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Jay-Z, Eminem Play on ‘Letterman’ Rooftop

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Jay-Z and Eminem do what they want.

After being denied a permit to play on top of the marquee of New York’s Ed Sullivan Theater, where The Late Show with David Letterman is taped, the hip-hop legends moved their gig to the venue’s rooftop Monday, playing for 100 lucky fans who won tickets through Facebook and Twitter. If you weren’t one of those lucky ones, the performance will air on Friday’s episode of Letterman.

The Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting denied a permit for the original show, in part because of the recent riot at the free Drake concert at NYC’s South Street Seaport.

“There was discussion of a concert, and ultimately it was decided there would be no permit,” wrote Julianne Cho, associate commissioner, Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting in an e-mail statement to MTV News. “Many permits are granted on the condition that the event is not made public beforehand for capacity and security reasons… This event was made public.”

The rappers were able to hold the concert on the building’s roof because it was located on private property. According to the New York Post, the duo did “Renegade,” Em performed parts of Recover, and Jay-Z rapped “Empire State of Mind,” “On to the Next One” and “Can’t Knock the Hustle.”

If watching the duo on TV doesn’t do it for you, Jay-Z and Eminem are co-headlining two shows at the end of summer — at Comerica Park in Detroit on September 2 and at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx on September 13.

Eminem, meanwhile, capped his Monday in NYC with a surprise pop-up appearance in the Lower East Side, at the Bowery Ballroom. Read our review here.

Thoughts on Jay-Z and Eminem? Sound off in the comment section below!