Method Man has long been tied to the lore of Hot 97’s Summer Jam, dating back to the Wu-Tang Clan’s infamous performance at the ’97 festival at the Meadowlands.
But fans may not see Meth hit the Summer Jam stage again in the future. After performing on Sunday (June 2) at the 2024 festival on Long Island alongside Redman, the multi-hyphenate entertainer allegedly left a comment saying he was done with Summer Jam due to a “generation gap.”
“Not our crowd at all,” he reportedly commented on a Hot 97 post about his performance. “Thanks again, New York and the whole tri-state (that showed up to the event) plus Pete and Ebro. I got love for you guys. But never again.. at this point the generation gap is just too wide for me. #nevercomingback.”
The reported comment is not visible on the post; Billboard has reached out to Method Man’s reps.
Fans weren’t happy with Method Man’s alleged comments, and some blamed Hot 97 for not putting together a lineup that matched the authenticity of the station. “Hip Hop icon Method Man is never coming back because as a result of watering down the bill & not gatekeeping Hip Hop standards you let anyone perform to keep up with social media trends,” one person tweeted
Hot 97’s Ebro in the Morning show reacted to Meth’s reported comments — which have been making the rounds on social media — on Monday (June 3) as they attempted to come up with a feasible explanation for the disconnect.
“It felt like the crowd wasn’t used to seeing a real show,” said DJ Kast One. “They were kinda like staring in amazement. There wasn’t booing or any of that. This is crazy — they’re rapping.”
Co-host Peter Rosenberg added that the energy was different for Meth and Red’s set the day prior at Roots Picnic.
“The setup of concerts in general now — even we’re inside now — the festival setup of many acts. I was at Roots Picnic on Saturday. Red and Meth were on that too,” he said. “Yo, it was an incredible lineup. Cats were coming out and freestyling on different beats.”
The full Hot 97 Summer Jam lineup at UBS Arena was a mixed bag of artists of various skillsets and ages, with not much of a tie from one to the next. Outside of Method Man and Redman, there were sets from Doja Cat, Sexyy Red, Cash Cobain, 41 and more.
NYC rappers Sheff G and Sleepy Hallow were among those who didn’t perform, but were originally listed as part of the bill following their endorsement of Donald Trump in May.
Check out Hot 97’s footage of Method Man and Redman’s performance below.
