The New England Patriots held a Hall of Fame ceremony for seven-time Super Bowl winner Tom Brady, but when hip-hop titan Jay-Z took the stage, the crowd was underwhelmed, as were critics who believed he should have given his rare appearance to those who would’ve actually appreciated it.
On June 12, the 24-time Grammy winner took the stage at Gillette Stadium in celebration of football’s most accomplished player, Tom Brady. Jay-Z opened his set with “Public Service Announcement (Interlude)” from “The Black Album,” which was released in 2003.
The song’s opening line, “Allow me to reintroduce myself,” became one of the more popular lines in hip-hop. However, despite the song’s cultural popularity, the less-than-enthusiastic crowd at the HOF event seemed to be very unfamiliar with Jay-Z’s catalog.
“Put one hand in the air for the GOAT, Mr. Tom Brady, tonight,” Jay said after making his way to the stage.
Thousands of fans were on hand on June 12 to watch Brady get honored by the team he spent two decades with.
Some fans were pleased to see Jay-Z take the stage.
“sooooo sweet love jay z!!!!,” a fan tweeted.
“From one GOAT to another,” someone else said.
“That Check must’ve been good , cause Jay don’t perform,” one person wrote on X.
Some observers quickly took notice of the crowd’s apparent lackluster response to the rap icon.
“Unnecessary performance from a legend. Crowd ain’t worth it,” a fan pointed out.
“The disrespect of that crowd to the Jay legacy is wild. Do they realize how rare this is?” another social media user noted.
“This is embarrassing, so jay came out of retirement just to be ignored by white dudes,” an observer asserted.
Then there were some who criticized Jay for his noticeable absences throughout the concerts commemorating hip hop’s 50th anniversary in 2023.
“Jay didn’t perform at any Hip Hop 50 concerts last year where the fans would’ve known every word to his songs, but he makes time to get ignored by rich folks smh,” a critic stated.
When a social media user pointed out that Jay-Z and Tom Brady actually have a friendship, the critic responded, “And Jay isn’t friends with any of the rappers who hosted or were part of last year’s events?”
Others chimed in to back up the X user’s observation, with some calling Jay-Z a “panderer” for opting to perform for Brady instead of actual hip-hop fans.
“Jay Z has always been the biggest panderer of whites and I say this as a fan,” one person wrote. “Probably why I have started to see him for who he truly is over the years; an opportunist, capitalist and revered sell out essentially. Love him but those are facts.”
“He’s been catering to them for years atp. He legit don’t give af bout nothing but that white money. He’s the same person who preaches we need seats at their tables instead of creating our own,” said another.
Jay-Z has yet to publicly address why he was absent from the special hip-hop 50th anniversary celebrations.
Brady has been a fan of Jay’s music for quite some. Back in June 2019, Brady was preparing to play in New England for the 20th consecutive year, but speculation swirled that the superstar quarterback could bolt after the season.
In response to the uncertainty, Brady quoted Jay-Z’s “My 1st Song.”
“Treat my first like my last, and my last like my first,” captioned an Instagram photo of himself at a Patriots offseason workout. While the caption likely left some Patriots fans uneasy at the time, Brady made it clear at the time that he did not plan to call it quits after 2019.
Brady did ultimately leave New England after the 2019 season. He joined the Buccaneers in 2020 and won his seventh Super Bowl during his first season in Tampa Bay.
More than 200 of Brady’s former teammates and his former head coach, Bill Belichick, attended the ceremony to celebrate the legendary quarterback, according to The Athletic. Country music star Kenny Chesney also performed during the ceremony.
