Key Takeaways
- Jay-Z launched his two-night JAŸ-Z30 London run at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Friday (September 4), marking his first solo UK headline show since 2013.
- Lauryn Hill and Wyclef Jean reunited for three Fugees classics, while Giggs, DJ Khaled, and Idris Elba also joined the career-spanning show.
- Jay-Z led the crowd in singing "Happy Birthday" to Beyoncé, who watched from a private suite, before the tour’s second London date and upcoming stops in Paris and Los Angeles.
Jay-Z turned Tottenham Hotspur Stadium into a decades-spanning hip-hop retrospective for the inaugural date of his two-night London shows during the JAŸ-Z30 Tour.
Friday (September 4) marked Hov’s first headlining solo UK performance since 2013, when he played The O2 on the Magna Carta World Tour. Before Jay-Z hit the stage, British actor and DJ, Idris Elba took the mic, delivering the spoken-word intro from Jay-Z's 2007 album American Gangster to kick off the show.
Among the biggest surprises of the night were Lauryn Hill and Wyclef Jean reuniting for a three-song Fugees segment, running through "Ready or Not," "Killing Me Softly With His Song," and "Fu-Gee-La," all from their 1996 album The Score, which also turns 30 this year.
British rapper Giggs joined the party, performing what the UK hip-hop community often refer to as the people's national anthem, "Talkin the Hardest," while DJ Khaled held the stage down during a break before "God Did."
With September 4 being Beyoncé's 45th birthday, the 35-time Grammy winner watched the concert from a private suite inside the stadium.
Jay-Z acknowledged a "young lady's birthday" from the stage, joked to attendees that he couldn't ask her to perform on her big day, and led the packed crowd in singing "Happy Birthday."
The Cowboy Carter artist then appeared on the venue's jumbotron wearing a hoodie and waving to fans.
Hov’s second and final London show during his current tour will be held Saturday (September 5) at the same venue. The tour continues at Stade de France in Paris on September 10, before concluding with two nights at Inglewood’s SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles on October 23 and 24.
