There is no better way to bring in the holidays than to have a star-studded concert, and that’s exactly what Hot 97 did! The New York radio station gathered some of the hottest upcoming artists and the biggest names in the game for one amazing night.
Hot 97 hosted its Hot for the Holidays concert, bringing heat to Newark, NJ at the Prudential Center on Saturday (Dec. 3) night.
As the seats began to fill and fans started to pour in, Jidenna kicked off the show performing his newest hit “Long Live the Chief.” Following the Classic Man was Kehlani, who started her set off with “The Way,” accompanied by her background dancers and female DJ. The Oakland singer also performed her newest single “Distraction” and had all the ladies lit with her final song “CRZY”.
In between the opening performances, Peter Rosenberg, from Hot 97’s “Ebro in the Morning” kept the crowd live as he played the radio’s hottest hits. Later on in the show, DJ Camilo took over.
Next to hit the stage was Brooklyn’s Joey Bada$$ who had the young crowd amped upon his arrival. The Young MC rocked the mic with “Big Dusty” and without a doubt, he got the entire crowd hype as he performed his hit “Devastated.”
As one of the most talked about upcoming artist, Lil Yachty killed his set. Even those who may not have been a fan couldn’t help but to sing along to his hits, including his number one collaboration, “Broccoli,” “Minnesota” and “One Night.” Yachty took time out of his set to pay tribute to Kodak Black, who was released from jail a few days prior.
T.I. definitely brought Atlanta to Jersey as he heated up the stage, taking us all the way back to 03’ with “Rubber Band Man,” “What You Know” and “Bring Em Out.” T.I. even got real sexy and sang his ladies’ hit, “Whatever You Like.” Before TIP left the stage, he took the time out to inspire the crowd, reminding everyone that “Anything you want in life is possible.” He then turned all the way up, performing his most recent hit “All About The Money.”
DJ Funkmaster Flex for sure has the livest squad of all time. He brought out Phresher, whose energy rocked throughout the crowd as he performed the hit “Wait a Minute.” Just when Hot 97 didn’t think the crowd could get any more hype, Young M.A. came out with one of the most energetic performances of the night with her banger “OOOUUU.”
The crowed shmoney danced their way right into French Montana’s set as he performed his hits “Hot N*gga Remix,” “Ain’t Worried About Nothing,” and his verse on A$AP Ferg’s “Work.” French made sure he did not leave the stage without paying tribute to his late brother, Chinx Drugs, who would have celebrated his 33rd birthday on that same day.
Flex and French surprised everyone and brought out unexpected rapper Young Jeezy, who performed two of his classic hits: “Lose My Mind” and “Who Dat.” Jeezy thanked his fans for making his latest album Trap or Die 3, No. 1 on the Billboard 200.
Terror Squad was definitely in the building as Fat Joe and Remy Ma hit the stage and performed their summer hit “All The Way Up.” The duo threw it back to 04’ and performed “Lean Back,” as everyone in the building did the dance and sang the catchy lyrics.
Next to hit the stage was Young Thug, but due to some technical difficulties (his DJ had some issues getting the music to work), his set was a fail. He became so frustrated he dropped his mic and stormed off stage, leaving his fans disappointed that there was no performance.
After the technical team fixed all of the issues, Travis Scott hit the stage and had one of the most captivating performances of the evening. Scott warned the security, “you better not stop a motherf*ckin fan,” as whoever wanted to rage made their way to the stage. Travis ran though his hits “Way Back” and “Pick Up The Phone” as he sprayed the crowd with water, stood on top of the speakers and even crowd surfed as he performed “Antidote.”
Travis paid tribute to both Kanye West and Kid Cudi, who have both recently been in the hospital. “When the people you care about are down, you don’t talk shit,” Scott expressed as he performed “Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 1” and his collab with Kid Cudi “Through The Late Night.”
Scott also let fans know that he is in the works of the “illest tour of all time,” and he promised details would be out soon.
Last but certainly not least, Usher came with nothing but classic hits as he brought along his own live band and background dancers. The Atlanta singer started out with “Good Kisser” as he made his way through “U Don’t Have to Call,” “Caught Up,” and got everyone in their feelings with “You Got it Bad.”
The R&B king danced his way from “Confessions,” “Confessions Pt. 2,” all the way to “Bad Girl” where he brought out Teyanna Taylor to grace the stage with him. Taylor flaunted her amazing body and showed the crowd a few of her dance moves from Kanye West’s “Fade” Video.
Of Course, Usher couldn’t leave Jersey without performing his latest hit “No Limit,” where Young Thug came back out to rap his verse. Usher also brought out A$AP Ferg to perform “New Level” to close out the show.
But before the show completely ended, Young Thug attempted to apologize to his fans before his microphone was cut off, Usher quickly passed him the mic, but when Young Thug went to speak the mic was already cut off. The sound crew must have been expecting Thugger to say some inappropriate words since his music did not work earlier in the show. Usher insisted they turn the microphones back on so that Young Thug could speak. He apologized saying to his fans, “I’m so sorry. This won’t happen again. If I could do it over I would.” He then went into the crowed hugging whatever fans he had in the front few rows.
Hot 97 definitely got it real hot for the holidays. We’re already looking forward to what performances will be taking place next holiday season.
Written By: Marshay Rice