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With Summer Jam 2012 right around the corner, we rewind the annual concert's most legendary highlights.
Billed as the "biggest hip-hop concert in the world," Hot 97’s annual Summer Jam has become a hip-hop institution. For almost two decades the New York station has played host to rap’s greatest stars (Jay-Z, The Notorious B.I.G., Eminem, 50 Cent and many many more) as they created history.
MCs understood the importance of that Summer Jam stage, so when it came time to show and prove, MFs made sure to bring their A-game. And we’re not just talking great performances and stuntastic guest appearances—we're talking controversy, beef and even a lil’ nudity.
With this year’s show set to go down on Sunday, June 3, at Giants stadium, Complex is counting down our 25 favorite Summer Jam moments. Shouts to the whole Hot 97 family—especially our girl Miss Info, former head honcho Tracy Cloherty and longtime production manager Paddy Duke. Ayo Flex, drop a bomb on ’em.
Written by Jesse Gissen (@JesseGissen)
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25. DJ Khaled Wins With Rick Ross, T-Pain, Nicki Minaj, Cam'ron & More (2010)
DJ Khaled had the most star-studded set of 2010 hands down—as he very well should have. The king of the posse cut was joined by everyone from Rick Ross to Busta Rhymes, T-Pain and Cam'ron. And the heavyweight crew did nothing but celebrate for the entire set—popping bottles and going H.A.M. at every moment. He the best!
24. LL Cool J Rocks the Bells with D-Block (2008)
In 2008 Alicia Keys had the SJ crowd on smash when she brought out Wu-Tang and Maino. But D-Block undoubtedly had it on lock. Not only did The LOX bring out Fat Joe, Fabolous and N.O.R.E., the boys from Yonkers tipped the scales when they brought bonafide rap legend LL Cool J to the stage for a rendition of his classic cut, “Rock the Bells.” Hard as hell!
23. Nicki Minaj Dominates (2010)
Before dropping her debut, Pink Friday, Nicki Minaj seemed to be on everybody else's song. So it was no surprise that the Black Barbie would be all over that Summer Jam stage—even through she didn't have her own set. The Queens representer stole the show from Drake, Ludacris, DJ Khaled and Usher, rocking a different kooky outfit every time. Who's bad?
22. Destiny's Child Barely Survives (2001)
Although Jay-Z had the 2001 Summer Jam crowd in the palm of his hand, his future wife and friends struggled to win over the notoriously fussy audience. Destiny's Child got booed as soon as they began their set and continued to get heckled after every song, giving new meaning to their hit from the same year, “Survivor."
21. Busta Rhymes Brings out Mariah Carey, Diddy & More (2003)
If Jay-Z is the King of Summer Jam, Busta Rhymes has to be the Prime Minister. He's rocked that stage many times, but in 2003 he took things to another level. Not only did the usually friendly Bussa Buss shock fans by joining 50 and Eminem in their Ja Rule roasting, but the Dungeon Dragon also played host to a slew of special guests including Diddy—flanked by Mr. Bentley—Don Magic Juan for “Pass the Courvoisier,” Mr. Sean-a-Paul for “Make It Clap (Remix),” a topless Bonecrusher for “Never Scared,” and none other than Mariah Carey for “I Know What You Want.” Talk about a powerful impact!
20. Aaliyah Almost Misses Her Set (2000)
R&B princess Aaliyah was running so late for her spot at Summer Jam 2000 that she nearly didn't get a chance to perform. By the time she made it to the stage her dancers didn't even have time to change out of their street clothes. The crowd didn't care one bit though, greeting her with open arms. Her performance that year was one in a million—and then the next year she was gone.
19. Kanye West Brings Out Jay-Z (2005)
Back when Kanye was still living in Jay-Z's shadow, the Chicago native brought the god to the Summer Jam stage for a rendition of “Diamonds from Sierra Leone (Remix).” Wonder if it hurt Yeezy's ego that Hov got the biggest cheers of the night?
18. Trey Songz Makes Out With Underage Fan Onstage (2010)
Trey made one lucky girl's night when he called the fan onstage during his steamy 2010 SJ set. The shirtless heart-throb tongued her down and then asked her to open her mouth, before launching into his hit song, “Say Ahh.” Days later, gossip site mediatakeout.com claimed the chick was 15 years old. Say Uh-Oh.
17. Big Pun Performs With Terror Squad (1998)
Only those die-hard fans who showed up early to Summer Jam 1998 were able to catch BX great, Big Pun. That's because Hot 97 mistakenly scheduled Terror Squad for an afternoon slot, thinking that Pun might not show. Those who caught it were blessed with a once-in-a-lifetime opp, as that was the one and only SJ set Punisher got to rock in his short life. RIP.
16. Busta Rhymes Resurrects Big Daddy Kane, Slick Rick & Rakim (2006)
No one can ever argue that Busta isn't on his New York shit. The rap vet put on one hell of a show during his 2006 Summer Jam set, showing up in full NY Giants regalia and bringing out a who's-who of Big Apple rap legends, including Slick Rick, Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, Q-Tip and the Wu. Swizz Beatz even crowned Busta as King of NY. While that might have been an overstatement, one can't argue with BR's Summer Jam legacy.
15. 50 Cent Walks Offstage (2004)
In 2003 it seemed that 50 Cent could do no wrong, but at the 2004 Summer Jam the G-Unit General had a ton of haters in the audience praying on his downfall. During his tumultuous set, a group sitting up front started throwing chairs at the stage. A chorus of boos from the audience led the Queens mogul to drop his mic and exit stage left. Sounds like a massacre.
14. Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg & Eminem Tear the Roof Off (2000)
It doesn't get much bigger than this: Dre, Snoop and Em headlined SJ 2000, just to make sure nobody in the Tri-State "Forgot About Dre." Let's just say there was a lot of chronic in the air, so we don't remember much—but best believe it was fire.
13. Lil' Kim's Breast Escapes (2003)
Kimmy Blanco had the biggest and arguably the best surprise guest of them all at SJ 2008 when one of the Brooklyn diva's tig ole biddies popped out. Put your lighters up!
12. Wu-Tang Disses Hot 97 On Their Own Show (1997)
Wu-Tang Clan headlined SJ 1997, but it seems the Killer Beez weren't too happy about their slot in the lineup. It's a known fact that performing last means you're not playing to a full capacity audience. So what did Shaolin's finest do about it? They dissed Hot 97 hard onstage for all to hear: “Fuck Hot 97, we listen to Kiss FM!”
11. Puff Daddy Performs With The Bad Boy Family (1997)
Sean Combs dominated Summer Jam 1997, appearing with his unstoppable Bad Boy crew which then included Mase, The LOX, Lil' Kim and Junior M.A.F.I.A. To show their solidarity, the fam all showed up wearing matching baseball jerseys and toting Louisville sluggers. Home run!
10. Jay-Z Disses 50 Cent (1999)
Back in 1999, when a little-known Queens rapper named 50 Cent caused a stir with his diss track “How to Rob,” several MCs responded. But it wasn't until Jay-Z freestyled on the Summer Jam stage that Fif knew he'd made an impact. “I'm about a dollar what the fuck is 50 Cents?” said Jigga. That line became the first of many barbs the two would trade over the years.
9. God's Son Bails; Ja Rule and Cam Save The Day (2002)
In the heat of the Jay-Z/Nas beef, God's Son was scheduled to headline Summer Jam 2002. The problem was, QB's finest wanted to hang a Jay-Z doll during his performance, something that Hot 97 wasn't exactly on-board with. Disgusted by the station's refusal, Nasir nixed his appearance, instead appearing on rival station Power 105.1 to complain on the night of the show.
Lucky for Summer Jam attendees, show organizes were able to book Ja Rule as a last-minute replacement—and then they randomly found Cam'Ron in the parking lot handing out flyers. They asked the Dipset Don if he wanted to bless the stage too and the rest is history.
8. Kanye West Challenges Swizz to a Beat Battle (2007)
Swizzy and Yeezy engaged in a bit of friendly competition during Swizz Beatz's 2007 Summer Jam set, playing snippets of their biggest hits for the audience to determine who was the best producer. It might sound unfair, but to all involved it was really just a G.O.O.D.-ass time.
7. Game Throws His G-Unit Chain Into The Crowd (2005)
50 Cent got no love during his 2004 Summer Jam appearance, and his rival Game made sure to keep the G-Unit hate alive in 2005. Game fanned the flames by continuously dissing his former label head, throwing his G-Unit chain into the crowd and even staging a fake beat-down of two men dressed in gorilla and rat outfits. Game over!
6. T-Pain Hops On Stage As Jay-Z Performs "D.O.A." (2009)
Jay-Z stole the show in 2009 when he crashed Young Jeezy's set to premiere “D.O.A.”, a record he'd debuted on Hot 97 just two days prior. As if that wasn't enough, in a strange turn of events, T-Pain—the man responsible for the popularity of Auto-Tune—snuck onto the stage during Hov's performance and stood by him as he delivered his anti–Auto-Tune track. So Brooklyn!
5. Eminem Smashes Source Award (2003)
Hate was in the air at Summer Jam 2003. Following 50 Cent's Ja Rule–bashing set, Eminem took a few shots of his own at Benzino and The Source magazine. Joined by Obie Trice, Em brought out his Source award for 2002 Lyricist of the Year and slammed it to the ground. "Take your muthackin' award back,” he screamed as “Lose Yourself,” the theme music to his film 8 Mile, began to play. Like TBS, Eminem knows drama.
4. 50 Cent Humiliates Ja Rule & Irv Gotti (2003)
Taking a cue from Jay-Z, 50 Cent used Summer Jam screens to take a dump on his longtime enemy Ja Rule. During Summer Jam's first staging in Giants stadium, 50 aired a comical PSA video for the 50,000 in attendance. While clips of Ja's music videos for “Mesmerize,” “I Cry,” and “Rainy Dayz” played, a voice asked the audience if they could identify the “bitch-ass n*gga.” To make the game more obvious, the phrase was then posted directly under the faces of Ja Rule and Murder Inc. boss Irv Gotti.
3. The Notorious B.I.G. Classes Up the Joint (1995)
At the second annual Summer Jam, Biggie Smalls reigned supreme. The Black Frank White did his thing twice that year. First he killed it with Total, wearing all white linen, then he closed out the show performing all his classics while rocking a three-piece-suit, cane and bowler hat. What we wouldn't pay to go back in time and see that again!
2. Jay-Z Sons Prodigy (2001)
The same year Jay-Z wowed the Summer Jam audience with an impossibly big surprise guest, he also took time out to humiliate Prodigy of Mobb Deep's. On four large screens above the stage, Jigga infamously posted pictures of an adolescent P dressed in leotards and a sparkling jacket from his days as a dancer at his grandmother's dance school. To add insult to injury, Hov hit the HNIC with that scathing line: “We got money stacks bigger than you.” Ouch!
1. Jay-Z Brings Out Michael Jackson (2001)
Not only is Jay-Z the King of NY, he's also, undoubtedly, the King of Summer Jam. And not just because of his star-studded Rolodex; it's his knack for showmanship—and for surprising fans with the absolutely unthinkable at the perfect moment.
Case in point: After performing his Jackson 5–sampling hit, “H to the Izzo” during his headlining 2001 set, Jiggaman said “I know Michael Jackson better come from behind that muthafuckin' curtain."
Then he went backstage and returned with the King of Pop, sending a shockwave through the stadium. In front of an uproarious crowd, the duo struck a B-Boy pose as Jackson addressed the hip-hop heavy audience: “I love you all.”