screens showed Jay-Z and Beyonce moving through the crowd during the old school rappers’ set. (Philly)
Along with Pearl Jam and Run-DMC, Young Money star Drake stole the show Sunday night.
During a festival that operated like clockwork, Drake came out five minutes early. The rapper’s meteoric rise and two massively successful albums earned him a mainstage spot headlining for Pearl Jam, and he rifled through a medley of hits in front of easily the largest crowd of the day. Dressed all in white, he delivered the same levels of melodrama live as on his records, with the wailing guitar solos and cymbal crashes only adding to the display of emotion on stage. “I don’t need no water, I don’t need a break. I’m ready to do this,” he told the crowd, before bringing out collaborator 2 Chainz to drop a raucous version of summer smash No Lie. 2 Chainz hijacked the stage to perform Spend It, and minutes after he walked off the stage, Drake introduced French Montana to perform Pop That. (USA Today)
On Friday, Philadelphia rapper Freeway gave SOHH a hint at what Jigga could have in store for the music festival.
“Just be there, man, that’s all I’m going to say,” Freeway told SOHH. “It’s going to be electrifying. I know I’m gonna be there. Just be there, man. It’s just good to see all different types of genres of music come together. It’s good to see people doing something positive and it’s good. I’m a part of it no matter what. I’m a part of it Roc-A-Fella’s history. You can’t mention Roc-A-Fella without me and I’m a party of Philadelphia history. You can’t mention Philadelphia music without me, so, it’s big for me, it means a lot to me, you know? I’m happy that it’s going down.” (SOHH)
Check out footage from Jay-Z’s performance below:
