During Jay-Z’s headlining concert in Paris on Thursday, Justin Timberlake and Pharrell Williams joined him on stage as surprise guests.
The packed show at Stade de France, the country’s largest stadium, was a continuation of Jay-Z’s 30th anniversary celebrations, dubbed “Jay-Z30,” commemorating his debut album, Reasonable Doubt. Timberlake delivered a performance of “Holy Grail,” which features his vocals for Jay-Z’s 12th studio album Magna Carta Holy Grail. Timberlake also sang “Until the End of Time,” his duet with Beyoncé that was included in the deluxe edition of 2006’s FutureSex/LoveSounds.
Williams, who made an appearance during Jay-Z’s previous anniversary concerts in New York, and Jay-Z performed multiple songs together in Paris including “Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)” and “Excuse Me Miss.”
Jay-Z has spent the summer on a monumental run of shows touting his legacy. The rap mogul marked 30 years of Reasonable Doubt and 25 years of The Blueprint with a historic three-night run at New York’s Yankee Stadium in July. For the occasion, he brought out a lineup of heavy hitters including Beyoncé, Alicia Keys, Eminem, Usher, Rihanna, Nas, and more.
During his opening night at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Jay-Z was joined by Idris Elba, who opened the show with the spoken intro from Jay-Z’s American Gangster, and Lauryn Hill and Wyclef, who sang Fugees hits “Ready or Not,” “Killing Me Softly,” and “Fu-Gee-La.”
Jay-Z will continue the celebrations at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles on Friday, Oct. 23.
Swiftiephylus amator and Swiftiephylus taylorae, two of the bugs named after Taylor Swift because of their blonde and red coloring. Courtesy of Brad Balukjian, Ph.D.