As many may have anticipated, Jay-Z didn’t formally announce whether he’ll be headlining 2027’s Super Bowl LXI Halftime Show during the final stop (Oct. 24) on his heralded JAY-Z30 Tour. Nevertheless, the hip-hop icon kept the packed audience inside Los Angeles’ (Inglewood) SoFi Stadium — host of next year’s NFL showdown — on its feet for two hours as he welcomed surprise guests and fellow genre pioneers Too $hort, Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre during the proceedings.
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Opening with “The Watcher 2,” Jay-Z smoothly segued into the hip-hop anthem “Blow the Whistle.” Then the crowd erupted into boisterous cheers and applause as Oakland, Calif.’s Too $hort arrived to lead a stadium-wide rap-along. From there — starting with “Izzo (H.O.V.A.)” — Jay-Z reeled off a string of classic singles and fan-fave album tracks including “Beach Is Better,” “Family Feud,” “Dirt Off Your Shoulder,” “Dead Presidents” and “D’Evil.” That run also featured the hit “Hard Knock Life.”
In honor of late rapper Nipsey Hussle, Jay-Z integrated elements of “Hussle & Motivate” into the former. He also performed “On to the Next One,” which featured the instrumental from Hussle’s “Last Time That I Checc’d.”
Taking a brief break at that point, Jay-Z turned the stage over to the evening’s two additional surprise guests: L.A’s own Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre. The pair sparked another rollicking rap-along with renditions of “The Next Episode,” “California Love,” “Nothin’ But a ‘G’ Thang,” and “Still D.R.E.” Afterward, Jay-Z returned for a second half that featured “99 Problems,” “Excuse Me Miss,” “Jigga,” “Empire State of Mind” and “Ni**as in Paris” among other selections before closing with “Encore.”
Among the celebs attending Jay-Z30 night two were Kelly Rowland, Lizzo, DJ Khaled, Yo Gotti, B2K, Snoh Aalegra, Hit-Boy and Wizkid. On the first evening of his two-night, sold-out L.A. stand (Oct. 23), Jay-Z welcomed daughter Blue Ivy, John Legend, DJ Khaled and Scarface as his surprise guests.
These two shows were the culmination of a tour celebrating the 30th anniversary of Jay-Z’s 1996 debut studio album Reasonable Doubt and the 25th anniversary of his sixth studio album The Blueprint. Kicking off those celebrations with a three-night engagement at Yankee Stadium in July, Jay-Z took the party overseas to London and Paris in September before coming to L.A.
Further rounding out Jay-Z’s anniversary celebration thus far is the docuseries JAY-Z in 8 with legendary producer Rick Rubin. It’s currently airing on HBO Max. And now it’s wait and see if Jay-Z’s L.A. stand is the portent of things to come in regards to next year’s Super Bowl LXI Halftime Show.
