S. Samuel
New York heavyweights Nas, Nicki Minaj, 50 Cent and more have been announced to headline popular radio station Hot 97's annual Summer Jam this June.
The renowned station announced its star-studded line-up Wednesday (April 2).
The lineup for the stadium stage includes Nas (who will perform Illmatic in full), Nicki Minaj, Lil Wayne, and YMCMB, The Roots and friends, 50 Cent, Action Bronson, YG, Ty Dolla $ign, and DJ Mustard, Wiz Khalifa, Trey Songz, Troy Ave, Bunji Garlin, and Kid Ink among others. Meanwhile, the festival stage promises Childish Gambino, Jhene Aiko, Iggy Azalea, and Nipsey Hussle, among others. (Consequence of Sound)
Last year, Hot 97’s Summer Jam lived up to its hype with non-stop rap star performances.
Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj, Mariah Carey and Lil Kim were among the guest stars of Sunday’s Summer Jam XX at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. Kendrick Lamar, 2 Chainz, A$AP Rocky and French Montana performed sets that electrified the excited crowd. Wu-Tang Clan hit the stage and were solid, though the energy of the audience — filled with a good number of twentysomethings — dwindled throughout the set. (Billboard)
Although dominated by hip-hop acts, R&B singers Chris Brown and Miguel held things down for their genre last year.
Similarly, the lone R&B artists — Chris Brown and Miguel — were able to hold their own amongst female fans, but when Miguel brought out Mariah Carey for a duet of their new single “Beautiful,” the crowd responded with excitement at the sight of the Daisy Duke-clad songstress. Brown brought out rapper Sean Kingston, who has been out of the limelight since a serious jet skiing accident and heart surgery derailed him in 2011, for a duet of their new song “Beat It.” (NY Daily News)
Outside of throwbacks like Lil’ Kim taking the stage, diehard hip-hop heads were treated to a live performance from the Wu-Tang Clan.
Wu-Tang Clan, who also celebrated 20 years in music Sunday, showed no signs of slowing down with a set that felt both fresh and nostalgic. Too bad the crowd didn’t think so. The young audience grew excited during small parts of the rap group’s set, and Ghostface Killah, Method Man, RZA, Raekwon and the other members seemed to notice. “All we ask is that the energy we give to you, give it back to us,” Method Man told the crowd. “I think New York forgot about us a little, man,” RZA said later. Despite some of the crowd’s disinterest in the veteran group, they blazed the stage, performing jams like “Wu-Tang Clan Ain’t Nuthing ta (Expletive) Wit,” “Da Mystery of Chessboxin'” and “C.R.E.A.M.” (Huffington Post)
The concert takes place Sunday, June 1st at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ.
