A photo taken by A&R scout Dillon Moulder at Notting Hill Carnival on 25 August 1997 captured Jay-Z moments before he took to Tim Westwood's Radio 1 stage, on a day that also featured Busta Rhymes, Common, Lil' Kim, the LOX, Beenie Man and EPMD. The set is now seen as a snapshot of Jay-Z at a pivotal moment, poised between the raw acclaim of Reasonable Doubt and the more polished sound he would bring to In My Lifetime, Vol. 1, offering British audiences their first live look at an artist whose profile was rapidly rising.

Jay-Z, then 27, opened with "Ain't No…" before performing "Who You Wit", "Sunshine" and "Streets Is Watching", and reportedly gave one of the earliest live airings anywhere of his "Imaginary Player" verse over Missy Elliott's "The Rain". His appearance followed a Wembley Arena support slot for the Fugees that May and a Radio 1 set with Westwood two nights earlier, building strong anticipation. Westwood's Carnival stage was then considered the premier UK destination for US hip-hop acts; Westwood has since been charged with 15 sexual offences, including four counts of rape, which he denies, with his trial due next year. The article was published as Notting Hill Carnival marks its 60th anniversary this weekend, sixty years after Rhaune Laslett founded the event in 1966.