After day one proved to be muddy, wet and cold, J. Cole and Solange warmed up the Made in America Festival stages with ambitious performances in Philadelphia Saturday night (Sept. 2).
With the forecast promising nothing but warmth and sun for Sunday (Sept. 3), fans marched their way through the MIA entrances with aplomb, in hopes of seeing Jay-Z provide a majestic showing. On the heels of his newly-named opus, 4:44, Jay-Z exuded the swagger and confidence needed to maintain his crown as rap’s brightest luminary during his set.
Of course, Hov didn’t conquer day two all by himself. His esteemed colleagues contributed with awesome performances of their own, as well. Take a look below and catch up on what the second day of Made in America had to offer.
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Pusha T Updates Fans on King Push Album
Even though Jay-Z and Kanye West’s relationship is strained, their contentious feud didn’t stop Pusha T from gracing the Liberty Stage on Sunday afternoon. Despite being away from the hip-hop scene since his 2015 release of King Push: Darkest Before Dawn: The Prelude, Pusha doused the crowd with a flurry of bangers.
Pusha wowed the crowd with breathtaking performances of “New God Flow” sans West, Clipse’s hip-hop classic “Grinding,” and G.O.O.D.’s sizzling 2012 remix of Chief Keef’s “Don’t Like.” Despite G.O.O.D. Music’s stars not being in attendance, Pusha injected pure nostalgia to the rabid fan-base when he performed the label’s 2012 song “Mercy.”
.@PUSHA_T says Kanye has produced his upcoming album “King Push” and they have done multiple versions of it —#MadeInAmerica2017 pic.twitter.com/yfa8ZYAxKB
— UTOR — (@UtorOfficial) September 4, 2017
During his set, he revealed that he and West scrapped his long-awaited album, King Push, three times. “I done this album like three times,” said Pusha. “He [West] come in and pick all the beats and shit and then he’d scarap them and say, ‘I can do better.’ These past two months we’ve just been locking in, day and night, getting this album perfect for y’all.”
21 Savage Keeps the Carters Entertained With Turnt Up Performance
One artist who has had an impressive run in 2017, so far, is 21 Savage. After coasting through hip-hop with his debut album, Issa, Savage earned placement as one of the headliners for Jay-Z’s Made in America Festival 2017. With The Carters watching backstage, Savage quickly gained momentum with swagger-filled performances of “X” and “No Heart.”
Though Savage appeared to be gassed at certain points of his performances, he plowed his way through “Bank Account,” which currently sits at No.12 on the Billboard Hot 100. Savage’s girlfriend, Amber Rose, wasn’t in sight, but he revved his own engine and used the crowd’s energy to steamroll through his hefty set.
Marshmello Treats Fans With Khalid as His Surprise Guest.
Right before Hov graced the stage in Philadelphia, Marshmello — one of dance music’s biggest savants — touched down on the Liberty Stage with an epic performance. With multi-colored lights flickering all throughout his set, the white and fluffy music-maker provided scintillating mash-ups of Papa Roach’s “Last Resort” and Adele’s “Hello.”
Best experience ever. @marshmellomusic @thegreatkhalid pic.twitter.com/Ot3tsUvMMZ
— Zac Piotti (@ZACaroni_Cheese) September 4, 2017
Feverishly dancing throughout his set, the smiley figure casted a spell on the crowd by delivering a hypnotic set, which included a surprise guest appearance from Khalid. The “Location” crooner jumped on stage and performed his ubiquitous hit “Young Dumb Broke.” Then, the tandem engaged in a massive party of their own when they unleashed their new collaboration, “Silence.” With the lyrics plastered onto the screen, fans partied to the newly-released jam with buoyancy.
Jay-Z Proves Age Is Nothing But a Number
After Marshmello blew off the hinges from the Liberty Stage, fans quickly scattered like fire ants in hopes of catching the festival’s biggest act, Jay-Z. Ultimately, their wish came true at approximately 9:45 p.m. when Jay-Z shattered the Rocky Stage with a blistering performance of “Bam.” With Damian Marley right by his side, the Brooklyn MC’s slick bravado had the crowd entranced. “Oh, it’s gonna be a special night tonight,” Hov said.
Quickly after he dished out “Bam,” Hov jumped into a time portal and ventured back into his 2003 Black Album, where he performed “PSA.” With the now-infamous ominous keys blaring through the speakers, he seamlessly cruised through “P.S.A.” with little to no difficulty.
Hov’s time travel continued when he veered back to his 2001 album, The Blueprint. Instead of trucking his way through with another braggadocios track, he shifted gears and began rapping to his soulful jam, “Heart of the City.”
Guru in the back is me “@PrettyAmarillo: This is HOV. pic.twitter.com/s05oMHhkoX“
— JAY-Z Daily (@JAY_Z_Daily) September 4, 2017
After grooving to his 2001 jam, he returned to modern times and delved into his Frank Ocean-assisted record “Caught Their Eyes.” Before Hov dipped into “Marcy Me,” he paid homage to the city of Brotherly Love for allowing him to hold his festival for a sixth year. “Philadelphia, we appreciate all the hospitality you always show us New Yorkers,” he said. “This is our sixth year doing this. This is my favorite festival in the whole wide world.”
Jay’s flawless ability of weaving in and out of generations and providing multiple medleys, proved to be a shining point during his performance. First, he glided through “Moonlight” and his socially-charged record “The Story of O.J.,” before skating past classic records like “Izzo” and “Big Pimpin’.”
Besides jogging down memory lane to some of his biggest hits, Hov had some special words for the victims of Hurricane Harvey. “We hope you can hear us, Houston you in our prayers, we with you H-town,” he said. Then, he called on the crowd to sing “Happy Birthday” to his superstar wife Beyonce, who turned 36 on Monday (Sept. 4).
After singing “Happy Birthday,” fans chanted Beyonce’s name in hopes that she would come out and perform some songs. Unfortunately, Jay bulldozed his way through their dreams with a simple response to their demands: “She’s not working tonight.” Following the “Happy Birthday” song to his wife, Hov paid his respects to Linkin Park’s, Chester Bennington, with a heartfelt performance of “Numb/Encore.”
Then, the lights went dark and people assumed that the show was over. Instead of things wrapping up, Meek Mill popped up and gave an earth-shattering performance of “Dreams & Nightmares.” Hov returned on set and jumped into some more B-side records, including “Hola Hovito” and “Allure.” To close things out, Jay recited his new poem, “Dream On,” which perfectly encapsulates his rise from Marcy Projects.
I real live just sang Dreams and Nightmares with @MeekMill and Jay Z …in the front row. Literally a dream pic.twitter.com/kUHL7JW1Zp
— dreadlocks (@aleothing) September 4, 2017