One of hip-hop’s biggest moments now has video footage backing it.
On Tuesday, new footage of Jay-Z’s 2001 Summer Jam performance was shared to YouTube, seemingly for the first time it’s been uploaded to the platform in its entirety. Included in the Hot 97 performance, which was uploaded by YouTube account HipHopVCR, is the moment when Blueprint-era Jay surprises the crowd with the King of Pop, Michael Jackson.
The new camera angle—filmed from the top of the venue and also shared by Andrew Barber of Fake Shore Drive—shows a solid view of how it all went down, with MJ and Hov chatting it up on stage as Jackson waved to fans and told them he loved them.
Video footage of Jay introducing MJ has been shared before, but in less-impressive camera angles, despite the screams still being heard loud and clear. The footage of the entire performance also features Jay debuting “Takeover” on stage for the first time during the June 28 gig at the Nassau Coliseum.
It remains unclear who shot the specific video, but whoever it was, they documented some of the biggest moments in music.
In a Complex oral history retrospective on Hot 97’s Summer Jam, those there remembered what the moment meant to them, and so did Big Boi, who dipped before it even went down.
“We went straight to the airport [after our performance in 2001] and got on a private jet,” the OutKast MC recalled about his whereabouts. “We were doing two-a-days at that time on that James Brown schedule. I don’t think we heard about it until we did our other show. It was like, ‘Damn, he brought out Michael Jackson?’”
According to former Hot 97 program director Tracy Cloherty, “There were definitely some rules that went into effect” when Jackson pulled up.
“Even though I was introduced to him, I couldn’t shake his hand or anything, and I couldn’t step within, like, a 6-foot perimeter around him,” Cloherty recalled. “Things like that. It certainly added another layer of security concerns and things that we had to deal with behind the scenes. But it was certainly worth it.”
Check out the performance footage below.
