Jay-Z has finished his final series of concerts at Yankee Stadium this summer, and his final show certainly brought some surprises, both positive and negative.
The Brooklyn-born rapper completed his series of shows at the infamous baseball stadium over the weekend, but his final show on Sunday was a notable one for various reasons, one of which was that the concert had an extremely delayed start time due to security issues. After fans waited in the heat for approximately four hours, many of them felt that the musician made up for the malfunction, bringing two icons, Beyoncé and Rihanna, on stage for a surprise performance. Read more about the eventful show below.
@astoldbytaeee can you tell by my reaction i wasn’t excited to see Rihanna @Rihanna @Roc Nation @Fenty Beauty #rihanna #jayz #yankeestadium #concert #fyp ♬ original sound – taeee | NYC
Jay-Z Puts On Final Yankee Stadium Show With A Four-Hour Delay
Summer concerts for major and minor artists have been underway, and there’s been a handful of musicians who have been making comebacks with eventful summer tours this year. One of those artists is the record-breaking rapper, Jay-Z, who is performing in a string of standalone shows at major venues this year.
Most notably, given he’s an extremely famous New York native, the “Empire State Of Mind” artist put on three jam-packed shows at Yankee Stadium, garnering attention from fans not just in his home state but from all around the world. Though the shows were considered rather successful, there was a significant issue with the third and final show on Sunday, July 12th.
The show at the major baseball stadium was delayed by nearly four hours on Sunday, July 12th, after a security issue outside the venue caused venue officials and security guards to temporarily lock down entrances, which subsequently put the entire event on hold. According to the Associated Press, hundreds of people without tickets tried to force their way into the venue, stopping further entry and operations until it was sorted out, as those already in the venue and waiting outside had to wait for the show to start in the summer heat.
@exploringwithjenng Beyonce and Jay Z performing Drunk in Love – night 3 at Yankee stadium. EPIC!
Fans React To The Delayed Show After Jay-Z Brings Beyoncé & Rihanna On Stage
Though the show undoubtedly had a rough start with its security-related three-to-four-hour delay, not only did the dad-of-three do his best to make up for it with his own performance and an apologetic speech for attendees, but he also had a few surprises up his sleeve.
During the performance, he brought on a slew of special guests, like Usher, Pharrell Williams, and Teyana Taylor. However, things really heated up when he brought on two of the most famous women in his industry, including his wife, Beyoncé, and his friend and collaborator, Rihanna. The couple performed their hit song, “Drunk In Love,” and the Fenty founder’s rare performance of Run This Town,” and another hit had the audience cheering.
After the show came to an end and the weekend fizzled out, there was a lot of discussion circling the delay and the concert as a whole on social media. As attendees began chiming in, it seemed that all of the excitement surrounding the special guests, especially Beyoncé and Rihanna, seemed to have helped them forget about the delayed start time.
One attendee garnered a lot of attention on Instagram after calling the evening “one of the greatest shows she had ever been to.”
“The stories we will tell!” added a concertgoer. “You truly had to be there.”
“It was worth every minute we waited,” commented an Instagram user. “Iconic.”
“I definitely agree, just wish I would have gotten proper rest before attending,” added another. “Was dragging by the time he came out. But just like mostly everybody, once it did start, people forgot about that 4:30hr wait (somewhat). But the show was [fire], definitely worth the wait.”
