Well, we didn’t have this one on our almost got banned from Summer Jam bingo card. R&B hitmaker Case recently reflected on a wild chapter from the peak of his career when he nearly got banned from New York’s iconic Hot 97 radio station after a surprise appearance at Summer Jam in 1996.
Those were the days. Summer Jam in the 90s. The culture needs that iconic energy back. Anyways, back to memory lane.
During his guest spot on The Underground Lounge Podcast with comedian Spank Horton and former NBA player Lou Williams, Case was caught off guard when someone behind the scenes reminded him of the incident. “Tell them how you got banned from Hot 97 after Summer Jam,” the voice prompted, leading the hosts to press him for details.
Laughing, Case explained how the moment unfolded. He was backstage at Summer Jam when Mary J. Blige, who had a set that evening, decided to bring him out to perform his breakout hit “Touch Me, Tease Me,” the song that had taken over R&B and hip hop radio that same year. The only problem, Hot 97 had already said no to the idea.
“The station told her not to bring me out,” Case recalled. “But when Mary said my name, the whole crowd started chanting ‘We want Case.’ That’s when I just went for it. I hit the stage and did ‘Touch Me, Tease Me.’”
The crowd went wild, but not everyone was happy. Case said that as soon as he left the stage, he was met with crossed arms and tense faces from Hot 97 staff and Def Jam executives. “I look over and see Mike Kyser with his hand over his face like, ‘What did you do to me?’” Case remembered.
That unplanned moment reportedly got him unofficially banned from Hot 97 for a while, despite his rising fame at the time. Still, it became one of those unforgettable stories from the golden era of R&B—when spontaneity, star power, and live energy ruled the stage.