20 Legendary Hip-Hop Concert Moments

Man, you had to be there.

Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

Even in the digital age, hip-hop isn't meant to only be enjoyed on ear buds, computer speakers, and car stereos. Yes, rap history has played out on wax, on the radio, on TV, and even on YouTube. But like any genre of music, to fully experience hip-hop's power, you need to see it live.

Even if rap is often disappointing to see live, when you do go to that perfect show and see that unbelievable moment, it's something you never forget or stop talking about. There's been a ton of great hip-hop tours (Glow In The Dark, Hard Knock Life, and No Way Out all come to mind, just to name a few) but this list isn't about tours. Rather it's about those epic moments that only happen once in a blue, sometimes during a famous tour, but often not.

On stage, legends have been born, careers have been extinguished, and history has been made. We've assembled 20 Legendary Hip-Hop Concert Moments that spans the course of rap history to highlight some of the classic live performances rappers have put on. Some altered the course of rap, others merely the careers of those involved. Either way, they'll be etched in our memories—and now, hopefully, yours—forever.

Written by Alex Gale (@apexdujeous)

Kool Moe Dee Sons Busy Bee at Harlem World

Date: 12/25/1981

For all of hip-hop's iconic on-wax battles, it's amazing that there's really only one time two legends clashed onstage. In 1981, at Manhattan's Harlem World night club, Kool Moe Dee performed one of the most ruthless career dissections of all time. Taking the stage right after Busy Bee Starski, Kool Moe Dee, pissed at Bee's claims that he'll "take out any MC," proceeded to attack his predecessor point by point, dissing his name, his live show, and his trademark "bawitdabaw" chant. All Busy Bee could do was yell "shut up" on the mic helplessly. The shots stung, but Moe Dee closed the case when he broke into his revolutionary "fast rapping" style toward the end of his routine, which immediately made Busy Bee's simpler old-school styles look obsolete and outdated.

The Fantastic Five, Treacherous Three, and More Rock East River Park for Wild Style

Date: 5/1/1982

Pioneering 1983 hip-hop film, Wild Style, was capped by this real-life all-star concert filmed at an outdoor, graffiti-covered amphitheater in East River Park on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. The Fantastic Five, Treacherous Three, Double Trouble (wielding Tommy guns), the Rocksteady Crew, Busy Bee Starski, and Rammelzee performed, and Nile Rodgers even showed up to cosign Grandmixer D.St sampling "Good Times." It was only appropriate to end this legendary movie, the first to accurately capture all four elements of hip-hop intertwining in their nascent glory days, with a show that brought everyone together.

Run–D.M.C. Land Rap's First Endorsement Deal After Getting Fans To Hold Up Their Adidas

Date: 7/19/1986

Decades before Rick Ross could even dream of getting dropped by Reebok, Run-D.M.C. broke boundaries—and made serious bank—with a show at Madison Square Garden in 1986. The trio's road manager, Lyor Cohen, in one of his earliest, smartest power moves, invited Adidas exec (and former soccer star) Angelo Anastasio to see Run-D.M.C. performing at Madison Square Garden.

When the group performed "My Adidas," Run asked the crowd to hold their sneakers in the air. The sight of tens of thousands of young fans holding up their shell-toes reportedly brought Anastasio to tears, and led to him convincing his higher ups to sign the group to an unprecedented $1 million deal that included their own signature line. It was rap's first endorsement deal, kicking down doors at a time when most of the world saw hip-hop as a fad at best, and a cultural danger at worst.

Boogie Down Productions Mourn Scott La Rock at Madison Square Garden

Date: 8/28/1987

On August 27, 1987, Boogie Down Productions' Scott La Rock died after being shot in the Bronx, the first in a long line of hip-hop icons to fall victim to gun violence. The very next day, KRS, Red Alert, D-Nice, and the rest of the BDP crew performed at Madison Square Garden. After a moment of silence, a massive photograph of Scott was lowered from the rafters, the crowd erupted, and BDP performed "Poetry," from their landmark 1987 debut Criminal Minded. "Scott La Rock is innovating, decorating hip-hop," KRS rapped, opening the second verse, making it clear that was going to keep the BDP flag waving—just as Scott would've wanted him to.

2 Live Crew Arrested After Defying Judge's Obscenity Ruling

Date: 6/10/1990

When you think of a 2 Live Crew show, you probably envision freaky lyrics, booming 808s, and shaking asses in thongs. And yes, this 1990 show at Club Futura in Hollywood, Florida, had all those things. But it was more than that too. The show came shortly after a federal judge ruled the pioneering Miami bass group's album, As Nasty As They Wanna Be, obscene, meaning that it was illegal to perform it in certain areas of Florida.

Regardless, Uncle Luke and his boys defiantly performed one of their signature steamy sets in Broward County, where they'd already clashed with the authorities over their XXX antics. Three sheriffs watching from the crowd arrested Luke and another band member right after the show. An obscenity trial-and accompanying media circus-followed, but 2 Live Crew, and freedom of speech, prevailed. If anything, they won Danny Brown the right to get a blow job onstage.

2Pac and Biggie Freestyle at Madison Square Garden

Date: 10/24/1993

Live recordings are barely a factor in hip-hop, but there's one exception. Back in 1993, Big Daddy Kane invited 2Pac and his then-unknown homie Biggie Smalls (he was still called that at that point) onstage to freestyle during his set at Madison Square Garden. Mister Cee, who later ended up becoming Big's mentor, luckily had the wherewithal to press record. The result is the only truly timeless live hip-hop recording, and with the exception of DJ Kool's "Let Me Clear My Throat," the only live rap record you'll ever hear in a club. Where Brooklyn at? Everyone knows when this song comes on.

KRS-One Throws PM Dawn Off Stage

Date: 12/26/1993

It all seems quaint now, but back in 1992, being a "soft" rapper with a crossover hit and talking about another rapper in a magazine were grounds for getting your ass thrown off stage. At least if you're PM Dawn, performing at Manhattan's Sound Factory nightclub.

Weeks prior, one half of the Jersey City duo—who'd landed a major hit with the soft-as-marshmallows, Spandau Ballet–sampling "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss"—had mused to Details magazine, "KRS-One wants to be a teacher, but a teacher of what?" Bad move.

A still in-his-prime KRS and his crew ran up onstage, literally shoved Prince Be off, and then dropped "The Bridge." Needless to say, the crowd went nuts, PM Dawn was barely heard from again, and rap got a little more hardcore ("keep it real" became a catchphrase soon after). "I answered his question," KRS-One later told USA Today. "I'm a teacher of respect."

Ol' Dirty Bastard Terrorizes Roots Show at Irving Plaza

Date: 9/19/1996

This slept-on almost rap beef is classic ODB. At a 1996 show at Irving Plaza, the Roots, at the height of their run of incredible mid-to late '90s performances, invited a fresh-out-of-jail Big Baby Jesus onstage to perform some of his classics, including "Shimmy Shimmy Ya" and "Shame on a Nigga," with their backing. But ODB wasn't ready to get off the stage when the Roots wanted him to.

Swigging from two Moet bottles, he refused to give the mic back to Black Thought, and began cursing and shouting (in between hilariously giving the Roots props). The Roots tried to play him off Oscars-style, but he reportedly pulled the plug out of the keyboard.

A brief shoving match ensued between Black Thought and ODB before the latter jumped into the crowd and disappeared. Later on, backstage, as the Roots recalled on "The Juan Epstein Show," bottles were thrown and handguns were flashed. Amazingly, stories like this only make us miss Ol' Dirty even more.

Gangsta Rap Legends Old and New Reunite in Cali for Up in Smoke Tour

Date: 6/16/2000

This tour started in San Diego, but its second night in Anaheim is when its historical significance became clearest and loudest. Yes, it was one of the biggest, most successful, and most slick rap tours ever, at a time when arena tours were still a relative rarity for the genre.

But having all those generations of L.A. rap legends in one place—Dr. Dre, Warren G, Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube—just a stones throw away from L.A., the city they put on the hip-hop map, was a you-had-to-be-there moment. The crux of the night? A reunion of N.W.A. (minus Eazy-E, of course). And to top it all off, Eminem, fresh off his best album, The Marshall Mathers LP, was there too. What a lineup.

Jay-Z Unveils "Takeover," "Ballerina P," and Michael Jackson at 2001 Summer Jam

Date: 6/28/2001

It's hard to even remember Hot 97's Summer Jam before 2001, when Jay-Z made history-twice. First he debuted "Takeover," the best diss track of all time, taking mercilessly accurate shots at Nas and Prodigy—the latter supplemented by an infamously unflattering childhood pic complete with sequins and tights.

Hip-hop had simply never seen rap beef on this scale (50 was obviously taking notes); the show temporarily dimmed Mobb Deep's career and set off Hov's legendary standoff with Nas.

It was such a singular historical moment that everyone forgets the night's other highlight: Jay bringing out none other than Michael Jackson, who roamed the stage and even struck a b-boy stance. Even though Nas put Jay back on his heels with "Ether," this is arguably the night that Jay officially became the Best Rapper Alive.

Fresh-Out-of-Jail T.I. Humiliates Lil Flip at Birthday Bash 9

Date: 6/19/2004

When T.I. first started calling himself the King of the South around 2003, it seemed brashly premature. But this night in 2004, when he showed up Hot 107.9's annual Birthday Bash concert at Atlanta's Wifi Buys Amphitheater, was when his boast became a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Reports said Tip was in jail at the time, but he was actually on work release. Either way, he played it up by storming the stage in an orange jumpsuit. After he learned that his then rival Lil Flip, who'd questioned his kingly claims, was in attendance, T.I. invited him on stage. When Flip didn't show, Tip proceeded to son him in a freestyle saying, "What kind of nigga take a picture in a leprechaun suit with a lollipop chain and some leprechaun boots?" and "Being lame is a curse you can never undo."

Flip's career never recovered, while T.I. set off on a run of top-selling, critically acclaimed albums. Game over.

The Fugees Reunite For Dave Chappelle's Block Party

Date: 9/18/2004

Dave Chappelle has done a lot of great things for hip-hop, including regular rap guests on his hit show, The Chappelle Show. But nothing tops the block party he threw in 2004 and the subsequent movie he dropped after, Dave Chappelle's Block Party. Originally, the highlight of the night was supposed to be a performance by Lauryn Hill.

But after her label, Columbia Records, refused to release her songs for use in the film, she opted to reunite with the Fugees instead. On stage, the Refugee Camp did their damn thing and even lived through a short lived reunion. However, it wasn't meant to be and they ended up breaking up again. But still, seeing a group reunite on stage is always a special thing.

Jay-Z and Nas Make Peace

Date: 10/27/2005

Jay-Z and Nas officially ended the greatest rap beef of all time in 2005 at New Jersey's Continental Airlines Arena. Though rumors of their reconciliation had been flying around for weeks, it was still unexpected.

After all, Jay, who'd announced his pseudo-retirement two years before, had titled the comeback concert "I Declare War." Everyone predicted another "Summer Jam screen" moment, and speculated on the target: 50 Cent? Game? Jim Jones? Cam'ron? Nas?

Instead, when Jay started performing "Where I'm From," he cut the music off at the "Biggie, Jay-Z or Nas?" line and told the crowd, "You know what I did for hip-hop? I said fuck that shit! Let's go, Esco!" Nas rose up from an elevator on the stage, spit the hook on "Dead Presidents," and performed some classics from Illmatic. Nas signed to Def Jam, then run by Jay-Z, a few months later. Guess Jigga won the war after all? Nah, hip-hop won.

Jay-Z, Kanye West, 50 Cent, T.I. and Diddy Join Forces at Screamfest

Date: 8/22/2007

Getting one rapper to commit to being in a particular place at a particular time can be challenging enough. But five superstar rappers all on stage at once? That's next level. The planets aligned back in 2007, when Jay-Z, 50 Cent, Diddy, T.I., and Kanye West all got on stage at Madison Square Garden when the Screamfest, headlined by T.I. and Ciara, came to New York. Tip had pulled out Kanye, who pulled out Jay, and 50 and Diddy who were both in the building sensed a moment and decided to cash in on it.

For T.I., it was a priceless welcome to New York (it was his first headlining show there) from the biggest rappers in the city. For Kanye and 50, it was a welcome moment of congeniality in the run-up to their much-hyped album release date showdown (both dropped LPs on September 11 that year). For hip-hop, it was straight-up history.

Nicki Minaj Rocks Out With Jay-Z and Kanye West At Yankee Stadium

Date: 9/13/2010

Jay-Z and Eminem headlining the first-ever show at the new Yankee Stadium is already history in its own right—even before you factor in an in-your-dreams guest list that included 50 Cent, Coldplay's Chris Martin, Dr. Dre, D12, Beyonce, Swizz Beatz, Drake, Memphis Bleek, and B.O.B. But the night's most memorable moment was provided by someone else: Nicki Minaj, who outshined Jay-Z and Kanye West by dumbing out on "Monster," two months before the song would even be released properly on Kanye's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, and two months before her own debut, Pink Friday. If a star was born on that verse, then a superstar ready to hang with the big boys out the gate was born that night.

Kanye West Plays My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy at Small NYC Venue

Date: 11/23/2010

The day afer Kanye unleashed My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, arguably his best album, he took over New York City's Bowery Ballroom to perform it in its entirety, in sequence. After his massive, revolutionary Glow in the Dark arena tour in 2008, this 550-capacity was downright intimate, but Yeezy, in signature fashion, made it an epic night for the ages.

Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj, Swizz Beatz, Pusha T, CyHi Da Prynce, Teyana Taylor, John Legend, Ryan Leslie, and Bon Iver joined him to perform the album. And just to make the show even more Kanye-ish, he ended it with one of his best rants of all time, apologizing to George Bush and Matt Lauer, dissing Taylor Swift again, and signing off with "I like clothes and I still like girls, I don't give a fuck what you think." Mercy.

Kendrick Lamar Crowned West Coast King by L.A. Legends

Date: 8/19/2011

Sometimes seemingly iconic musical moments start to fade a little bit as time goes on. But the significance of this night is only growing proportional to Kendrick Lamar's impact on hip-hop. In other words, quickly.

A month after Section.80 dropped, Kendrick packed the Music Box in Hollywood with already devoted fans. Game and Snoop Dogg each emerged with a surprise performance, and then told Kendrick that he was carrying "the torch" for West Coast hip-hop now. Kendrick choked up, and was engulfed in a group hug by Snoop, Game, Warren G, and Kurupt while the crowd erupted. Some called the coronation premature...but then good kid, m.A.A.d. city came out. In retrospect, this was prophecy.

2Pac Rises From the Dead at Coachella

Date: 4/15/2012

16 years after his murder, 2Pac is still making history on stage. Well, sort of. At last year's Coachella, headliners Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg unveiled a shockingly realistic 'Pac hologram, which performed pitch-perfect versions of "Hail Mary" and "2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted."

Holo-Pac even introduced himself by shouting, "What up, Coachella?" It was amazing and bizarre all at once, stunning the crowd and possibly starting a new trend: Rock the Bells this year will be headlined by holograms of two other late legends, Eazy-E and Ol' Dirty Bastard.

Kanye West and Jay-Z Perform "N***as in Paris" 11 Times in a Row—in Paris

Date: 6/1/2012

Kanye and Jay capped their global takeover tour supporting Watch the Throne with a star-studded show at Paris' Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy. They'd already been known for ending their performances by playing "Niggas in Paris" repeatedly, but they took it to the next level in the city that inspired the song, rocking it a record 11 times in a row-a 50-minute display of ball-so-hard.

To top it off, the show had an A-list audience that included Beyoncé, Kelly Rowland, Spike Lee, The-Dream, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Adrien Brody collectively losing their shit. Watch the Throne was all about a brazen celebration of glass-ceiling-shattering accomplishments, and this over-the-top performance punctuated the message perfectly.

Danny Brown Gets Onstage Dome in Minneapolis

Date: 4/26/2013

Danny Brown isn't anywhere near Hall of Famers like Jay-Z and KRS-One, but he already has his own undeniably iconic onstage moment. It only happened a couple weeks ago so let's call it an instant classic.

In case you've somehow forgotten already: During the Minneapolis stop of Danny Brown's Old & Reckless Tour, a female audience member started blowing the hedonistic Detroit rapper onstage (there's video of it, but no way we're linking that). Opening act and Brown's good friend Kitty Pryde later called it sexual assault in a blog post (and then this happened to her). Either way, we're calling it legendary.