It is now known that Jay-Z’s eagerly awaited third “Extra Innings” show at Yankee Stadium was delayed by nearly three hours due to a security breach at the gates that left thousands of people trapped outside as they were slowly admitted by security. The parade didn’t start until after midnight ET Monday morning and ended with celebratory fireworks around 2:45 a.m
But the excitement of the packed crowd had not waned by the time Jay-Z finally took the stage, as the crowd was dazzled by surprise guest performances from Rihanna — who made a rare musical appearance — as well as from Beyoncé, Jesy, Clips and more.
Most of the audience stayed through the show, and partygoers could be heard commuting home on the subway thinking about how Jay-Z’s best three-night show was, and excitedly recounting how they saw Rihanna and Beyoncé.
Until the show suddenly started at around 12:21 a.m. ET, it wasn’t clear whether the concert would take place. The stadium was mostly filled by 9:30 p.m., with fans wearing merchandise to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Jay-Z’s iconic album. Reasonable doubt. At 9:45 p.m., a voice over a loudspeaker thanked people for their patience and said they were still trying to move everyone safely.
However, over the next two hours, patient but frustrated fans received few updates other than consistent messages from security officials that they wanted to wait for everyone who had bought a ticket to enter. In chatting with concert goers, security officials mentioned people rushing at the gate and how slowly people are being let in. However, the crowd inside remained quiet, staying put and mostly staying in their seats when they didn’t take advantage of the delay to visit the concession stands and bathrooms.
However, 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 the Hoffa chant just before 11 p.m. A rumor began circulating that Kanye “Ye” West, Jay-Z’s former close collaborator and has since been estranged from him, would be making an appearance, after Jay was performing some of their songs. Watch the throne collaborations (not to mention previous works produced by West) the previous two nights.
However, as the clock approached midnight, and fans also heard that Jay-Z was supposed to end the show by midnight, confusion reigned with many people suspecting the concert might be cancelled.
At around 11:45 p.m., there was another update, saying that they were still trying to get people in safely and that safety was the most important thing for the organizers and Jay. Then, at 12:21 a.m., the lights went out and a video of Beyoncé cutting Jay-Z’s hair at Friday night’s show appeared on the onstage video screens. It was happening!
Jay-Z soon took to the stage to lead a large crowd through “Brooklyn’s Finest.” After the lively kick-off, he took a few minutes to apologize for the delay and explain it, saying in part that he didn’t want people to be “trampled” and citing safety concerns behind the delay as organizers had to deal with crowd control given there were “10,000 people outside”.
However, he promised, “I’ve got some things for you,” indicating that the offer was worth the wait.
Hoffa delivered. While fans were originally speculating whether West would show up, there was an appearance by arguably the elusive singer and 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 emerged backstage at “Run This Town,” another West collaboration, the crowd exploded.
She then performed a solo version of “Bitch Better Have My Money” and left the stage, and was later escorted off the field through the audience around 1:45 a.m.
Before Rihanna, fans got their first performance of “Dirt Off Your Shoulder” at the three-night show and a guest appearance from Teyana Taylor, performing Mary J. Blige’s part of Beyoncé’s “Can’t Knock the Hustle” during the first night; Jermaine Dupri performs “Money Ain’t a Thang”, with the audience enthusiastically singing the opening lines of the song Vol. 2… hard life track before Dupri takes the stage); Jeezy. dream; And an eyebrow.
The extensive setlist spanning the decades (45 songs!) included a mix of hits and deeper cuts including tracks from Reasonable doubt and Schemealbums were celebrated the previous two evenings, plus more The black album What he had performed on those previous outings.
During “99 Problems,” another first at Yankee Stadium, which was greeted enthusiastically by the sleep-deprived crowd, video taken by helicopter from inside the stadium and broadcast on the screen behind Jay-Z showed the crowd still packed.
Jay-Z also welcomed Swizz Beatz, with the two performing a cover of DMX’s “Ruff Ryders’ Anthem” with enthusiastic support from the crowd, kicking off a series of songs that ended with the more recent hit “On to the Next One.” Pharrell Williams returned for a multi-song set, including their collaboration “Frontin’,” in Echo of Saturday night’s performance. Jay and Pharrell also brought out Clipse to loud cheers for “Grindin’.”
When Jay-Z asked the crowd around 2 a.m. if they were ready to go home, the crowd responded with a resounding “no.”
The encore began with another appearance by Queen B, who exited during the night and returned with the Lebanese dance group Al-Mayass. She was sporting a Yankee fan summer outfit and took care of her pinstripes on Friday night, as she performed “Drunk in Love.”
The pair shared a kiss on stage before Beyoncé once again expressed her support to the crowd. “I love you all so much,” she said. “I appreciate your loyalty to this man here.”
Then, after what had been the previous nights’ closing tracks, “Ni**as in Paris” to “Big Pimpin’,” Hov continued the show with “Empire State of Mind,” along with guest appearances from Fat Joe and Jadakiss on “New York,” then “Lucifer” and “Encore.”
The three-night stand was capped off by celebratory fireworks, which could be seen shooting off from Yankee Stadium at 2:45 a.m. Monday.
On “Izzo”, Jay changed one of the lyrics to reference the fact that the show didn’t start on time, and joked several times throughout the show that they would go on until 5am. But toward the end of the more than two-hour concert, he found himself musing, “It was a night. We’re just enjoying the night. It’s one of those legendary nights.”
