After a mediocre Summer Jam in June that saw Nicki Minaj and her Young Money roster cancel their grand finale for Hot 97’s annual hip-hop showcase more than 80,000 fans went home feeling cheated without a chance to see surprise guests such as Lil Wayne, Drake, Busta Rhymes, Foxy Brown, Cam’ron, and Beenie Man perform at New York’s MetLife Stadium. To make matters worse, the reason for the cancellation was based upon disparaging remarks that a morning-show D.J., Peter Rosenberg, made about Minaj’s “Starships” song hours prior to the show. Hot 97 decided not to refund ticketholders and the station’s general manager, Alexandra Cameron, provided a press release shortly after to justify the radio station’s response.
“While we appreciate inquiries and/or complaints we are under no obligation to provide a refund,” she wrote. “Frankly, the complaints have been very minimal considering the size of audience in attendance. We don’t put anyone’s name on the ticket. Summer Jam is the promise of a live hip hop experience by HOT 97 and as our fans know, anything can happen. There are unexpected events every year.”
It’s been nearly four months since the Summer Jam debacle but if you were looking to get your money’s worth from an All-Star lineup featuring the best in hip-hop and R&B all you had to do was take the trip to Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Center on Friday as Power 99 honored 30 years of Powerhouse concerts with guest appearances by Rick Ross, Meek Mill, Wale, Trey Songz, Big Sean, Omarion, Miguel, 2 Chainz, Keyshia Cole, and French Montana.
Those expecting Usher to close the show were somewhat disappointed when he appeared briefly during Maybach Music Group’s set to perform “Lemme See” with Rick Ross and “Climax” before he exited the stage. As the headliner of the show the R&B star was heavily promoted throughout the night as the final performer but didn’t touch any of the anticipated songs from his catalog including “You Remind Me,” “Confessions,” “Nice & Slow,” “My Boo,” “Burn,” and “You Got It Bad.” Luckily, Powerhouse 99 gave fans more than five hours of nonstop entertainment. Here are the top moments that you may have missed:
5. Miguel – “Adorn”
With a strict 6 p.m. start-time, no one was aware that Miguel would be the opening act for the show. As one of music’s most colorful figures and rising stars, he ran through his hits quickly and closed his set with sensual “Adorn” single that left the audience wanting so much more.
4. Rick Ross feat. French Montana – “Stay Schemin”
Besides Usher, Ross also allowed French Montana to be his special guest to perform their radio anthem together as the crowd sang along to the hook and went into an absolute frenzy.
3. Trey Songz – “Bottoms Up”
Is he the King of R&B? Trey Songz certainly welcomed that debate during a 45-minute show where he performed with a live band. During his set he ran through his hits but still didn’t have enough time to go through fan favorites like “Unusual,” “Gotta Go,” “I Invented Sex,” and the chorus to “Can’t Get Enough” featuring J. Cole. Trey didn’t need Nicki Minaj to perform “Bottoms Up” as he ran through her entire verse and showed why he should be taken seriously as an MC.
2. Big Sean – “Clique/Mercy”
The surprise of the night came from Big Sean who emerged as a superstar in the making as he ran though his solo hits and tracks from his Good Music family. It started when he performed his verse from “Clique,” which is currently No. 2 on Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop songs. After the crowd chanted the hook with him, Sean brought 2 Chainz onstage after he already completed a 30-minute performance of his own. The duo then recited their verses from their hit single, “Mercy,” as the crowd began to swerve.
1. Meek Mill brings out T.I.
Philadelphia’s hometown hero, Meek Mill, showed love to T.I. when he let the King of the South touch the stage to perform “Bring ‘Em Out,” “Top Back,” “24’s,” and “What You Know.” The moment was epic as an animated T.I. graced the stage for what was clearly the highlight of the night.
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