Hot 97’s Summer Jam is the event that marks the beginning of the tri-state area’s long, hot summer ahead. The moniker of being the “Super Bowl of hip-hop” carries weight and expectations. If there’s one thing that has made Summer Jam a mecca for over 20 years, it’s moments – whether it’s using the stage as a launching pad for beef or the spontaneity of collaborations and special guests.
But as the festival made its return to the Prudential Center in Newark on Friday after a two-year hiatus, it’s going against an evolutionary headwind.
Hip-hop’s success has expanded the genre into the mainstream pop culture conversation so much that Hot 97 Summer Jam is no longer the epicenter it once was…