By now it’s well-known that Jay-Z‘s third and eagerly anticipated “Extra Innings” show at Yankee Stadium was delayed by roughly three hours due to a security breach at the gates that led to thousands of people being trapped outside as they were slowly admitted by security. The show didn’t begin until after midnight ET Monday morning and ended with celebratory fireworks around 2:45 a.m.
But the enthusiasm from the packed crowd hadn’t dampened by the time Jay-Z finally took the stage, as the audience went wild for surprise guest performances from Rihanna — who made a rare concert appearence — as well as from Beyoncé, Jeezy, Clipse and more.
Most of the audience stayed through the show, and concertgoers commuting home on the subway could be heard musing about how it was the best show of Jay-Z’s three-night run, excitedly recounting how they saw Rihanna and Beyoncé.
Until the show suddenly kicked off around 12:21 a.m. ET, it wasn’t clear if the concert would even happen. The stadium was mostly filled by the expected 9:30 p.m. start time, with fans donning merch to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Jay-Z’s seminal album Reasonable Doubt. At 9:45 p.m., a voice over the loudspeaker thanked people for their patience and said they were still trying to get everyone in safely.
Over the next two hours, though, patient but frustrated fans received few updates apart from consistent messaging from security officials that they wanted to wait for everyone who had purchased a ticket to get in. Chatting with concertgoers, security officials mentioned people rushing the gate and how people were now being let in slowly. The crowd inside remained calm, though, sticking around and mostly staying in their seats when they weren’t taking advantage of the delay to visit the concession stands and the restrooms.
Still, there were scattered expressions of frustration and confusion among concertgoers (“This is crazy,” one fan said, likely voicing the thoughts of many people in the audience.) And there were some brief boos amid a “Hova” chant before 11 p.m. A rumor began spreading that Kanye “Ye” West, Jay-Z’s former close collaborator from whom he’s since become estranged, would be appearing, after Jay had been performing some of their Watch the Throne collabs (not to mention earlier work that West had produced) on the previous two nights.
Still, as the clock creeped closer to midnight, and fans also heard that supposedly Jay-Z had to end the show by midnight, confusion reigned with many people suspecting the concert might get canceled.
Around 11:45 p.m. there was another update, saying they were still trying to get people inside safely and that safety was the most important thing to organizers and Jay. Then, at 12:21 a.m., the lights went down and the video of Beyoncé cutting Jay-Z’s hair that kicked on Friday night’s show appeared on the video screens onstage. It was happening!
Jay-Z quickly took the stage leading a hyped up crowd through “Brooklyn’s Finest.” After the high-energy kickoff, he took a few minutes to apologize for and explain the delay, saying in part that he didn’t want people to get “trampled,” noting safety concerns behind the delay as organizers had to deal with crowd control given that there were “10,000 people outside.”
Still he promised “I got some shit for you,” suggesting the show would be worth the wait.
And Hova delivered. While fans were originally speculating if West would show, there was an appearance from an arguably more elusive performer and close Jay-Z collaborator, Rihanna, performing live for the first time in more than two years, and more than 10 years after her Anti world tour in 2016. When she walked out from backstage on “Run This Town,” another West collab, the crowd went wild.
She then delivered a solo version of “Bitch Better Have My Money” and left the stage, later being led out of the stadium, through the audience, around 1:45 a.m.
Before Rihanna, fans got their first performance of “Dirt Off Your Shoulder” in the three-night run and guest appearances from Teyana Taylor, performing the Mary J. Blige portion of “Can’t Knock the Hustle” that Beyoncé delivered during night one; Jermaine Dupri on “Money Ain’t a Thang,” with the crowd enthusiastically rapping the opening lines from the Vol. 2 … Hard Knock Life track before Dupri took the stage); Jeezy; The-Dream; and Usher.
Usher onstage with Jay-Z early Monday morning.
Courtesy of Roc Nation
The extensive, decades-spanning setlist (45 songs!) featured a mix of hits and deeper cuts including tracks from Reasonable Doubt and The Blueprint, albums celebrated on the previous two evenings, as well as more of The Black Album than he’d performed on those previous outings.
During “99 Problems,” another first at the Yankee Stadium shows, enthusiastically received by the sleep-deprived crowd, helicopter-captured video from inside the stadium broadcast on the screen behind Jay-Z showed that the audience was still packed.
Jay-Z also welcomed Swizz Beatz, with the two performing a cover of the late DMX’s “Ruff Ryders’ Anthem” with enthusiastic backing from the audience, as the kick-off to a string of tracks that ended with the more recent hit “On to the Next One.” Pharrell Williams returned for a multi-song set, including their collab “Frontin’,” in an echo of Saturday night’s performance. Jay and Pharrell also brought out the Clipse, to loud cheers, for “Grindin’.”
When Jay-Z asked the audience around 2 a.m. if they were ready to go home, the crowd responded with a resounding “no.”
The encore kicked off with another appearance from Queen Bey, who came out during night one and returned with Lebanese dance group the Mayyas. Sporting a summery Yankee fan look after her pinstripe attire Friday night, she performed “Drunk in Love.”
The married couple shared a kiss onstage before Beyoncé again expressed her support for the audience. “I love you all so much,” she said. “I appreciate your loyalty to this man right here.”
Thenm after what had been the closing tracks on the previous nights, “Ni**as in Paris” into “Big Pimpin’,” Hov kept the show going with “Empire State of Mind,” along with guest appearances from Fat Joe and Jadakiss on “New York,” and then “Lucifer” and “Encore.”
The three-night stand was capped by celebratory fireworks, which could be seen shooting off from Yankee Stadium at 2:45 a.m. Monday morning.
On “Izzo,” Jay altered one of the lyrics to address the fact that the show hadn’t begun on time, and he quipped multiple times throughout the show that they’d go until 5 a.m. But near the end of the more-than-two-hour concert he just found himself musing, “It’s been a night. We’re just enjoying the night. It’s one of those legendary nights.”
