In an era of increasing separation and ever-tinier attention spans, it’s almost quaint to celebrate a tradition like Hot 97’s Summer Jam with 60,000 of your closest friends.
Each year, Summer Jam means a sunny early afternoon heading over to the Meadowlands, the constant threat of rain during the afternoon hours, a few rap songs here and there with rappers featuring other rappers, walking into a chilly night leaving the show, and general ratchetness in the parking lot before, during, and after the concert.
Oh, and drama! Plenty of drama—which, in the years since Jay-Z vs. Nas evaporated, has turned into yawn vs. shrug.
The 2012 version, held last night at MetLife Stadium, promised nothing but radio-ready anthems from the biggest rappers around, from French Montana to Waka Flocka, from J.Cole to Wale to the headliner, Nicki Minaj! As usual, the audience was alive with predictions of who would grace the stage as surprise guests. But frankly, if one was looking for a fight, the best hope would be for Rick Ross and Young Jeezy’s extended families’ families to run into each other in the parking lot.
"— We sent Eric Rosenthal to Summer Jam. And oh boy did it have more drama than intended. (via sotc-nyc)
