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Lil Uzi Vert with Special Guests Lil Yachty, JID, Rico Nasty & LIHTZ

To headline summerfest, on july 6, 2024, at american family insurance amphitheater, tickets on sale friday, march 15 at 10:00 a.m..

For immediate release

MILWAUKEE, WI (March 11, 2024) – Summerfest presented by American Family Insurance is excited to announce that Lil Uzi Vert, with special guests Lil Yachty, JID, Rico Nasty, and LIHTZ will headline the American Family Insurance Amphitheater on Saturday, July 6, 2024, during the festival's last day.

Tickets go on sale Friday, March 15, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. CST at Summerfest.com and Ticketmaster.com and in person at the American Family Insurance Amphitheater Box Office, and include admission to Summerfest the day of the show.  

About Lil Uzi Vert RIAA Diamond-certified and multiple GRAMMY-nominated superstar LIL UZI VERT has a sound as dynamic as their vision and trend-setting fashion. The Philadelphia native boasts over 31 billion career streams, four GRAMMY nominations and over 100 career Billboard Hot 100 charted songs. Uzi released the 26-track album PINK TAPE, the first rap album of 2023 to top the Billboard 200 chart, their third consecutive #1 album. The success of Uzi’s latest project follows the critically acclaimed RIAA Platinum albums; LUV IS RAGE 2, ETERNAL ATAKE, and LIL UZI VERT VS. THE WORLD, two of which landed #1 on the Billboard 200 chart. LUV IS RAGE 2 featured the hit Diamond certified worldwide hit, “XO Tour Llif3,” 4X Platinum certified, “The Way Life Goes,” and Platinum certified, “Neon Guts (feat. Pharrell Williams).”

 Uzi’s boundless discography includes THE PERFECT LUV TAPE, LUV IS RAGE, PLUTO X BABY PLUTO with Future, RED & WHITE EP, and LUV VS. THE WORLD 2. In addition to their extensive catalog, the artist has also featured on several record-breaking tracks including Migos’ RIAA 4X Platinum, GRAMMY-nominated, chart-topping hit single, “Bad and Boujee.”  Lil Uzi Vert hit the road on the sold out PINK TAPE TOUR in 2023 and was nominated for Best Rap Song for the chart topping smash, “I Just Wanna Rock.”

About Lil Yachty Lil Yachty is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer from Atlanta Georgia. He’s released five studio albums, with his most recent being Let’s Start Here. , a psychedelic alternative rock album released in January of 2023 and debuted as #1 on Billboard’s Top Rock & Alternative Albums list, #9 on Billboard’s Top 200 list, was the #1 Album on Apple Music, and has received over 60 million streams in the first two months. He made his Saturday Night Live (SNL) musical guest debut April 1st of this year and he graced the cover of Billboard magazine’s 2023 March issue, has made multiple appearances on film and TV, collaborated with brands such as Sprite, Reese’s Puffs, and Nautica, delved into fashion with projects such as his own nail polish brand Crete, and has his own frozen pizza (Deep Cuts Yachty’s Pizzeria).

About J.I.D. Born and raised in East Atlanta, Grammy nominated J.I.D has been heralded as “one of rap’s best storytellers'' (Rolling Stone). He grew up on his parents’ collection of classic funk/soul LPs, and broke onto the scene with his 2015 EP, DiCaprio . Soon after J. Cole signed him to Dreamville Records and he

made his major-label debut with the widely celebrated The Never Story (2017), followed quickly by the critically acclaimed album DiCaprio 2 (2018) which helped induct him to XXL’s Freshman class. His momentum continued with stellar contributions to Dreamville’s Platinum certified compilation Revenge of the Dreamers III (2019) which debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top 200 charts and received multiple GRAMMY nominations. Having collaborated with music’s biggest names, J.I.D celebrated a global hit

with “Enemy” alongside Imagine Dragons in 2021; priming fans for J.I.D’s third studio album The Forever Story . Released last year, the album was widely acclaimed and included in many “best album of the

year” lists and included a stirring live rendition on NPR’s Tiny Desk stage. The album was kicked off with first single, “Surround Sound” featuring 21 Savage and Baby Tate, and two years since its initial release the song re-entered the Billboard Hot 100 charts in Fall of 2023 thanks to a viral internet trend dubbed “Surround Sound Ceiling Challenge.” The song which has now been used over half a million videos garnering over 3.5 billion views is nearing double Platinum status. His most personal project to date, The Forever Story is a celebration of storytelling and J.I.D’s ability to weave personality and prose seamlessly across infectious production. Revered for his live performance style, he has toured across the globe selling out venues and festival stages creating a wave of throbbing fans with every performance. His nimble, head-nodding lyricism and lightning fast flow has awarded J.I.D a loyal and cult-like fanbase while his dedication to perfecting the art is sportsman-like, leaving room for J.I.D to be one of rap’s greatest in the making.

About Rico Nasty Many artists change the game. However, Rico Nasty reinvents, recharges, and reimagines it with every move. Instead, the Washington, D.C.-born and Maryland-raised sonic sorceress shapeshifts at the speed of the culture, infusing airtight rap with uncontainable punk energy, hyperpop unpredictability, industrial intensity, and just the right amount of heavy metal attitude. Back in high school, she made waves with a series of independent projects before reaching critical mass with 2017’s Sugar Trap 2. On its heels, she maintained this momentum with the fan favorite Nasty in 2018. The collaborative mixtape Anger Management with Kenny Beats closed out 2019 on over a dozen year-end lists, including Complex, Dazed, Fact, The FADER, GQ, NME, Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, Stereogum, and Vice. During 2020, her full-length debut, Nightmare Vacation, boasted the gold-certified hit “Smack A Bitch.” Peers sought her out for high-profile collaborations, including the platinum “Tia Tamera” with Doja Cat, “#PROUDCATOWNERREMIX” with the late XXXTentacion, “¡aquí yo mando!” with Kali Uchis, and more. Rico’s’s the rare outlier who can grace the cover the XXL Freshman issue or light up Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty Show as an ambassador and ignite a mosh pit. With an inimitable and influential signature style, she has reached multiplatinum status, posted up nearly 1 billion streams, and sold out countless shows. Last year she unleashed unfiltered truth with the force of a tornado through a tidal wave on Las Ruinas but from here on out Rico’s new mission is to take us back to the Sugar Trap – where it all began.

About LIHTZ Philadelphia’s Andrew Christian Howard, p/k/a “LIHTZ” is a multifaceted artist that has made a name for himself in music and television. Born in West Philly, Lihtz had a rough upbringing moving from shelter to shelter with his sickly mother. At the age of 7-years-old, Lihtz and his family moved to West Oak Lane or the “Uptown” area of Philadelphia. It was here where he made a name for himself.

Inspired by his uncle, “Big Biscuit,” who was a rapper, Lihtz wanted to follow in his footsteps and by the age of 10-years-old, he found himself in a rap group. This along with his time in church played a heavy role in the soulfulness of his music and heartfelt lyrics.  Lihtz briefly moved to Atlanta after high school to hone in on his sound. Upon moving back to Philly, Lihtz received a cosign from Gillie Da Kid (Million Dollars Worth of Game Co-host) which helped launch his music career. Featured on songs from other artists in Philadelphia, Lihtz was able to build his own catalog of street anthems. This eventually led Lihtz to be featured on “Never Lose” by Meek Mill. Since that time, Lihtz has been met with moments of tragedy and career obstacles. In 2023 Lihtz emerged with a new image and sound which pushed him in a different direction from his earlier work. The intention of wearing a mask was to force people to focus on the music while also seeing him in a new light. Lihtz dedication to personal growth birthed many songs including his current single “Serenity.” The song represents the search for substance that gives your life purpose before it's too late.

About Summerfest presented by American Family Insurance   Summerfest presented by American Family Insurance is a premier independent music festival, hosting the industry’s biggest acts for an unforgettable live music experience.  Since its inception in 1968, Summerfest continues to distinguish itself as a top national music festival and has developed an unrivaled reputation, consistently featuring hundreds of performances across 12 stages, throughout the 75-acre festival grounds along Lake Michigan. Summerfest 2024 will take place over three weekends - June 20-22, June 27-29, and July 4-6. For more information, visit Summerfest.com , or follow us on social media @Summerfest on Facebook, Instagram, X, and TikTok.   

Milwaukee World Festival, Inc., producer of Summerfest, continues to fulfill its nonprofit mission of bringing the community together and providing a showcase for performing arts, activities, and recreation to the public, through music and special events.

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Let’s Start Here.

By Alphonse Pierre

Quality Control / Motown

February 1, 2023

At a surprise listening event last Thursday,  Lil Yachty   introduced his new album  Let’s Start Here. , an unexpected pivot, with a few words every rap fan will find familiar: “I really wanted to be taken seriously as an artist, not just some SoundCloud rapper or some mumble rapper.” This is the speech rappers are obligated to give when it comes time for the drum loop to take a backseat to guitars, for the rapping to be muted in favor of singing, for the ad-libs to give it up to the background singers, and for a brigade of white producers with plaque-lined walls to be invited into the fold. 

Rap fans, including myself, don’t want to hear it, but the reality is that in large slices of music and pop culture, “rapper” is thrown around with salt on the tongue. Pop culture is powerfully influenced by hip-hop, that is until the rappers get too close and the hands reach for the pearls. If anything, the 25-year-old Yachty—as one of the few rappers of his generation able to walk through the front door anyway because of his typically Gushers-sweet sound and innocently youthful beaded braid look—might be the wrong messenger. 

What’s sour about Yachty’s statement isn’t the idea that he wants to be taken seriously as an artist, but the question of  who  he wants to be taken seriously by. When Yachty first got on, a certain corner of rap fandom saw his marble-mouthed enunciation and unwillingness to drool over hip-hop history as symbols of what was ruining the genre they claimed to love. A few artists more beholden to tradition did some finger-wagging— Pete Rock and  Joe Budden ,  Vic Mensa and  Anderson .Paak , subliminals from  Kendrick and  Cole —but that was years ago, and by now they’ve found new targets. These days, Yachty is respected just fine within rap. If he weren’t, his year-long rebirth in the Michigan rap scene, which resulted in the good-not-great  Michigan Boy Boat , would have been viewed solely as a cynical attempt to boost his rap bona fides. His immersion there felt earnest, though, like he was proving to himself that he could hang. 

The respect Yachty is chasing on  Let’s Start Here. feels institutional. It’s for the voting committees, for the suits; for  Questlove to shout him out as  the future , for Ebro to invite him  back on his radio show and say  My bad, you’re dope.  Never mind if you thought Lil Yachty was dope to start with: The goal of this album is to go beyond all expectations and rules for rappers.

And the big pivot is… a highly manicured and expensive blend of  Tame Impala -style psych-rock, A24 synth-pop, loungey R&B, and  Silk Sonic -esque funk, a sound so immediately appealing that it doesn’t feel experimental at all. In 2020, Yachty’s generational peers,  Lil Uzi Vert and  Playboi Carti , released  Eternal Atake and  Whole Lotta Red : albums that pushed forward pre-existing sounds to the point of inimitability, showcases not only for the artists’ raps but their conceptual visions. Yachty, meanwhile, is working within a template that is already well-defined and commercially successful. This is what the monologue was for? 

To Yachty’s credit, he gives the standout performance on a crowded project. It’s the same gift for versatility that’s made him a singular rapper: He bounces from style to style without losing his individuality. A less interesting artist would have been made anonymous by the polished sounds of producers like  Chairlift ’s Patrick Wimberly,  Unknown Mortal Orchestra ’s Jacob Portrait, and pop songwriters Justin and Jeremiah Raisen, or had their voice warped by writing credits that bring together  Mac DeMarco ,  Alex G , and, uh,  Tory Lanez . The production always leans more indulgent than thrilling, more scattershot than conceptual. But Yachty himself hangs onto the ideas he’s been struggling to articulate since 2017’s  Teenage Emotions : loneliness, heartbreak, overcoming failure. He’s still not a strong enough writer to nail them, and none of the professionals collecting checks in the credits seem to have been much help, but his immensely expressive vocals make up for it. 

Actually, for all the commotion about the genre jump on this project, the real draw is the ways in which Yachty uses Auto-Tune and other vocal effects as tools to unlock not just sounds but emotion. Building off the vocal wrinkle introduced on last year’s viral moment “ Poland ,” where he sounds like he’s cooing through a ceiling fan, the highlights on  Let’s Start Here. stretch his voice in unusual directions. The vocals in the background of his wistful hook on “pRETTy” sound like he’s trying to harmonize while getting a deep-tissue massage. His shrill melodies on “paint THE sky” could have grooved with  the Weeknd on  Dawn FM . The opening warble of “running out of time” is like Yachty’s imitation of  Bruno Mars imitating  James Brown , and the way he can’t quite restrain his screechiness enough to flawlessly copy it is what makes it original.

Too bad everything surrounding his unpredictable and adventurous vocal detours is so conventional. Instrumental moments that feel like they’re supposed to be weird and psychedelic—the hard rock guitar riff that coasts to a blissful finale in “the BLACK seminole.” or the slow build of “REACH THE SUNSHINE.”—come off like half-measures.  Diana Gordon ’s falsetto-led funk on “drive ME crazy!” reaches for a superhuman register, but other guest appearances, like  Fousheé ’s clipped lilts on “pRETTy” and  Daniel Caesar ’s faded howls on the outro, are forgettable. None of it is ever  bad : The synths on “sAy sOMETHINg” shimmer; the drawn-out intro and outro of “WE SAW THE SUN!” set the lost, trippy mood they’re supposed to; “THE zone~” blooms over and over again, underlined by  Justine Skye ’s sweet and unhurried melodies. It’s all so easy to digest, so pitch-perfect, so safe.  Let’s Start Here. clearly and badly wants to be hanging up on those dorm room walls with  Currents and  Blonde and  IGOR . It might just work, too. 

Instead, consider this album a reminder of how limitless rap can be. We’re so eager for the future of the genre to arrive that current sounds are viewed as restricting and lesser. But rap is everything you can imagine. I’m thinking about “Poland,” a song stranger than anything here: straight-up 1:23 of chaos, as inventive as it is fun. I took that track as seriously as anything I heard last year because it latches onto a simple rap melody and pushes it to the brink. Soon enough, another rapper will hear that and take it in another direction, then another will do the same. That’s how you really get to the future. 

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Lil Yachty Clarifies The Tension Between Him And Lil Uzi Vert: ‘It’s Just Competition’

https://www.instagram.com/p/BWLKf4BDzWQ/

Maybe it’s the power of positive thinking, but Lil Yachty just can’t stop winning.

He dropped his debut album, Teenage Emotion , at just 19 years old last month, lit up Jimmy Kimmel’s performance stage alongside Kyle while performing their hit “iSpy,” and now he’s landed on the cover of prestigious music magazine The Fader along with a glowing profile detailing how he is leading the youth movement in hip-hop and breaking down the status quo.

Within the piece, author Rembert Browne likens Yachty to another old-head antagonist: Lil B.

In 2011, the height of the cult of Lil B, I saw his first show in New York at Hammerstein Ballroom. At one point, after the room full of teens were done throwing their shirts, chef hats, jewelry, shoes, and even a cell phone onstage as offerings to Lil B, he knighted a kid, said “I knighted him,” and declared, “Shout out to all my dudes that got hair on they chest. Shout out to all my dudes that got hair on they butts.” At the time, the rap world was wildly divided on Lil B: Was he a shame or a shaman? Six years ago, I was firmly convinced of the latter, often laughed out of conversations with rap purists for expressing a genuine appreciation for the liberating music and movement of Lil B. And now here I was, an older skeptic of a rapper who came up on Lil B, has a framed picture of Lil B in his Atlanta home, and, while more commercially popular, is essentially Charmeleon to Lil B’s Charmander.

While Yachty was quick to acknowledge that particular comparison, in the story he also ducked the one that’s starting to be made more often between himself and Lil Uzi Vert:

I pushed him on talking about Lil Uzi Vert, for example, with whom a rivalry had been suggested in an earlier radio interview, his answer prompting a clickbait-drenched blog post suggesting there was beef. That bothered Yachty. “Me and Uzi aren’t friends,” Yachty calmly offered. “We used to be cool. It’s not beef, it’s just competition. That’s all it is. We’re not friends.” He says what’s on his mind, and he’s quite personable, eventually. Just sometimes it takes a bit for him to recharge the battery.

It’s a fascinating profile of one of the most intriguing people currently rising in hip-hop. Check out the full cover story over at Fader .

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Lil Yachty Says He Didn’t Diss Lil Uzi in Song Played on Drake’s Radio Show, Calls Grown Men ‘Gay’ for Speculating

Lil Yachty wrote in since-deleted tweets that “grown men” are delusional for trying to force a beef between them.

In a series of tweets shared on Friday, Oct. 6, Lil Yachty has shut down claims he dissed Lil Uzi Vert in a new song premiered on Drake's OVO Sound Radio.

"U guys r so delusional," wrote Yachty in a tweet that has since been deleted. "U n***as go around living your life acting like u know us... shit is od weird y'all be grown men too... on here tryna piece shit together. don't be knowin nothing, get a job."

One person retweeted the comment and added, "rappers will clearly diss another rapper publicly & backpedal when they get called out on it." Yachty responded in another since-deleted comment. "I didn't diss him, I said we won't collab because we're not friends," Yachty wrote. "We aren't... we are cordial. Y'all r gay."

Speculation regarding issues between Yachty and Uzi kicked off after the OVO Sound Radio show included a laid-back track in which Lil Boat appears to say he's not friends with the Pink Tape artist. "Do the right thing like you're friends with Mookie," he raps in the unreleased track. "No matter how bad they want the collab I ain't friends with," he continues, trailing off with a line that seemingly alludes to Lil Uzi Vert.

LIL YACHTY JUST DISSED UZI ON A NEW SONG PREMIERED ON OVO SOUND👀 pic.twitter.com/Eo3x6B3Jz7 — pink (@uziupdatess) October 6, 2023

The two rappers have only collaborated on the XXL Freshman Cypher in 2016 and a remix for HoodRich Pablo Juan's "Zobamambafoo" in 2017. Outside of that, there's no indication they have any sort of working relationship. However, Yachty insists they're "cordial," and the reference in the track is just a playful teasing of fans who want to see them hop on a song together.

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Lil Yachty Supposedly Dissed Lil Uzi Vert On New Song Debuted On OVO Sound

Even though the "diss" is quite innocuous, it seems like Lil Boat still responded to the speculation shortly after.

It's been a hectic day for alleged disses, subliminals, and a whole lot of speculative fan theories. Not only do we have Drake 's new album For All The Dogs to digest, but his OVO Sound radio show also added to this pile of rumors. Moreover, Lil Yachty premiered a new, as-of-yet unreleased song on the platform, which many fans think contains a diss towards Lil Uzi Vert . It's quite the innocuous reference and one that we can't really confirm, but die-hards still put two and two together. What's more is that it's entirely possible that he responded to all these claims by calling cap on them via social media just hours after the station played the song.

"Do the right thing like you're friends with Mookie," Lil Yachty raps over a mellow, slow-paced beat. "No matter how bad they want the collab, I ain't friends with [muted]." Of course, since he muted the intended mention, we might never know for sure who Lil Boat referenced. However, since he and Lil Uzi Vert don't have a collab with each other (excluding a remix for HoodRich Pablo Juan), this is an understandable assumption. In addition, there's the fact that they came up in a similar time and have fan crossover, as they were on the same legendary XXL Freshman Cypher in 2016.

Read More: Lil Yachty Begs Nicki Minaj To Unblock Him: “I’m Actually A Huge Fan”

Lil Yachty Seems To Suggest He Isn't Friends With Lil Uzi Vert

Still, there are a lot of different people that Lil Yachty could've referred to with this bar completing the "Mookie" rhyme scheme. When you go through them, though ( Boosie Badazz , Toosii , etc.), they don't line up as logically. Regardless, this isn't even really a diss if you think about it; do we expect every rapper ever to get along or hate each other and not just coexist together? The 26-year-old even seemed to address this with a recent tweet on Friday morning (October 6).

Yachty's Cryptic Tweets

"U guys r so delusional," he tweeted. "U n***as go around living your life acting like u know us . S**t is od weird y'all be grown men too. On here tryna piece s**t together. Don't be known nothing. Get a job." Also, it seems like in a since-deleted tweet, the "Strike" hitmaker denied that this was a diss. As such, it seems like this is probably all just speculative, and even if it is true, it's not that deep. On that note, keep checking in with HNHH for more news and updates on Lil Yachty and Lil Uzi Vert.

Read More: Lil Uzi Vert Says They’re “Sick And Sad” While Previewing New Music

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Lil Yachty, 21 Savage, Lil Uzi Vert: In 2016, the Kids Took Over Rap

By Matthew Ramirez

The first time I heard Hawaiian Punch-braided teen rapper Lil Yachty was, fittingly, in a viral video . There’s no way in a million years would I have thought the artist behind what I assumed was literally a joke song could be a respectable rapper, but once I poked around his SoundCloud, I thought he had a sincerity that made him more than a novelty. Even so, I never imagined he’d play on the radio, or end up in a Sprite commercial with LeBron James. Then, not long after, I came across another meme featuring Yachty. He was in the top left quadrant of an Instagram post that blew up: the “No one over 30 can name all 4 of these n***** w/o Google” meme. Despite being 27 years old, I only recognized Yachty.

It was a shocking moment of feeling irrelevant, like my rap fandom had finally led me outside of the moment. The meme pushed me to eventually find out about Lil Uzi Vert, who sits to the right of Yachty in the quadrant. They’re both rascally young kids, except Yachty is more earnest and open, and Uzi—aided by his nasal tone and frantic delivery—is brattier, though far from what any old-fashioned hip-hop head would call hard. He’s Sum 41, while Yachty is Blink-182. Like “Fat Lip,” I heard Vert’s “Money Longer” in DJ sets and on the radio, and thought it was a fun, disposable radio song with a killer hook … that didn’t necessarily signal career longevity, I thought as I pressed my copy of To Pimp a Butterfly to my chest.

But there I was, being an old. Career longevity doesn’t necessarily matter to the rappers in that meme quadrant—Yachty, Vert, 21 Savage, and Playboi Carti—who are all 24 and younger. (Yachty is just 19 years old, making him the most relevant rapper alive who maybe doesn’t remember 9/11 happening.) On the surface, they don’t seem like they have a lot in common either thematically or sonically, but as a unit they comprise an unofficial movement of devil-may-care, youth-oriented rap. It ranges from the squawky but commercial-leaning Vert to the more eccentric Yachty, from jokesters like Houston’s Ugly God to gangsta rappers like 21 Savage. You can draw a line from Yachty to Wintertime or Playboi Carti to NBA YoungBoy based on the same cocktail of youth, the ease with which they repel rap fans 25 and older, their prodigious use of social media, and the insouciant ideas, twisted through the swagger of recent guys like Future, Migos, and Young Thug, swimming throughout their output. The snarkiest might call it shithead-teen rap, even if some of the principal artists are technically in their 20s.

Artists in this group earned their stripes through trial by fire—they were sent to the principal’s office, a.k.a. the interview chair of Ebro, Hot 97’s resident rap reactionary. (They were even dissed by J. Cole , the leader of the debate team.) On Ebro’s show, Yachty and Vert went so far as to insist they weren’t rappers. That’s a fine amount of logical hoops to jump through, even if they do court more of a rock-star image. (See this amazing, Beatlemania-esque viral video where Uzi is chased by adoring fans at a festival.) But hey, they were ready to own it. Yachty has a song called “King of the Teens”; on “Shoot Out the Roof,” he rapped, “You ain’t Uzi, you ain’t Carti, damn sure not me.”

These guys, along with some others, signaled another changing of rap’s tide. This has been a recurring wave for a few years: As far back as 2007, Soulja Boy broke through with “Crank That” and inspired a thousand “is this real rap” conversations. In 2012, Chief Keef inspired a thousand more “is this real rap” conversations before everyone started making drill; in 2013, Migos inspired even more “is this real rap” conversations before everyone started doing the Migos flow. So it goes. These guys are obviously inspired by Migos, as well as the frenetic style of Young Thug (another rap contrarian), but they’re younger, weirder, and maybe even more popular among the kids, who are always alright, even when they’re wrong. Here are some of our favorite songs by these renegade kids from 2016.

Lil Yachty, “1 Night” Where it all started for me. Still an irresistible, silly earworm.

Lil Yachty, “Minnesota” ft. Quavo, Young Thug, Skippa da Flippa This was the song that made me believe there was “more” to Yachty. While his verse retains his characteristically sloppy charm, the beat—an exercise in minimalism—propels “Minnesota,” which features two dudes who might be called the fathers of this scene, and one guy adjacent to it.

Lil Yachty, “All In” ft. Kodie Shane, Big Brutha Chubba, Kay The Yacht, Jban$2Turnt, TheGoodPerry, $oop, K$upreme, Byou Notable because it introduced me to Kodie Shane, and is my favorite song on Yachty’s uneven Summer Songs II tape. It’s also a good rap song, a team cipher that runs six essential minutes and has a wistful, youthful “seven years later and I got the same friends” hook.

Lil Uzi Vert, “You Was Right” Lil Uzi’s other big radio song, this is both one of his most outwardly rappity-rap tracks, and one of his most introspective. It’s a perfect dance song, too.

Lil Uzi Vert, “Ps and Qs” After two mixtapes and a joint mixtape with Gucci Mane, this remains my favorite Lil Uzi Vert track on the strength of its beat alone. More rap songs should prominently feature accordions.

Lil Uzi Vert, “Do What I Want” Speaking of more memes, I was cold on The Perfect Luv Tape until I saw Russell Westbrook rap along to this in his car. (Later, he replicated the spot for a Jordan commercial .) That’s when I knew he’d be all right in Oklahoma City.

21 Savage, “X” ft. Future By virtue of age (24) and style (cold, sobering gangsta rap), 21 Savage is the odd man out in this scene, but he belongs because he confused a lot of older people when he first came out. Plus, his “ issa knife ” moment became a meme, and he’s such a character he influenced a wack rapper—the shameless 22 Savage—in his wake. This is a fun, real-world hit, and while nothing 21 Savage does could be labeled “bratty,” the “I’m just flexing on my ex-bitch” hook thematically lines up with guys like Uzi.

Playboi Carti, “Fetti” ft. Da$h and Maxo Kream He didn’t quite taste the mainstream success of his peers in that four-quadrant meme, but Carti quietly released some good music this year. My favorite song of his remains his 2015 track “Fetti,” which predicted a lot of the “slowed-down-Migos-flow” stuff that really blew up in 2016.

Kodak Black, “Vibin in This Bih” ft. Gucci Mane Kodak hit too many legal troubles to truly blow up in 2016, and he’s yet to repeat the viral highs of 2015 jams “Skrt” and “Ran Up a Check.” His feature on “Lockjaw” was one of rap’s finest moments this year, but that’s definitely a French Montana song. On this song from Lil B.I.G. Pac he teams up with grandfather figure to all these guys, Gucci Mane, to trade spirited verses and establish himself as a “take me seriously” member of this team.

Madeintyo, “Uber Everywhere” A totally goofy and fun radio song, but I don’t think I’m alone in saying I’m not really checking for more Madeintyo songs, unless something really comes out and knocks me off my feet.

Trill Sammy, “Martin” Trill Sammy flies under the radar, but he secretly has millions of YouTube views on his songs and defiantly sticks out in a weird Houston scene whose most visible stars, Travis Scott and Sauce Twinz, sound nothing alike. “Martin” is a grating (and great) piece of “repetitive phrase rap” that sticks in your head. And I secretly enjoy his “ Uber Everywhere ” freestyle more than the real thing.

Amine, “Caroline” This is more in the vein of D.R.A.M.’s 2015 hit “Cha Cha,” but this crude yet joyful hit (53 million YouTube views and counting, appearing in the upper reaches of the Billboard Hot 100) was the sleeper song of the year. Amine earns points for taking the song to Jimmy Fallon and dropping an anti-Donald Trump verse at the end.

Ugly God, “Water” Houston’s 20-year-old Ugly God is the most genuinely weird artist out of all these guys. He’s like an evil Lil Yachty. The first reaction to an Ugly God song is to want to dismiss it as a joke, except Ugly God is an ace at writing hooks and has a genuinely funny personality. He’s impossible to hate.

Ugly God, “Booty From a Distance” Speaking of funny, Ugly God’s “ I Beat My Meat ” wears its iPhone ringtone sample too heavily to register as more than a novelty, but his “Booty From a Distance” is a great story song. Maybe it’s the Houston connection but I can’t help but think of Bushwick Bill when I listen.

Kodie Shane, “Hold Up” ft. Lil Uzi Vert and Lil Yachty I like Kodie because her music is fun and she has a great personality, but I also give her credit for hijacking the one Famous Dex song everybody liked (“Drip From My Walk”) and re-contextualizing it out of the view of the intolerable Chicago rapper who was primed to blow up like Yachty and Uzi, but was caught on camera beating a woman . This is a good little song that features the two biggest stars of the scene.

Wintertime, “Thru It All (Remix)” ft. iLoveMakonnen The Florida rapper’s most popular song, no doubt boosted by the appearance of iLoveMakonnen. It mixes atonal sing-song rapping with an ultra chill beat—it’s not as commercial as Yachty and less outrageous than Ugly God, but it treads the middle ground between easily digestible and borderline avant-garde.

NBA YoungBoy, “38 Baby” While NBA YoungBoy is more or less making traditional gangsta rap, he’s still only 17, and thriving on a post-Chief Keef, post-Bobby Shmurda wave that altered the fabric of gangsta rap by virtue of persistent youth alone, which makes him adjacent to this scene. This is a great song with a simmering, throwback West Coast sample, though of course the young rapper hails from Louisiana. (Unfortunately, like Keef and Shmurda, NBA YoungBoy is dealing with some serious-sounding legal issues .)

Migos, “Bad and Boujee” ft. Lil Uzi Vert As of this writing, this song sits at No. 24 on the Billboard Hot 100, which would make it the highest charting single of Migos’s career. Anecdotally, it’s also a song where people have decided to “come around” to Vert—his voice sounds right at home amid the distinctive tones of Migos, atop a pristine Metro Boomin beat with an inescapably catchy hook. While D.R.A.M. and Yachty’s “Broccoli” is a bigger hit (and peaked at No. 5), this is the first time it feels as if this “sound” propelled a song forward, rather than relying on a “who are these guys?” curiosity factor to reel people in.

This post Lil Yachty, 21 Savage, Lil Uzi Vert: In 2016, the Kids Took Over Rap first appeared on SPIN .

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Lil Uzi Vert to headline the Amp on Summerfest’s final day

In 2023, Summerfest’s lone amphitheater slot devoted to hip-hop didn’t quite go as planned, primarily due to Trippie Redd fouling up the run of show by taking the stage more than an hour late. The festival will hope for a smoother experience with its just-announced lineup for July 6: Lil Uzi Vert, Lil Yachty, JID, Rico Nasty and LIGHTZ.

At the top of that bill is the platinum-selling Lil Uzi Vert, whose first three proper studio LPs all reached the peak of the Billboard 200 album list. Before that, they got the attention of the industry with the 2015 mixtape Luv Is Rage and followed it up with another one in 2016, Lil Uzi Vert vs. the World , led by debut single “Money Longer.” Uzi went on to feature on the Migos track “ Bad and Boujee ” and scored a Best New Artist nomination at the 2018 Grammy Awards.

Lil Yachty might sound familiar to 88Nine listeners after his recent collaboration with Faye Webster, “ Lego Ring ,” which served as an advance single for Webster’s just-released album, Underdressed at the Symphony . Like his fellow Amp performer, Yachty went the mixtape route to turn heads and has since shown himself to be a bit of a genre-hopper, putting out a psych-rock-influenced album titled Let’s Start Here in January of 2023.

Atlanta-born JID has shown similar versatility over the course of several albums and hit a high point when he teamed up with Imagine Dragons for the 2021 single “ Enemy ,” which reached No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100. Rounding out the Amp lineup is Rico Nasty, whose mixtape-heavy output added a couple studio efforts in 2020 ( Nightmare Vacation ) and 2022 ( Las Ruinas ), and LIHTZ, who’s at a relatively early stage in his career compared with the rest of the lineup but has featured on several tracks from his fellow Philly artists, including Meek Mill’s “ Never Lose .”

Tickets for the July 6 show go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. this Friday, March 15, online via Ticketmaster and at the Summerfest box office.

Since SoundCloud was created in 2008 — man, that seems like centuries ago — the digital platform has become a home for burgeoning creativity and looming talent. Hip Hop artists, and even stars who grew to make names for themselves in many other genres, have been no exception to this trend with many high-charting superstars attributing their humble beginnings to the app.

Where would music today be without SoundCloud? Thankfully, we will never know. From Playboi Carti to Rico Nasty, here’s a list of 12 iconic artists of the SoundCloud rap era. Do you see any of your favorites below?

1. XXXTentacion

XXXTentacion emerged as a young rap star who brazenly mixed genres like emo and Hip Hop to concoct intimate creations of his own. He released “Vice City” to SoundCloud and became the next internet sensation in over a year. With his 2015 hit “Look At Me!,” the Florida-born rapper quickly rose to viral superstardom. The rapper died in 2018.

2. Playboi Carti

Playboi Carti has the SoundCloud-era rapper story that many dream of; the famous “Magnolia” making him the shining star of the SoundCloud rap pack. Carti’s fun, ad-libbing lyrical madness over kaleidoscopic beats has landed him at the top of the charts. His music carved a lane of its own, inspiring a revival in the “Milly Rock” dance or contributing the famous “Yo, Pierre,” earworm that continues to burrow into our minds ’til this day.

3. Lil Uzi Vert

Lil Uzi Vert is known today as a rap idol and fashion icon, rocking a distinct punk rock look that goes along perfectly with the sound of his music. The Philadelphia-born artist is known for hits such as “XO Tour Lif3,” which has garnered over a billion streams. Uzi is still making incredible bangers, with the recent release “Just Wanna Rock” landing in the top 10 songs of the Billboard Hot 100 charts. Before taking the rap world by storm, the musician built up a loyal fanbase with early songs on SoundCloud and became the most-followed artist on the app in 2016.

4. Juice WRLD

The Chicago rapper curated a sound that oozes melancholy over attention-grabbing melodies. Juice WRLD , who rose to the top with songs like “All Girls Are the Same” and “Lucid Dreams,” and a mish-mash of emo, pop-punk and rap influences, found his footing on SoundCloud. He came to harness the depressive-ridden sounds of the SoundCloud rap era to new heights. He unfortunately died in 2019 at the tender age of 21. His songs remain widespread, with achievements like 79 entries on the Billboard Hot 100 under the artist’s belt.

5. Lil Yachty

Lil Yachty had the rap world in shambles when his nautical-inspired hit “1 Night” went viral and practically made him a star overnight. Although Yachty was ridiculed for his simplistic but catchy lyrics and melodies, or “bubble-gum trap” as he once called it, he soon took over the internet and has remained there. He has also evolved his sound since then, his latest psychedelic rock album, Let’s Start Here, serving as proof. Yachty’s auto-tuned vocals often provide a fitting soundtrack for the lives of the younger generation, fitting that TikTok vibe perfectly.

6. Post Malone

Post Malone has sustained massive success since he released the SoundCloud-bound single “White Iverson.” With platinum hits like “Sunflower” and “Congratulations,” it’s safe to say that Post Malone figured out how to use the algorithm for fame and isn’t planning to stop anytime soon.

7. BbyMutha

BbyMutha, or BIG MUTHA as she deems herself, is a rapper from Chattanooga, Tennessee. She is known for bringing old-school Southern Hip Hop influences like La Chat to modern rap sounds. Easily one of the most talented musicians to emerge from the SoundCloud rap scene, the mother of four quickly gained a reputation for spitting the most clever yet relatable lyrics about Black womanhood, queerness, motherhood and more. Songs like “Heavy Metal” locked in her status in the rap canon for greatness. She also never quit releasing music on alternative digital platforms, regularly utilizing Bandcamp to show off her latest hits.

8. Rico Nasty

Rico Nasty came onto the scene with her bold and unapologetic scream-rap sound mixed with saccharine pop sweetness also known as “Sugar Trap.” The rapper first made waves on SoundCloud with hits like “iCarly,” a bubble-gum pop-rap track that loses no edge as Nasty spits about hitting a lick with her drug supplier. Slowly but surely, songs like “Poppin,” which later appeared on the “Insecure” Season 2 soundtrack, and “Smack A B**ch,” cemented Rico Nasty’s rise from SoundCloud rap to mainstream music. With multi-genre musical influences from metal, punk, rock and more, the Maryland-born rapper’s sound and style quickly captured our hearts and catapulted her to stardom.

9. Asian Doll

Asian Doll brought a unique sound and look that defined the SoundCloud era for years. The Texas-born rapper wasn’t afraid to mix the old school rap with an updated flow, which got her respect from her peers and a loyal army of fans. The rapper was signed to Gucci Mane’s label and went on to collaborate with other notable rap figures like PnB Rock and Yachty.

10. Molly Brazy

Molly Brazy knows how to spit the most relatable lyrics, like her age-old moniker, “Never trust a b**ch gossipin’ and talkin’ s**t,” in “Trust None.” Never losing her gritty approach to music, Molly Brazy has done nothing but keep it incredibly real. Brazy made the 2010s rap girl era iconic, thanks to her collaborations with artists like Cuban Doll in songs like “Let It Blow,” which is still being quoted by millennials and Gen Zers today.

11. Trippie Redd

Trippie Redd grabbed the attention of the algorithms thanks to his dedication to the emo rap sound. With hits like “Topanga” and “Love Scars,” Redd showed that he wasn’t afraid to mix any other genre and rap. Furthermore, the musician is admired for the evolution of his sound from the SoundCloud rap era, with his album A Love Letter to You being released to critical acclaim. The Ohio-born rapper is a hit-making machine.

12. Ski Mask The Slump God

The list would not be complete without Ski Mask the Slump God . Rolling with SoundCloud partner-in-crime and fellow member of the Members Only club XXXTentacion, he created a unique sound that boasted clever, if shocking, lyrics delivered with a fast and concise flow. Thanks to SoundCloud exclusives like” Catch Me Outside,” he quickly gained a cult following on the platform.

Summerfest in Milwaukee reveals 2024 headliner lineup, with more than 140 acts

Superstar DJ Illenium, soul rockers Black Pumas and the late Tom Petty's righthand man Mike Campbell are set for Summerfest in 2024 — along with over 140 other headliners.

The 56-year-old Milwaukee music festival — one of the oldest, largest and most musically diverse in America — revealed the headliner lineup Thursday morning, ranging from singer-rapper Toosii to riot grrrl pioneers Sleater-Kinney to up-and-comer David Kushner of viral hit "Daylights."

R&B group En Vogue, country up-and-comer Jessie Murph and breakout Milwaukee rappers Certified Trapper and DC The Don are also among the headliners scheduled to play one of the festival’s eight primary stages June 20 to 22, June 27 to 29 and July 4 to 6 at Maier Festival Park on Milwaukee’s lakefront.

Illenium has been added as the eighth headliner for the festival's largest venue, the 23,000-person-capacity American Family Insurance Amphitheater, on June 27. A separate ticket will be required to see the show, but same-day Summerfest general admission is included. Tickets for Illenium's show will go on sale at 10 a.m. March 29 at the box office (200 N. Harbor Drive) and summerfest.com , with prices (and opening acts) to be announced.

More headliners — including one more concert at the festival's largest venue, the American Family Insurance Amphitheater, and one final show at the BMO Pavilion — will be announced in the coming weeks. A full schedule featuring around 800 acts, most based in Wisconsin, is expected by late May.

How much are tickets for Summerfest 2024?

Single-day general admission tickets are $28 at summerfest.com . Three-day general admission passes are currently $62, and nine-day passes are currently $130, through Summerfest’s website and box office (200 N. Harbor Drive).

Special promotions, which will include multiple opportunities to get in for free, will be announced later this spring.

Summerfest general-admission tickets don’t include reserved seats for headlining shows at the BMO Pavilion or access to the “Level Up” VIP deck for headliners at the Miller Lite Oasis. They also do not include access to any American Family Insurance Amphitheater concerts.

Prices vary for amphitheater tickets, and for reserved seats for the BMO Pavilion, for each show, but cover same-day Summerfest general admission. Those tickets are available through Summerfest and also Ticketmaster.

Prices will also range for “Level Up” access for each Miller Lite Oasis headlining show. "Level Up" tickets, at $100, include two beverages (from a list of select Pepsi and Miller Coors products); access to seating, a private bar and private restrooms; and same-day Summerfest general admission.

"Level Up" tickets will soon be available for these Miller Lite Oasis shows, announced Thursday:

• June 20: Latin Mafia and Kevin Kaarl (8:30 p.m.)
• June 21: Toosii and Gloss Up (8:30 p.m.)
• June 22: Umphrey's McGee and Doom Flamingo (8:30 p.m.)
• June 27: Allison Wonderland and Ian Asher (8:30 p.m.)
• June 29: The Church and Afghan Whigs (8:30 p.m.)
• July 4: Sleeping With Sirens and Set It Off (8:30 p.m.)
• July 5: Paul Cauthen and Colby Acuff (8:30 p.m.)
• July 6: Cold War Kids (10:15 p.m.)

Previously announced Summerfest 2024 performers include Tyler Childers, Maroon 5, Lil Uzi Vert

The more than 140 Summerfest headliners revealed Thursday join 30 acts that had previously been announced.

Tickets are on sale for seven of the nine Summerfest 2024 amphitheater concerts, including:

• Kane Brown with Kameron Marlowe and Nightly (June 20)
• Mötley Crüe with Seether and Buckcherry (June 21)
• Tyler Childers with S.G. Goodman and Adeem The Artist (June 28)
• Keith Urban with NEEDTOBREATHE and Alana Springsteen (June 29)
• AJR with Carly Rae Jepsen and Mxmtoon (July 4)
• Maroon 5 (July 5)
• Lil Uzi Vert with Lil Yachty, JID, Rico Nasty and LIHTZ (July 6)

(Tickets for the eighth announced amphitheater headliner, Illenium, go on sale March 29.)

And reserved seats are still on sale for seven of the nine Summerfest 2024 night-closing concerts previously revealed for the BMO Pavilion:

• Brittany Howard with The War & Treaty (June 20)
• Goo Goo Dolls (June 22)
• Muna (June 27)
• REO Speedwagon (June 28)
• FLETCHER (June 29)
• Mt Joy (July 4)
• Bryson Tiller (July 5)

Reserved seats are sold out for Ivan Cornejo's BMO Pavilion performance July 6.

Contact Piet at (414) 223-5162 or  [email protected] . Follow him on X at  @pietlevy  or Facebook at  facebook.com/PietLevyMJS .

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Why the 2016 XXL Freshman Class Stands as the Best Ever

Worldwide Steppers Lil Uzi Vert, Denzel Curry, 21 Savage, Kodak Black, Lil Yachty, G Herbo, Dave East, Anderson .Paak, Desiigner and Lil Dicky united as one for the 2016 XXL Freshman Class. Six years later, their union has become the greatest of all time. Words: Peter A. Berry Editor’s Note: This story will appear in the Summer 2022 issue of XXL Magazine, on stands soon.

When modern-day hip-hop fans think of  XXL Freshman , they often go to the 2016 Class over the past 15 years the annual issue has existed. Since being unveiled six years ago, the 2016 Class has become synonymous with XXL Freshman the way Macbooks are with laptops; a subconscious avatar of what’s supposed to be—something that, depending on how old a fan is, might even feel like has always been. In 2022, colorful hair and slurred melodies are default tools in a rap starter kit, and No. 1 singles start out on SoundCloud before platforms like Instagram and TikTok shift them over into platinum plaques.

The 2016 XXL Freshman Class , composed of Lil Uzi Vert , 21 Savage , Kodak Black , Anderson .Paak , Lil Yachty , G Herbo , Denzel Curry , Dave East , Lil Dicky and Desiigner , has helped define this new version of rap normal while most of its members continue reaching new career plateaus more than half a decade after the class was revealed. Nine years after the unveiling of the first XXL Freshman cover in 2007 , the 2016 Class stands as an unmatched combination of influence, peak achievement and longevity that’s made it the greatest ever. In an appropriate benefactor for a class defined by the internet, a big part of its popularity has to do with a viral video.

Dating back to 2011, XXL offered two rap-based proving grounds for members of their Freshman classes . One is a solo a cappella freestyle where the Freshman can spit for as long as they want by themselves. The other is the cypher, which features three to four members of that year’s class rapping together over a beat given to them by XXL .

Through 2015, XXL only provided artists with the beats for cyphers on the day of the Freshman cover shoot. In 2016, XXL switched it up and gave artists the cypher beats beforehand. The one and only year they did that. And so, the 2016 cypher with Lil Uzi Vert, 21 Savage, Kodak Black, Denzel Curry and Lil Yachty doubled as an experiment—one intentional and the other an accident.

The first test was giving Freshmen the beat beforehand. The unintended one was grouping Curry in the cypher with Uzi, 21, Kodak and Lil Yachty. Denzel's team was given two beats in advance by XXL . So naturally, Denzel created a verse for only one of the corresponding beats he was provided, which was for a different cypher. He ultimately ended up in a cypher he was never supposed to be in. Free-wheeling, fun and colorfully eclectic, the lawless rhyme session was a microcosm of rap’s new era, a striking blend of terse street raps, free-associative flexes and playful energy. To date, it’s been analyzed and parodied by countless YouTubers, and it’s been viewed over 200 million times, the most of any Freshman video in history and the biggest cypher in hip-hop history.

While that cypher has been stitched into web immortality, it’s also created the idea that the class was always seen as a success. The thing is, the 2016 Class started out as just another time rap fans thought this publication got it wrong. In the weeks following the 2016 XXL Freshman Class ’ unveiling on June 13, 2016, a meme with trash bags superimposed over the artists on the cover was circulating on Twitter just as much as the cover itself. To watch one of the Freshman freestyle sessions was to read inane YouTube comments claiming a few 2016 Freshmen should be in a special needs class. At this point, "Soundcloud rapper" still doubled as an insult, and at least half the Freshman artists were seen—as the late, great Tupac Shakur once said—like "product[s] made to crumble"; gimmicky viral artists designed to dissolve as quickly as their internet buzz materialized.

"It was a changing of the guard," says DJ Drama , who DJ'd the cyphers in years 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016, and signed Uzi to his Generation Now label in 2014. "The old heads didn’t understand the Uzi Verts and the 21 Savages and Yachtys and the Kodaks." And yet, genius is rarely recognized in its own time, and six years later, many of the 2016 Class’ perceived flaws are the reason it’s become indelible.

SoundCloud rap started out as a pejorative term and a genre classification, but by 2016, it had also become a dominant commercial force. Uzi’s breakout singles, "Money Longer" and "You Was Right," earned placements in the top 55 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 chart before the end of the year, and in 2017, his single, "XO Tour Llif3," peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. For his part, Lil Yachty’s mushy melodies, carefree lyrics and fashion sense helped him power to two Billboard Hot 100 top five singles and a Sprite commercial with LeBron James before Yachty even dropped an album. Using streaming platforms, most of the 2016 Freshman Class also cultivated enormous fan bases. The ability to drop however and whenever they wanted to create at their own pace worked to their benefit.

Lil Dicky’s career also echoes the strength of the internet, as well as the staying power an artist can extract by mastering it. Although Dicky hasn’t dropped a full-length project since his 2015 debut, Professional Rapper , his quirky sense of humor fueled one-off releases like the Chris Brown-assisted "Freaky Friday" and 2019’s "Earth," designed-to-go-viral spectacles that earned hundreds of millions of YouTube views and RIAA-certified plaques.

Knowing the way around the internet is cool, but sometimes it’s better for it to navigate a rapper. Snapping his fingers in a New York City studio, Desiigner’s bizarre, but infectious "Timmy Turner" Freshman freestyle earned nearly 15 million YouTube views and countless memes before he made it into a platinum single, selling 1 million units.

Since then, web relevance, once considered an ephemeral ploy, has continued to largely parallel commercial success. Artists like 21 Savage and Kodak Black have become further immortalized through memes and viral video clips; 21’s 2017 ESPN appearance, which led to a barrage of supervillain memes , and footage of Kodak’s gleeful shimmying while a song snippet played preceded the ubiquity of his 2018 single "Zeze."  This virility doubles as institutional branding that can cement artists as totems of pop culture, and that’s a fact not lost on the folks promoting them.

These days, labels pay for social media maestros to create memes so they can simulate a buzz. Songs are given to TikTok users to create the same effect. Even someone like Future, a 2012 Freshman , has worked memes into his performances, a direct reflection of a symbiosis that’s only strengthened after the unveiling of the 2016 Freshmen.

The internet is a big factor in the dominance of the 2016 Class, but it’s also just one piece of the equation, especially when comparing it to other classes. While the best Freshman classes can rival 2016’s in terms of top star power, none have equaled the top-to-bottom relevancy this long after their cover’s release. These rappers have found inventive ways to maintain connections to fans in and out of music.

Over the last half-decade, Uzi, 21 Savage and Kodak Black have each released platinum albums and accumulated numerous gold and platinum singles along with a whole lot of critical acclaim. Lil Yachty and Lil Dicky have also racked up plaques for singles, too. Dicky’s got an FX show, Dave . A disciple of Dr. Dre, Anderson .Paak’s won eight Grammy Awards. Dave East , who solidified his status as a rap classicist with well-received solo and joint projects, stars as Method Man in Hulu’s Wu-Tang: An American Saga . After helping spearhead the advent of Chicago drill music a decade ago, G Herbo ’s most recent album, 2021’s PTSD , earned his best first-week sales total and a gold plaque. Miami rep Denzel earned acclaim after dropping four stellar solo albums since being named a 2016 Freshman. His most recent is this year’s Melt My Eyez See Your Future . Denzel also has two gold and platinum plaques to his name.

In the years since the 2016 XXL Freshman cover hit newsstands, newly selected Freshmen have usually named the 2016 Class as their favorite. To say you’re a fan of the 2016 Class is to say you’re a fan of modern hip-hop. In rap terms, six years is an eternity, but the 2016 Class has managed to evolve rather than age, the benefit of growing into a hip-hop world they helped create. "Everybody in that bitch was great," Denzel says of his fellow 2016 Freshman classmates. "These guys are shaping the game to this day with what they’re doing and possibly have the best chemistry out of all the classes."

Greatness personified.

Read the 2022 XXL Freshman cover story featuring BabyTron , Cochise , Saucy Santana , Babyface Ray , KenTheMan , SoFaygo , Big Scarr , Big30 , KayCyy , Doechii , Kali and Nardo Wick when the Freshman issue hits stands everywhere on July 13. The magazine includes additional interviews with Lupe Fiasco , Kevin Gates , Pi’erre Bourne , NLE Choppa , Yvngxchris , producer DJ Dahi , engineer Teezio and singer Chlöe, plus a breakdown of every Freshman Class from a numbers standpoint, a look back at what the 2021 XXL Freshman Class is doing, the story of why the 2016 XXL Freshman Class  gets so much respect now, a deep dive into the world of NFTs through hip-hop’s lens and exploring rappers’ most valuable collections. You can also buy the 2022 XXL Freshman Class issue here.

See 50 Facts About the 2016 XXL Freshman Class

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Lil Uzi Vert Blasts Lil Yachty Over JT from The City Girls

JT has been very private about her dating life but sis might have some explaining to do after Lil Uzi Vert sent out a very interesting tweet this past weekend.

Fans have been connecting JT and Lil Uzi Vert as a couple for some time now, although it has never been officially stated by either of the two, lyrics to Uzi’s song “Lo Mein” and a recent interview with the City Girls has fans pretty confident that the two are in some sort of entanglement.

“@lilyachty wya you know what u did in 2018,” Uzi wrote to Yachty.

“”What I do,” Yachty repsonded with the surprised face emoji.

“JT,” Uzi responded.  

We are not sure what exactly Uzi means by this tweet, but all post have been removed shortly after they were posted. Publicity stunt or love affair?

View this post on Instagram #liluzivert wanna know what happen in 2018 w/ #lilyachty 👀😳 A post shared by DJ Akademiks (@akademiks) on Sep 13, 2020 at 8:57pm PDT

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Just released: Summerfest lineup includes Keith Urban, Motley Crue, and Lil Yachty

Winter temperatures may have set in but summer is just around the corner — along with one of Milwaukee's favorite events. Summerfest 2024 will return to the lakefront during the weekends of June 20-22, June 27-29 and July 4-6. The much awaited lineup was announced Thursday. Kane Brown and Motley Crue will play the opening weekend at the American Family Insurance Amphitheater. Keith Urban and Alana Springsteen will play the second weekend and Lil Uzi Vert and Lil Yacthy will close out the final weekend of Summerfest. The Goo Goo...

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Just released: Summerfest lineup includes Keith Urban, Motley Crue, and Lil Yachty

Winter temperatures may have set in but summer is just around the corner — along with one of Milwaukee's favorite events.

Summerfest 2024 will return to the lakefront during the weekends of June 20-22, June 27-29 and July 4-6.

The much awaited lineup was announced Thursday.

Kane Brown and Motley Crue will play the opening weekend at the American Family Insurance Amphitheater. Keith Urban and Alana Springsteen will play the second weekend and Lil Uzi Vert and Lil Yacthy will close out the final weekend of Summerfest.

The Goo Goo Dolls will play at the BMO Pavilion June 22nd and REO Speedwago will play there June 28th. Mt. Joy will put on a performance there on July 4th.

Some other fun acts to look out for include the Gin Blossoms at Briggs & Stratton Big Back Yard on June 20th. Don't miss Boys Like Girls at USCellular Connection Stage on June 27th. Lil Tecca will take that same stage on July 5th.

You can find a link to the complete lineup here .

What do you think of this year's Summerfest Lineup?

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Milwaukee's Summerfest 2024 headliners: Toosii joins lineup of Tyler Childers, Motley Crue

S uperstar DJ Illenium, soul rockers Black Pumas and the late Tom Petty 's righthand man Mike Campbell are set for Summerfest in 2024 — along with over 140 other headliners.

The 56-year-old Milwaukee music festival — one of the oldest, largest and most musically diverse in America — revealed the headliner lineup Thursday morning, ranging from singer-rapper Toosii to riot grrrl pioneers Sleater-Kinney to up-and-comer David Kushner of viral hit "Daylights."

R&B group En Vogue , country up-and-comer Jessie Murph and breakout Milwaukee rappers Certified Trapper and DC The Don are also among the headliners scheduled to play one of the festival’s eight primary stages June 20 to 22, June 27 to 29 and July 4 to 6 at Maier Festival Park on Milwaukee’s lakefront.

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Illenium has been added as the eighth headliner for the festival's largest venue, the 23,000-person-capacity American Family Insurance Amphitheater, on June 27. A separate ticket will be required to see the show, but same-day Summerfest general admission is included. Tickets for Illenium's show will go on sale at 10 a.m. March 29 at the box office and summerfest.com, with prices (and opening acts) to be announced.

When does Summerfest 2024 lineup come out?

More headliners — including one more concert at the festival's largest venue, the American Family Insurance Amphitheater, and one final show at the BMO Pavilion — will be announced in the coming weeks. A full schedule featuring around 800 acts, most based in Wisconsin, is expected by late May.

How much are Summerfest 2024 tickets?

Single-day general admission tickets are $28 at summerfest.com. Three-day general admission passes are currently $62, and nine-day passes are currently $130, through Summerfest’s website and box office.

Special promotions, which will include multiple opportunities to get in for free, will be announced later this spring.

Summerfest general admission tickets don’t include reserved seats for headlining shows at the BMO Pavilion or access to the “Level Up” VIP deck for headliners at the Miller Lite Oasis. They also do not include access to any American Family Insurance Amphitheater concerts.

Lollapalooza lineup 2024: SZA, Blink-182, The Killers among headliners

Prices vary for amphitheater tickets, and for reserved seats for the BMO Pavilion, for each show, but cover same-day Summerfest general admission. Those tickets are available through Summerfest and also Ticketmaster.

Prices will also range for “Level Up” access for each Miller Lite Oasis headlining show. "Level Up" tickets, at $100, include two beverages (from a list of select Pepsi and Miller Coors products); access to seating, a private bar and private restrooms; and same-day Summerfest general admission.

"Level Up" tickets will soon be available for these Miller Lite Oasis shows, announced Thursday:

• June 20: Latin Mafia and Kevin Kaarl (8:30 p.m.)
• June 21: Toosii and Gloss Up (8:30 p.m.)
• June 22: Umphrey's McGee and Doom Flamingo (8:30 p.m.)
• June 27: Allison Wonderland and Ian Asher (8:30 p.m.)
• June 29: The Church and Afghan Whigs (8:30 p.m.)
• July 4: Sleeping With Sirens and Set It Off (8:30 p.m.)
• July 5: Paul Cauthen and Colby Acuff (8:30 p.m.)
• July 6: Cold War Kids (10:15 p.m.)

Summerfest 2024 lineup: Tyler Childers, Maroon 5, Lil Uzi Vert

The more than 140 Summerfest headliners revealed Thursday join 30 acts that had previously been announced.

Tickets are on sale for seven of the nine Summerfest 2024 amphitheater concerts, including:

• Kane Brown with Kameron Marlowe and Nightly (June 20)
• Mötley Crüe with Seether and Buckcherry (June 21)
• Tyler Childers with S.G. Goodman and Adeem The Artist (June 28)
• Keith Urban with NEEDTOBREATHE and Alana Springsteen (June 29)
• AJR with Carly Rae Jepsen and Mxmtoon (July 4)
• Maroon 5 (July 5)
• Lil Uzi Vert with Lil Yachty , JID, Rico Nasty and LIHTZ (July 6)

(Tickets for the eighth announced amphitheater headliner, Illenium, go on sale March 29.)

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And reserved seats are still on sale for seven of the nine Summerfest 2024 night-closing concerts previously revealed for the BMO Pavilion:

• Brittany Howard with The War & Treaty (June 20)
• Goo Goo Dolls (June 22)
• Muna (June 27)
• REO Speedwagon (June 28)
• FLETCHER (June 29)
• Mt Joy (July 4)
• Bryson Tiller (July 5)

Reserved seats are sold out for Ivan Cornejo's BMO Pavilion performance July 6.

Contact Piet at (414) 223-5162 or  [email protected] . Follow him on X at  @pietlevy  or Facebook at  facebook.com/PietLevyMJS .

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee's Summerfest 2024 headliners: Toosii joins lineup of Tyler Childers, Motley Crue

Full Summerfest 2024 lineup announced: See headliners and who's playing this year

Summerfest takes place over three weekends in milwaukee, published 2 hours ago • updated 2 hours ago.

The lineup and headliners for Milwaukee's 2024 Summerfest has been released, with big names like Keith Urban, Maroon 5, Mötley Crüe, REO Speedwagon, Illenium and more. The announcement was posted to Summefest's Facebook page at 6 a.m. Thursday.

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The Wisconsin music festival will run for three consecutive weekends in downtown Milwaukee, running from noon to midnight on June 20-22, 27-29 and July 4-6. It will host more than 1,000 performances across 12 different stages, organizers said.

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Here’s a look at what we know so far about headlining performances:

June 20-22 Headliners

June 20: Kane Brown with Kameron Marlow & Nightly

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June 21: Mötley Crüe with Seether and Buck Cherry

June 22: Headliner not yet announced

Other artists that weekend include the Goo Goo Dolls, Black Pumas, En Vogue, Three Dog Night, Gin Blossoms and O.A.R.

June 27, 28, 29

June 27: Illenium

June 28: Tyler Childers with S.G. Goodman & Adeem the Artist

June 29: Keith Urban with Need to Breathe and Alana Springsteen

Other artists that weekend include Muna, Hippo Campus, Sleater-Kinney, The Afghan Whigs and more.

July 4, 5, 6

July 4: AJR with Carly Rae Jepsen & mxmtoon

July 5: Maroon 5

July 6: Lil Uzi Vert with Lil Yachty, JID, and Rico Nasty and LIHTZ

Other artists that weekend include Bryson Tiller, The Wallflowers, Local Natives, Cold War Kids, Amy Grant, Sister Hazel and more.

Tickets are currently on sale and begin at $28. Additional artists may continue to be announced. More information about lineup and tickets can be found here .

Keith Urban and Mötley Crüe are also set to play at the 2024 Illinois State Fair Grandstand stage . Earlier this week, Chicago's 2024 Lollapalooza lineup came out , featuring Blink-182, SZA, Tyler, Skrillex, Stray Kids and more.

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Goldenvoice announces new stage for Coachella featuring Jamie XX, Eric Prydz and more

Coachella's new stage, quasar, will feature a different lineup of three-hour sets by international djs, music producers and composers both weekends..

The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival will have a new stage this year when it returns April 12-14 and 19-21, and its sets will be much longer than festivalgoers are used to.

On Monday, Los Angeles promoter Goldenvoice announced the Quasar stage featuring extended three-hour sets during both weekends. Details of its location and set times were not included, but the lineup features international DJs, music producers and composers.

In February, organizers announced the expansion and relocation of the EDM-centric Sahara Tent. That new 320-foot-long structure will be located between Avenue 51 and Polo Road, south of its previous location and closer to the blue path parking area.

The Quasar lineup for both Coachella weekends

• Friday, April 12: Honey Dijon, Green Velvet
• Saturday, April 13: Michael Bibi
• Sunday, April 14: Jamie XX, Floating Points and Daphni
• Friday, April 19: RÜFÜS DU SOL (DJ Set)
• Saturday, April 20: Eric Prydz, Anyma
• Saturday, April 21: Diplo, Mau P

Passes are still available

When passes for the 2023 edition of Coachella went on sale last year, the annual gathering in the desert  did not sell out immediately  for the first time since Goldenvoice introduced two weekends more than a decade ago. 

This year, the pattern continues.

Weekend 1 General Admission and VIP passes are no longer available. Both GA and VIP passes are available for Weekend 2.

Lana Del Rey, Tyler, the Creator and Doja Cat will headline both weekends . Other performers on the lineup include: Peso Pluma, Renee Rapp, Lil Uzi Vert, Justice, Blur, Ice Spice, Grimes, Jon Batiste, Jungle, Lil Yachty, J Balvin, DJ Snake, Bebe Rexha and more.

The lineup also features the reunited rock band No Doubt , featuring Gwen Stefani, Tony Kanal, Tom Dumont and Adrian Young. It will mark the first time in nearly 10 years since the group performed together.

This is the first time in the festival's history that more than one woman will headline Coachella. It's also one of the most Southern California-centric lineups, with Tyler, the Creator and Doja Cat growing up around the Los Angeles area, and Lana Del Rey residing nearby as well. No Doubt is also from Orange County.

Desert Sun reporter Brian Blueskye covers arts and entertainment. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter at @bblueskye.