Jay-Z Expands Tour After Historic Yankee Stadium Run Sets Records

Jay-Z drops new London and LA dates with general on-sale kicking off Thursday after a NYC run that made history.

Jay-Z announced second stadium shows in London and Los Angeles on Sunday, adding dates after record-breaking demand followed his historic Yankee Stadium run.

The Roc Nation founder dropped the additions just days after completing one of the most celebrated concert runs in Hip-Hop history.

The new shows slot in right behind the originals, adding September 5 in London and October 24 in Los Angeles.

That gives fans two nights in each city, with Paris still locked in at the Stade de France on September 10. Artist presales kick off Wednesday, July 29 at 10 A.M. local time, with O2 and Virgin Media customers getting early access in London and Citi cardmembers first in Los Angeles.

The demand that forced these additions makes complete sense when you look at what went down in the Bronx.

Jay-Z’s three-night stand at Yankee Stadium on July 10, 11 and 12 shattered the venue’s all-time concert attendance record back to back. He drew 44,916 fans on opening night and topped that with 45,832 the next evening, and when the original on-sale opened in March, more than 1.6 million fans crashed the queue trying to get tickets.

Night one honored the 30th anniversary of Reasonable Doubt, with Nas, Blue Ivy Carter, Alicia Keys, Memphis Bleek and Jaz-O all hitting the stage.

Beyoncé covered Mary J. Blige’s hook on “Can’t Knock the Hustle,” and Jay closed the night with a line that Billboard called one of the show’s best moments: “The album that did 43,000 in its first week now put 45,000 in the seats.”

Eminem handled “Renegade” during night two’s full Blueprint run, and Pharrell Williams worked through their collaborations before Jay wrapped it up.

Night three, billed as “Extra Innings,” was the most stacked of the run and the most chaotic. Overcrowding outside the stadium pushed the 8 P.M. start to 12:20 A.M., and Jay-Z stepped on stage with an explanation ready.

“There were, like, 10,000 people outside,” he told the crowd. “I didn’t want to start the music and people get trampled.”

The show still ran until 3 A.M. with Rihanna, Usher, Clipse, Fat Joe, Jadakiss, Beyoncé and more cycling through.

Rihanna joined Jay-Z for “Run This Town,” then held the stage solo and told the crowd, “I missed this s###, y’all!” It was a rare concert appearance for her and easily one of the most memorable moments on a weekend full of them.

AllHipHop previously covered how Jay-Z broke Yankee Stadium’s all-time concert record two nights straight and the momentum from that run is clearly what pushed these new dates into existence.

Tickets for the new London and Los Angeles shows go on general sale Thursday, July 30 at 10 A.M. local time through Ticketmaster.

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