GLENDALE, AZ - JANUARY 31: Recording artists Kanye West (L) and Rihanna perform onstage during DirecTV Super Saturday Night hosted by Mark Cuban's AXS TV and Pro Football Hall of Famer Michael Strahan at Pendergast Family Farm on January 31, 2015 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images for DirecTV)
In 2009, Jay turned his Kanye and Rihanna song“Run This Town” into a New York anthem by discussing how 9/11 impacted the city.
“Terrorists attacked New York City and took down our towers,” he said during a Madison Square Garden show. “They believed that it would weaken us; they were sadly mistaken. On Sept. 11, when I looked on the TV, I saw the strength and resiliency that made New Yorkers New Yorkers. I was proud to be from here. Now we stand here tonight eight years later even stronger. This is our town. We run this town, New York City. New York City, we run this town.”
Watch the live performance below: