Rihanna, Beyoncé, Usher, Pharrell, Clipse, Swizz Beatz, Teyana Taylor, Jeezy, Jermaine Dupri, The-Dream, Fat Joe and Jadakiss all walked out during the Jay-Z Yankee Stadium finale on Sunday night, closing a three night Bronx run that ended with fireworks over the outfield as the clock pushed toward 3 a.m. Monday. The show, billed as “Extra Innings,” was the one night with no album to honor and no script to follow.
Rihanna was the moment. She emerged deep into the set, slung the hook on “Run This Town,” then ran through “Bitch Better Have My Money” on her own. She told the stadium she missed this, and she meant it. Her last full tour, the Anti World Tour, wrapped in November 2016. Since then she has surfaced onstage only a handful of times, most famously the 2023 Super Bowl Halftime Show where she revealed her second pregnancy mid performance, and her rendition of “Lift Me Up” at the 2023 Academy Awards. Everything else has gone into Fenty and into her family. So watching her walk out for the man who signed her to Def Jam at seventeen years old in 2005 was more than a guest spot. It was a receipt. Fans had already sensed something was coming after she was spotted around New York in Roc-A-Fella gear in the days leading up to the show.
Beyoncé returned for a saucy run through “Drunk in Love,” her second appearance of the weekend after opening the entire residency on Friday. That night she subbed in for Mary J. Blige on “Can’t Knock the Hustle” while Blige was booked at her Las Vegas residency. On the finale, that same song went to Teyana Taylor, who took the hook and made it hers. The Jay-Z Yankee Stadium run opened both Friday and Sunday with the same video of Beyoncé buzzing his hair, a ritual that historically signals the end of a recording cycle, which had the internet convinced a new album was coming before a single note was played.
The rest of the guest list kept coming and it did not let up. Jermaine Dupri surfaced for “Money Ain’t a Thang,” a record most of the stadium had not heard live in decades. Jeezy pulled up for “Seen It All” and “Go Crazy.” Usher handled the hook on “Heart of the City (Ain’t No Love)” and then sang “Throwback.” The-Dream took Frank Ocean’s part on “No Church in the Wild.” Swizz Beatz came through for a full Ruff Ryders era stretch that moved through “Money, Cash, Hoes,” “Ruff Ryders Anthem,” “Welcome to the Jungle,” “So Appalled,” “Jigga My N—” and “On to the Next One.”
Pharrell arrived in Louis Vuitton logo shorts and a white windbreaker and ran the medley he has earned the right to run, adding his falsetto to “Excuse Me Miss,” “La La La,” “I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me),” “Frontin’” and “Allure.” Then Clipse walked out to join him. Pusha T and Malice tore through “Grindin’” alongside one of their biggest heroes, and the look on Push’s face said everything. Around that point Jay checked the clock and asked the crowd if they were ready to go home yet. Nobody moved.
The Jay-Z Yankee Stadium finale almost did not happen on schedule. Doors opened at 6 p.m. and the show was scheduled for 8 p.m. Jay did not take the stage until 12:20 a.m., more than four hours late. The delay came from a security breach at the gates. A large group pushed through security at Gate 2 and then again at Gate 4, sending people into the stadium unchecked and forcing a lockdown. Both gates closed. Thousands of ticket holders were stuck outside with no way in. Videos circulated of people trickling through a single entrance while the lines stayed frozen. Gates did not reopen until shortly before 10 p.m., with officers posted at every entrance.
Jay addressed it directly once he got on the mic. He told the crowd there were roughly 10,000 people outside, that somebody rushed the doors, and that the venue shut everything down for safety. He said he did not want to start the music and have people get trampled, apologized for the inconvenience, and thanked the crowd for waiting. Then he ran a nearly three hour set. The frustration in the stands was real. So was the volume once the Dynasty intro hit.
The setlist itself was a career survey rather than an album run. “Brooklyn’s Finest,” “Dirt Off Your Shoulder,” “I Know,” “U Don’t Know,” “Hola Hovito,” “Never Change,” “Song Cry” and “Izzo” all landed, alongside newer fare like “Clique,” “Beach Is Better” and “FuckWithMeYouKnowIGotIt.” He went back to 1996 for “Dead Presidents” and “Can I Live,” then forward to “Girls Girls Girls” and “99 Problems.” Late in the night, Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York” came over the speakers, rolled into “Empire State of Mind,” and Jay brought out Fat Joe and Jadakiss for “New York.” He closed on “Lucifer” with fireworks lighting the Bronx sky. It was the only night of the three where the audience genuinely did not know what was coming next, which was the entire point of calling it Extra Innings.
Friday night celebrated the 30th anniversary of “Reasonable Doubt,” performed nearly in sequence, with Beyoncé, Nas, Memphis Bleek, Jaz-O and Alicia Keys all appearing, plus 14 year old Blue Ivy Carter on piano and vocals for “Feelin’ It.” Saturday honored the 25th anniversary of “The Blueprint” and brought out Slick Rick, Pharrell and Eminem, who did “Renegade” and then “Lose Yourself.” Billboard reported that the Saturday show sold 45,832 tickets, breaking the stadium record set the night before. Then Sunday delivered Rihanna. Three nights, three separate records, one borough.
This is also the most Jay-Z has performed in years. He has not run a proper tour since 4:44 wrapped in 2017. His one off headlining set at Roots Picnic in Philadelphia in May, backed by The Roots, was the signal that he was ready to move again. The Jay-Z Yankee Stadium residency confirmed it.
The run continues overseas. He plays Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on September 4, Stade de France in Paris on September 10, and SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles on October 23. A Rick Rubin directed docuseries about him is set for HBO this fall. If the Bronx was the warmup, the rest of the year is going to be loud.
