Jay-Z marked the 25th anniversary of his landmark album The Blueprint with a 90-minute performance at Yankee Stadium on Saturday, July 11, 2026. The Brooklyn rapper was joined by guest artists Eminem, Pharrell Williams, and Slick Rick during the concert, which focused on the 2001 album.
Performance Highlights
The show opened with “The Ruler’s Back” alongside Slick Rick, who later addressed the crowd: “Make some noise for the original Slick Rick the Ruler.” Jay-Z then moved through tracks including “Izzo (H.O.V.A.)”, “U Don’t Know”, “Song Cry”, and “Heart of the City (Ain’t No Love)”. Although “Takeover” appeared on the published setlist, it was reportedly omitted from the performance.
Guest Appearances
Eminem joined Jay-Z for “Renegade” before performing his own hit, “Lose Yourself”. Pharrell Williams appeared later in the set for a run of collaborations including “Excuse Me Miss”, “I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)”, “Frontin’”, and “Allure”. According to Pharrell, “HOV The Greatest of All Time, it’s not up for discussion.”
Reflections on 9/11 and Album Impact
Before closing The Blueprint portion of the show with “Blueprint (Momma Loves Me)”, Jay-Z reflected on the album's release on September 11, 2001. “This album dropped on a real tragic time for New York City and I was prepared to walk away from this album obviously given everything that was going,” he said. “And the way it resonated with the world, it was like part of healing for New York City and when the numbers came back for the first week, I was blown away by the support and the love and I was happy to hopefully provide some relief for such a tough time.”
Concert Conclusion
The concert concluded with “Empire State of Mind”, followed by “N— in Paris”, “Public Service Announcement”, and “Encore”. The show was part of Jay-Z's third and final Yankee Stadium performance, billed as “Extra Innings”.
