“We’re gonna party like it’s my last show!” said a blonde Chris Brown as Busta Rhymes joined him on stage at the “New” Meadowlands stadium for the 2011 edition of Hot 97’s Summer Jam Hip Hop showcase. Artists on the bill this year included Wiz Khalifa, Waka Flaka, Fabolous, Swizz Beatz, Rick Ross, DJ Khaled, Lloyd Banks, Chris Brown, Lil Wayne, Prodigy of Mobb Deep, Diddy and Ryan Leslie. This year’s Summer Jam was nothing less than exciting. I mean, chicks fighting in the stands, blunts being lit between sets, and the occasional bum rushing never hurts any hip hop show. Things got underway when Wiz Khalifa came on stage and rock the crowd with a high energy set, highlighted by the song “Black and Yellow,” the Pittsburgh Steelers song off his debut album, Rolling Papers. Before Waka Flaka came on stage there was a natural mystic in the air, oh wait, that was the guy sitting next to me with 10 blunts in his pocket, yes folks, he had 10 of them. Later, Fabolous came on stage with a full band busting out tracks from his most recent mixtape, The Soul Tape. “My attitude is celibate, just don’t give a fuck!” Fabolous proclamined before Ryan Leslie hopped on stage with Joker-style glasses to grab the attention of female fans in attendance.
The real meat and potatoes of the show began when Lil Wayne hit the stage, and banged out a mix of his mixtape anthems and solo album productions. Summer Jam 2011 having been the first time the show was streamed live, fans across the globe got to hear a new Weezy song called “Hot Love,” which sent the everybody into a frenzy. Weezy definitely had his share of special guests which included Drake, Lil Twist, Cory Gunz, and towards the end of his set, Rick Ross. “He looks like Biggy and Big Pun put together,” said a fan in the audience talking about Rick Ross, who came on stage with his shirt open and bitch tits flopping everywhere. Accompanied by DJ Khalid, Rick Ross got the Meadowlands vibrating with tracks like “I’m Not A Star” and “Hustlin.” Overall, the Hip Hop festival was a huge success, and everyone in the crowd seemed to go home screaming “Maybach Music!!”