Irv Gotti honored at Hot 97 Summer Jam during black music month

Written by Ebony Johnson

The summer season in the Tri-State Area began with the annual Hot 97 Summer Jam, Friday 20 June and an honorable tribute to Capo Irv Gotti van Murder Inc .. In his 31st year it was hip-hop event Driven by the Black Promoters Collective And continues to pull crowds and pleasure audiences. The Line -Up from 2025 brought Jarule, Gunna, Glorilla, Kash Doll, Jim Jones and Meek Mill to Newark, the center of New Jersey in the middle stage – among others as a boogie and Muni long. Fans even got a dose of Jada -Kus. The rapper of Yonkers blessed the building with his presence and microphone with his verse from the track “I’m from New York” next to Jarule.

Cash Cobain hit the stage with hits such as “Fisherr” and “Slizzy” and introduced Zeddy Will to perform “get jiggy”. The set was short but filled with high energy and followed by Tanzanian artist Diamond Platnumz, who adorned the stage with a great dance team. Ayra Starr played “Rush” and “Bloody Samaritan” and received a good involvement from the audience when they performed some Adlibs for her song. Masicka followed Asake with a surprising version and gave a live presentation of what it is like behind the doors of Magic City. If you know you know.

The highlight of the night was a tribute to Murder Inc -Hitmaker and founder IRV Gotti. Irving Lorenzo, died of a stroke on 5 February after a long battle with diabetes. Gotti was the engine behind the Solo career of Ja Rule and the early success of singer Ashanti. IRV produced hits for Jay-Z, DMX, Jennifer Lopez, Lloyd, Fat Joe and others. A mounting of Irv’s life was shared with concert visitors. It contained photos of IRV, his parents, his friends and his record label.

The IRV Gotti -Teergoon included a Throwback selection from Murder Inc. -Members from the early 2000s. While the classic song ‘Free’ of Deniece Williams plays ‘Free’, the crowd is shocked when MIC Geronimo performs his song ‘SH-T’s Real’. It is clear that his performance is special. The friends of Ja Rule were Lloyd, Charli Baltimore and Vita. Hope lingered. Fingers were crossed that Ashanti might stand out to perform one number. Unfortunately that did not happen.

What would summer jam not be without Funkmaster Flex? The veteran DJ of New York City set the tone for the rest of the show with his turntable talent and power to switch from one song to the next in a few seconds?

Jim Jones came on stage and played songs with Juelz Santana, Rowdy Rebel, Bay Swagg and Zeddy Will (it was a great evening for him). While MICs were cut from the set of Jim Jones, the Dipset rapper said he will get dreams and nightmares when that happens. The following that the crowd knows is Philly -rapper Meek Mill on stage and plays his hit song ‘Dreams and Nightmares’, not one but twice with the audience so hard that he did not have to stir a word.

Muni Long touches the stage for midnight to perform her songs: “HRS & HRS” and “Made For Me”. Glorilla follows and brings remarkable energy and choreography to perform an abundance of her hit numbers: “Tgif”, “Yeah Glo!” And “do you want to be” and more. She brought life back to the audience for the arrival of Gunna. Gunna performs “Top Off”, “P Power”, “Pushin P” and he ends with “Fukumean.”

A boogie white da hoodie hits the stage at 2 a.m. His hits “Jungle” and “DTB” turn off the crowd. Boogie’s songs “My SH-T”, “Look Back At It” and “Drowning” ended the night in a positive tone.

All in all, Summer Jam was an eventful night full of great performances and dope contributions to Black Music Month.

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