Jay-Z is back in Paris, and he’s making it clear that this time he’s solely riding with the Bonnie to his Clyde.
On Sunday, the 55-year-old rapper surprised fans when he appeared onstage during the final show of Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter stadium tour at Stade de France in Paris. It’s the first time the couple has performed together since the Global Citizen Festival: Mandela 100 in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Dec. 2, 2018.
According to fan-captured footage, the couple performed “Crazy in Love,” and “Drunk in Love,” which they remixed with “Partition” during the show.
The rapper was introduced with the beginning notes of “Crazy in Love,” appearing alongside his wife in an all-black ensemble that looked particularly demure opposite her silver crop top and bedazzled chaps.
Jay-Z continued playing to the crowd, performing his hit single “N‑‑‑as in Paris” from his 2011 album with Ye, formally known as Kanye West. But the music mogul switched up the lyrics to both honor his wife and seemingly send a cheeky message to his former collaborator. Instead of singing, “Just might let you meet Ye, Chi-Town’s hero” in the first verse, Jay-Z changed the line to, “Just might let you meet Bey, H-Town’s hero,” per fan-captured video on X.
Frank Micelotta/Getty
Jay-Z and Kanye West at the world premiere of “Fade to Black”,
It wouldn’t be a surprise if the sweet gesture for Beyoncé doubled as a pointed barb at West. Jay-Z and West, 48, were once close friends and collaborators, with the latter acting as a mentee to the Rocnation founder at the start of his career. Their relationship dates back to 2000, when West produced tracks for Roc-A-Fella Records, co-founded by Jay-Z. West even wrote the 2007 track “Big Brother” as an ode to their friendship.
But a rift emerged between the rappers after Jay-Z and Beyoncé skipped West’s 2014 wedding with ex-wife Kim Kardashian. In 2016, Ye called the couple out during an infamous concert rant, and two years later he admitted that he was “hurt” by their absence from the ceremony.
Earlier this year, West went into a lengthy social media tirade targeting the famous couple and two of their children, Rumi and Sir, calling them the R-word in now-deleted posts viewed by EW. The diatribe continued with several more posts railing against the couple and expressing regret over his decision to take down his initial post blasting them.
He later apologized, writing: “I’m sorry Jay Z. I be feeling bad about my tweet but I still feel I gave my life to this industry and thought so many people were my family but when I needed family on some real s‑‑‑ none of these rap n‑‑‑as had my back.”
Jay-Z’s appearance on Sunday caps a long list of Beyoncé’s special surprises for the French leg of her tour. Miley Cyrus joined the star on stage on June 19 for a rendition of their 2024 track, “II Most Wanted,” the first-ever live performance of the powerhouse duet.
“I could not do it without this young lady’s help,” Bey said over their cheers, “so I need y’all to scream as loud as you can.”
Her fans complied as Cyrus slowly emerged from beneath the stage, a hand on her popped hip, and then sauntered forward to join Beyoncé for their collaboration, which the pair cowrote with Ryan Tedder and Michael Pollack. The track nabbed the 2025 Grammy for Best Country Duo/Group Performance for Beyoncé and Cyrus.
The visual harmony between the women was as stellar as their vocals, with Cyrus rocking a shimmery gold jumpsuit that echoed Beyoncé’s molten-gold-fringed dress and high-heeled boots.
Julian Dakdouk via PictureGroup/Shutterstock
Beyoncé and Miley Cyrus
Cyrus was the first guest performer to join Beyoncé on the Cowboy Carter tour, and the “16 Carriages” singer had nothing but praise for her collaborator, referring to her as an icon.
“I’m her biggest fan,” she told the audience before addressing Cyrus directly. “I love you. I’m so grateful to watch you and to sing with you.”
The feeling seemed mutual, with Cyrus sharing a host of backstage and onstage shots from Thursday night.
“To be beside such a humble, gracious, legendary DIVA was a dream come true,” she wrote in her Instagram post. “To have learned from you & loved you my whole life & then be standing together in matching gold looks is more than I could’ve imagined.”
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Bey’s 10th concert tour launched on April 28 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., before moving to New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium and crossing the ocean for a run at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in North London.
The tour will conclude at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta with four concerts from July 10 until July 14.
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