Behind the Scenes at Hot 97 Summer Jam [Photos]

By Ariana Romero

There are few summer traditions I love more than a good musical festival. I limit myself to the free kind, but yesterday’s Hot 97 Summer Jam sounded pretty great. The concert, held at MetLife stadium in East Rutherford, NJ was sponsored by New York City’s popular hip-hop and R&B radio station, Hot 97, and Ciroc vodka. The concert has been bringing together hip-hop’s finest since 1994 when it began with acts like the Wu-Tang Clan, Queen Latifah and A Tribe Called Quest.

Almost twenty years later, Summer Jam is still going. For 2012 it promised stars like J.Cole, Trey Songz, Big Sean and Nicki Minaj. The key word there is “promised” when it came to Minaj, though. A Hot 97 DJ dissed Minaj and her pop hit “Starships” during the Summer Jams pre-show. Young Money boss Lil’ Wayne immediately pulled his Barbie out. He tweeted ”Young Money ain’t doing summer jam,” while Minaj agreed tweeting, “Wow. U n—– just f—ed up history. But the President has spoken. #YMCMB.” Fellow Young Money rappers Birdman, Tyga and Lil’ Wayne himself were set to perform with Minaj before her act was cancelled. Well, that’s a let down for everyone.

If you weren’t at Summer Jam you can still check out these behind the scenes photos. And don’t worry, Nicki Minaj missed it all too.

Ariana Romero is a student at Syracuse University. Which would probably explain why she once had a load of laundry filled solely  with orange tee shirts. She watches too much television and reads too much entertainment news than is probably healthy. Follow her on Twitter @ArianaRomero17 or read her Hollywood ramblings at her blog.