The saying is that it always rains at Summer Jam. One year after Hurricane Henri nearly derailed the first Summer Jam post pandemic, the threat of rain didn’t stop the show from going on this year, and we were lucky enough to even see some blue skies and a little bit of sun!
Summer Jam 2022 was a special year full of surprises, fun performances, and tributes with 9 straight hours worth of performances, activation’s, and entertainment.
It all started with our Who’s Next 2021 Destination Summer Jam winner K. Goddess who finally got a chance to perform after Festival Village was cancelled last year. She was followed up by The Girll Codee who brought all the energy on stage with their lead single “Chaa Chaa Chaa.” Other performers included Nardo Wick, Babyface Ray,Saucy Santana, Jnr Choi, Lady London, Yung Bleu, but it was Drewski who had the biggest surprises of festival village. First with Nems who had one of the biggest hits in New York City with his hit single (and Knicks Favorite) “Bing Bong.” Then to close out Festival Village with a bang, Cardi B came out of a sprinter ran up the stairs to the stage to join Dougie B and B-Lovee for a live performance of “Shake It.”
After that the “Material Gworl” himself Saucy Santana kept the energy going for a short performance before Cordae hit the stage for a great performance himself.
That energy poured into MetLife Stadium as fans began to file in and find their seats.
Dreamdoll started off the night and had some surprises on hand, as she brought out CJ to perform his hit single “Whoopty,” and Capella Grey to perform their track together, “You Know My Baby.”
She was followed up by Shenseea before Peter Rosenberg and DJ Enuff bring the bars on the stage, with Buffalo, New York’s very own Benny The Butcher.
One of the big surprises of the night came when Roddy Ricch hit the stage. Earlier in the day, there was doubt that he would be able to make it due to being arrested just before his scheduled performance at Citi Field Saturday night, with charges such as criminal possession of a weapon, possession of a large capacity ammunition feeding device and unlawful possession of the device. He was released earlier in the day after the charges were dismissed, and joined on the stage. One of his biggest surprises was DJ Mustard who joined him on stage.
As the sun began to set, the HOT 97 personalities all joined together to pay respects to the late, great DJ Kay Slay who sadly passed away earlier this year. The Drama King was with us though as some of the biggest artists in New York City came together to create a special moment for a DJ who helped catapult many of their careers. Papoose, Busta Rhymes, Remy Ma, The LOX, Juelz Santana, and even The Lobby Boyz, Jim Jones and Maino all too turn rapping some of their greatest hits to a buzz inside the football stadium.
Pusha T turned the Summer night evening red with some of the latest tracks from his album It’s Almost Dry, and ended with a classic “Grindin’”, while Lil’ Baby also joined in with some of his biggest hits.
One of the biggest themes of the night was also “Protect Black Art” which helps shed light on the Rap Music on Trial bill aka Senate Bill S7527 which would limit how song lyrics can be used as evidence court. Young Thug and Gunna were originally scheduled to perform at Summer Jam before being arrested due to RICO charges last month. HOT 97 and 300 Ent have joined together to shed light on the bill and push it into law into New York. Thugger’s presence was felt though as he sent a special message to his fans that was played through the big screen.
The man many fans waited to see Lil’ Durk came next, and had an energy filled performance with a few surprises of his own as artists Nardo Wick, and Meek Mill joined him on the stage. After a brief message from Meek Mill discussing the importance of the Protect Black Art campaign it was time for the headliner of the night, Fivio Foreign.
Making a statement, the Brooklyn native walked onto the stage with a robe that said “King Of New York.” He kept the energy up with artists such as Coi Leray, Chlöe Bailey, and Jnr Choi came out to join him. He wasn’t done though, as he ended the night with a bang, and his city supporting him as a crowd of people went on stage to join him for his first big hit, “Big Drip.”
Overall, it was a day of great vibes, good weather, and amazing surprises!
Another Summer Jam to put in the history books.