Review
Review
JAŸ-Z: Give the GOAT his flowers
The rapper made Tottenham Hotspur Stadium the site of hip hop history, alongside special guests Giggs and the Fugees
There is only one rapper who can sell out Tottenham Hotspur Stadium without having released a solo album for almost a decade. One person who can mobilise fans to travel across the world to see him in concert on a completely different continent. One person who can freestyle over one of the most well-known UK songs without missing a beat. That person is none other than Shawn Corey Carter, most commonly known to you and me as JAŸ-Z.
On Friday 4 September 2026, JAŸ-Z performed night one of his two-night Tottenham Hotspur Stadium residency to a highly enthusiastic crowd. The number of New York Yankees fitted caps and Timberland butters per capita was most probably at its peak for London. “This music saved my life,” he told fans, who seemed to feel similarly about the setlist of his extensive catalogue. Every track was met with commotion in the audience – mosh pits during ‘N***** In Paris’, solemn head bops during ‘Song Cry’, Harlem Shakes during ‘Dirt Off Your Shoulder.’ While this tour was to commemorate 30 years of his seminal debut album, Reasonable Doubt, it was also a chance for the rapper to celebrate all of his achievements. The show’s visuals were peppered with videos of the rapper winning his 25 Grammys throughout the years, headlines of his accolades as a mogul, and video representations of his come-up from inner city life in Brooklyn to becoming a global superstar. And coupled with elements of REGINA by London’s own Gabriel Moses, JAŸ-Z was signalling to giving London a bespoke experience for JAŸ-Z30.
After the show began with Idris Elba performing the intro track to JAŸ-Z album, American Gangster, Carter launched into ‘Pray’. What was abundantly clear from the beginning of the show was the joy on his face – after 30 years, he is still a student of rap and appreciator of the craft. There are often discussions about who the Greatest of All Time is, and JAŸ-Z’s name is a constant fixture. His Tottenham show proved why, with a two-hour set of perfect breath control, no lyrics missed, and a stage presence that was completely at ease. When the energy needed to be taken up for my personal favourite track ‘F*ckwithmeyouknowitgotit’, JAŸ-Z got all of us to clap throughout the intro of the song to anticipate the beat drop. For ‘Excuse Me Miss’, a slower and more R&B leaning track on his album, The Blueprint²: The Gift & the Curse, he led the entire arena into doing a two-step with him. When he experienced technical difficulties with his mic pack during the third act of his show, he very calmly worked with the technical team to sort it out on stage while the band played and went straight into the next song once the issue was fixed. JAŸ-Z had the room – even if that “room” was a 60,000-capacity stadium.
30 years of Reasonable Doubt wasn’t the only thing the rapper was celebrating. It was clear that being in London meant a lot to him and he marked the occasion with a surprise performance from South London rapper Giggs. The latter treated us to a performance of the (unofficial) UK “national anthem” ‘Talkin the Hardest’, which was a special treat for UK fans and a delight for international attendees. A special shout out goes to the lovely fans from New York City who were sitting behind me, and asked me who Giggs was via their notes app. Concerts should always allow fans to have moments of music discovery.
Taking the time to show us who the GOAT of hip hop is, JAŸ-Z treated us to a his own freestyled verse over the beat to ‘Talkin The Hardest’, and had us hanging on to every word. It was truly a show for die-hard hip hop fans, who know that the rapper famously does not write down his lyrics, and prefers a freestyle approach. We got to see the maestro at work live, and that is a gift we don’t take for granted. Fans were also treated to a surprise appearance from The Fugees, whom JAŸ-Z opened for on their first European tour in the 90s. Thanking them for their contributions to music and for the opportunity to travel with them was a full-circle moment for the rapper, and a heartwarming moment for the audience to witness.
4 September was a particularly auspicious day as the rapper reminded us that it was “a young lady’s birthday.” Towards the show’s end, Carter got us to serenade his wife Beyoncé, who was in the audience in a private box. While we sang Happy Birthday, JAŸ-Z turned our attention to a fireworks display he had arranged to mark the occasion. Again, only one person who could pull something like this off and get right back to performing. Closing with the appropriate ‘Encore/Numb’, the rapper received a standing ovation – a rare moment for a legend to receive their flowers while they’re still here to smell them.
Missed the show? You can still get tickets to JAŸ-Z30 in Paris here
