Jay-Z made his return to the stage with his first headlining performance of 2026 at Roots Picnic on Saturday night (May 30) in Philadelphia.
After debuting a new afro and Fear of God denim threads, the Brooklyn rap deity kicked off his anticipated set at Belmont Plateau with “Hovi Baby,” but proceeded to move into an a cappella freestyle, during which Hov had plenty to get off of his chest.
Jay-Z took turns subliminally unleashing scintillating bars on each target, which appeared to include responding to the shots Drake seemingly sent him on ICEMAN last month, as well as Nicki Minaj and Dame Dash, both of whom have repeatedly dissed Jay in recent years.
Just over two months since Hov claimed in an interview with GQ that beef was bad for business in hip-hop as things were being taken “too far” these days, Jay had no issue getting back to sending a few jabs out to those who have spoken on his name.
The memorable set also saw Hov run through plenty of hits (“Run This Town,” “N—as in Paris,” “Empire State of Mind,” “I Just Wanna Love U” and “Public Service Announcement”) and several fan-favorites (“Can I Live,” “Dead Presidents II” “Can I Live” and “U Don’t Know”) throughout the evening at Belmont Plateau.
There was a nostalgic State Property reunion featuring Beanie Sigel, Freeway, Peedi Crakk and the Young Gunz touching the Philly stage. Jazmine Sullivan and Meek Mill popped up for cameos with Hov, while Jay reunited with Roc-A-Fella’s Memphis Bleek for “You, Me, Him and Her” alongside Beans.
All in all, it was a celebratory night for the 56-year-old back in his element, and he’s just getting warmed up. The main event is slated to come when Jay returns to headline Yankee Stadium for three consecutive shows in July.
Find all of the people Jay-Z appeared to shade during his Roots Picnic freestyle below.
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Ye
Lyric(s): “You ever heard of a wunderkind/ My children is some of them, have you n—as no shame/ Y’all tryin’ to get under skin/ I really get under skin, ask Un how I’m playing/ Y’all thugs with y’all thumbs again/ Everybody think they’re the ones insane/ You’re no maniac, watch how sane he act in my presence, n—as shrink.”
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Drake
Lyric(s): “My next update, the jig is up/ N—a, I’m up 10/ Wrong chart, champ, you gotta look up again/ N—as look up to Hov, I never looked up to them/ Them crackers got your publishing, gangster, go talk tough to them/ Don’t talk success to me, you n—as is workers In perpetuities, how your contracts is worded/ Don’t make me go first, man.”
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Dame Dash
Lyric(s): “That Chatty Patty down on his luck again.”
“N—as teeth is tumblin’ out their mouth and somehow I’m the one who done it, there’s a murder mystery game.”
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Nicki Minaj
Lyric(s): “That lady back on the stuff, she sound like she in love with him/ Her Ken can’t even take they kids, enough of them/ A rapper can’t be my opp, I got MAGA republicans/ Them shots came from the very top of the government, good luck with them/ I’m governed by God, you tried to break the covenant.”
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Tory Lanez
Lyric(s): “The Roc’s not crumbling, the leprechauns have magically run out of pranks/ Your son on a federal jail line mumblin’ somethin’ about havin’ too much in his drink/ You know how dumb that is/ Another one fumbled his, wonder how I get the blame?”
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Jaguar Wright
Lyric(s): “Quest introduced me to Jaguar, I don’t know why I still f–k with him.”
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Tony Buzzbee
Lyric(s): “That 1-800 ambulance chaser would’ve wish one came, but 911 is a joke.”
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Oschino
Lyric(s): “That nut-a– n—a still stuttering.”