Best Summer Jam Moment

The year 1994 marked the beginning of Hot 97’s epic annual Summer Jam concert. Twenty years later, the concert featuring the biggest names in hip-hop and r&b is still going strong and continues to showcase the biggest names in music. Here’s a look back at some of the most memorable moments from Summer Jam.

The Notorious B.I.G.’s Only Performance At Summer Jam

The year was 1995 and Bigge Smalls was the king of New York rap. The year before he released his debut single Juicy and then followed that up with the platinum-selling album, Ready To Die. When he descended onto the Summer Jam stage in ‘95 as the headliner, the crowd went wild. Dressed like a dapper don in a three-piece suit, Big had the crowd on its feet for his entire set. That would be the first and last time the Brooklyn rapper would perform for the radio station’s mega concert. He was shot and killed nearly two years later.

Michael Jackson Moonwalks At Summer Jam

Jay Z has been known to dominate the stage but nothing tops his 2001 Summer Jam appearance. After whipping up the crowd in a frenzy with his ubiquitous anthem “H To The Izzo,” Jay paused for a minute to bring out a very special guest who was chilling backstage: Michael Jackson. Although he didn’t perform, it was a historic day for Hot 97 and hip-hop as a whole to have the global icon at the event.

Sean “Diddy” Combs Brings Bad Boy Family

On March 9, 1997 the hip-hop world lost a legendary and gifted lyricist when The Notorious B.I.G. was shot and killed. A few months later, his mentor and boss, Sean “Diddy” Combs, held court at Summer Jam. Even though he was without his biggest act, Diddy was joined on stage by his Bad Boy family. Mase, The LOX, Lil’ Kim and Junior M.A.F.I.A., along with Diddy, performed in matching baseball jerseys and they each carried their very own Louisville slugger. The crew took some time out to pay homage to their fallen soldier.

DJ Khaled Brings Big Names

DJ Khaled has had a good run owning the summer as far as music goes. The Miami producer and music executive routinely recruits the biggest names in the industry to work with and in 2010, those big names descended down in New Jersey to join Khaled on stage. With one of the most talked about performances of the night, the “We The Best” producer brought out Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj, Busta Rhymes, Fat Joe, T-Pain and Cam’ron, just to name a few. And there were champagne bottles being popped throughout the set.

Nicki Minaj Dominates Stage

By the time 2010’s Summer Jam rolled around, Nicki Minaj was putting the final touches on her debut album Pink Friday. But that didn’t stop her from dominating the night. She wasn’t given her own set. However, the Queens rapper popped up during everyone performances from other artists including Drake, Usher, Ludacris and DJ Khaled. And every time she stepped on the stage, she had on a completely different outfit on.

Nas Gets Shut Down

Who could ever forget the beef between fellow New York rappers Nas and Jay Z? By the time the summer of 2002 was approaching, things were boiling over. Nas had decided to make his beef with the “Dirt On My Shoulder” rapper a part of his performance that year, planning to bring out a lynched doll on stage that was supposed to represent his rival, but once program directors caught wind of what was going down, they denied his request. The Queensbridge rapper pulled out of the event at the last minute but Ja Rule and Cam’ron were quickly called in to take his spot.

Destiny’s Child Booed

Can you imagine there was a time when R&B group Destiny’s Child would ever be booed while performing? Well, that’s exactly what happened to them when they stepped onto 2001’s Summer Jam stage. The typically rowdy audience turned on them immediately and even heckled the girl trio after every song. Luckily Beyonce’s future husband Jay Z was on hand and once he took over the stage, the rap-friendly crowd was eating out of the palm of Hov’s hand.

Busta Rhymes

Busta Rhymes has been in the rap game since the early 90’s. While others have come and gone, the Long Island native has showed true staying power. Being in the industry so long, the “Put Ya Hands Where My Eyes Can See” rapper has worked with everybody in the industry. And for his 2003 appearance at Summer Jam Bussa Bus brought a lot of them with him. Sean “Diddy” Combs was brought out for “Pass The Courvoisier,” Sean Paul for the “Make It Clap” remix and none other than Mariah Carey herself for their collaboration “I Know What You Want.” Busta Rhymes also joined in with 50 Cent and Eminem during their set to roast Ja Rule.

Aaliyah

While it’s not the norm to have a slew of R&B singers in a Summer Jam line-up, songstress Aaliyah was given some stage time in 2000 but she almost missed her turn in the spotlight. The “One In A Million” singer was running so late for the show that by the time she arrived, her dancers didn’t have a chance to change out of their street clothes. But the crowd was unaware of the near disaster that was going on backstage. Aaliyah performed for the crowd and that would be her last time at Summer Jam; she died in a private plane crash the next year.

50 Cent Walks Off Stage

In 2003, 50 Cent released his debut album Get Rich or Die Tryin’. The album certainly lived up to its hype and sold almost 900,000 copies in the first week alone. Despite being from New York and a platinum selling debut album under his belt, the crowd at 2004’s Summer Jam was brutal. The “In Da Club” rapper was mercilessly booed when his foot hit the stage. A group sitting up front starting throwing chairs at the stage. Fiddy, who was unable to win the crowd over, dropped the mic and exited stage left.

Eminem Melts Down Onstage

By the time he took the stage at 2003 Summer Jam, Eminem had been in a public dispute with the founders of The Source magazine. Raymond “Benzino” Scott had made things personal when he released the diss track “Die Another Day” and called Em the “rap Hitler.” The Detroit rapper retaliated with a couple diss songs of his own but when he stepped on the Summer Jam stage, he had The Source’s Lyricist of the Year award with him. Eminem smashed the award on the floor and yelled “The Source was behind me from day one and now y’all sh*tting on me? You can have your motherf*ckin’ award back!”

Wu-Tang Clan Disses Hot 97

What artist would have the gall to diss the very people that booked them for an event? The Wu-Tang Clan. In 1997, the nine-member group was booked to go on last. But by the end of the night most of the audience had cleared out to beat the heavy traffic back across the bridge to New York. When RZA, Method Man, Raekwon, and the rest of the gang hit the stage, there was hardly anyone left to perform to. Upset about their time slot, the Wu shouted out, “F*ck Hot 97. We listen to KISS-FM!”

Lil Kim’s Nip Slip

Lil Kim has never been shy about showing her tiny frame off. The pint-sized Brooklyn rapper routinely wore revealing outfits that left little to the imagination. But in 2003 when she showed up as a surprise guest on the stages of Summer Jam, her appearance was memorable. Not for what she performed but for what she revealed. An epic wardrobe malfunction caused the Queen Bee to accidentally bare the royal goodies to the thousands of cheering fans in attendance.

Lil Wayne Pulls Young Money

Nicki Minaj grew up in New York and had dreamed of performing one day at Summer Jam. She got her wish in 2010 and appeared on the stage four different times in four different outfits. Two years later she was given her own set, her first time headlining the event. But the Young Money princess didn’t perform. Hot 97’s radio personality Peter Rosenberg had made some disparaging remarks about Minaj and her hit “Starships.” She took offense to it and so did her boss Lil Wayne, who pulled all Young Money artists from the line up that day. Minaj also took to twitter to confirm her no-show: “I go above and beyond for my fans. But won’t ever go against Wayne’s word. What he says, goes.”