Jay-Z surprised attendees at the 2024 Tony Awards in New York on Sunday night by joining Alicia Keys to perform their hit “Empire State of Mind.”

The duo appeared to show support for Hell’s Kitchen, a jukebox musical produced by Keys and featuring her songs.

“Empire State of Mind” is prominently featured in the musical, which draws inspiration from Keys’ early life and music and has garnered 13 Tony Award nominations.

Fans quickly noticed that Jay-Z did not perform live on stage but instead appeared via video, rapping from outside the venue.

Many joked that the rapper is not willing to hang out with theatre people, even though he’ll perform at the Tony’s and they cannot blame him. 

Some said they loved the fact that Jay-Z at the Tonys precisely because he was not in the theater.

Prior to their performance, Keys graced the red carpet with her parents and three sons: Kasseem Jr., 17, Egypt, 13, and Genesis, 9.

But Ramin Setoodeh, the co-editor-in-chief of Variety, was able to explain on X that due to the limited size of the stage inside the David H. Koch Theater, the audience couldn’t witness Jay-Z “perform in person.”

This prompted some to joke that fans were made to think Jay-Z and Alicia will be at the actual performance of Hell’s Kitchen, just so they would buy tickets to a Broadway show.

During their performance, dancers could be seen executing choreography on stage in front of the star-studded audience and guests.

A large screen behind them displayed Jay-Z and Alicia belting out lyrics while positioned on stairs under a spotlight. However, both artists were not physically present inside the main theater where the ceremony took place.

While performing their 2009 hit “Empire State Of Mind,” Keys exclaimed, “Let me see ya! We in New York City tonight! We at the Tony Awards tonight! Had to do something crazy, it’s my hometown!,” as reported by People magazine.  

Jay-Z, a Grammy winner, then appeared on stage to deliver his rap verse, closing with a shout-out: “Brooklyn, New York City at the Tonys tonight!”

Before the actual performance, Alicia Keys was interviewed by Extra TV about this performance with Jay-Z and she was apparently very excited about it. She said they were doing something special since they were in her hometown.

This comes after Page Six reported that Jay-Z and Beyonce staying out of the limelight as much as possible as a strategic move to distance themselves from Diddy’s escalating abuse scandal. 

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Source: Los Angeles Times