As hip-hop celebrates its 50th anniversary, all eyes were on the 2023 edition of Hot 97’s Summer Jam to see how New York City’s first all-hip-hop station would commemorate the occasion. The legendary festival has gifted hip-hop countless priceless moments across nearly three decades, from Jay-Z bringing out Michael Jackson and debuting “Takeover” in 2001 to Remy Ma’s ruthless “Shether” performance in 2017.
After several years at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium, Summer Jam finally returned to New York at UBS Arena in Long Island on Sunday (June 4). This year, the 29th iteration of Summer Jam celebrated the contemporary dominance of women in rap. Cardi B reigned as the night’s headliner, and the rest of the lineup featured performers including Ice Spice, Coi Leray, French Montana, Fivio Foreign, Lil Tjay and Lola Brooke. While the lineup prioritized rap’s new school, legendary Yonkers rap group The LOX held it down for the genre’s elder statesmen. Before the main show, Defiant Records and Warner Records also collaborated to host a festival stage that featured performances from rising rappers such as Scar Lip, Kenzo B, 2Rare, Connie Diamond, Sha EK, and McVertt.
This year’s Summer Jam also celebrated the breadth and diversity of hip-hop’s birthplace. On the festival stage, reggaetón and Afrobeats reigned alongside Bronx drill and Jersey club, and the main show, whether through era-traversing DJ sets or high-energy performances, had something for every kind of hip-hop fan.
Stacked with surprise performances and some of the first live renditions of several Song of the Summer contenders, Summer Jam’s homecoming was nothing short of a triumph. From Cardi B’s explosive headlining set to The LOX’s real-time documentation of hip-hop’s evolution, here are the best moment’s from this year’s Summer Jam.
