Hot 97's Summer Jam created some of the biggest moments in hip-hop over the years. Over the years, the festival has continued to bring some of the biggest names in the culture but perhaps, there wasn't as significant of a moment at the 2001 edition of Summer Jam. Jay-Z, specifically, emerged with one of the biggest surprises to the Tri-State area with a cameo from Michael Jackson.
For the first time ever, the full performance of Jay-Z's performance emerged on YouTube. The grainy footage was shot from a higher angle, and captures the very moment when Michael Jackson joined Jay-Z on stage. The King Of Pop emerged to roaring applause and throwing up a peace sign to the crowd before briefly stating, "I love you all." The footage was shared on Twitter by FakeShoreDrive's Andrew Barber after the full performance was uploaded to HipHopVCR.
The full footage of the performance also contains the infamous live debut of Jay-Z's "Takeover" at the Nassau Coliseum on June 28th, 2001.
During an interview with Complex, former Hot 97 program director Tracy Cloherty explained that there were some serious security protocols in place. "Even though I was introduced to him, I couldn’t shake his hand or anything, and I couldn’t step within, like, a 6-foot perimeter around him,” Cloherty said. “Things like that. It certainly added another layer of security concerns and things that we had to deal with behind the scenes. But it was certainly worth it.”
Check the full performance below.
