Kendrick Lamar To Headline Hot 97 Summer Jam 2015
With apologies to Atlanta’s Birthday Bash, New York radio station Hot 97’s annual Summer Jam show is still the gold standard for annual rap spectacles. Once a year, Hot 97 takes over New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium, bringing some of rap’s biggest stars and piling on the unexpected cameos and collaborations. (It’s famously the show where Jay-Z debuted “Takeover” and brought out Michael Jackson on the same day.) Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp A Butterfly may be a dense and sometimes difficult album, but Lamar is still enough of a populist to headline this year’s iteration of Summer Jam, which goes down 6/7. Kendrick landed the plum headlining spot at this year’s show, which means the rap establishment has a ton of faith in him. This year’s bill also features Big Sean, Chris Brown, Trey Songz, Meek Mill, Fabolous, Childish Gambino, Ty Dolla $ign and friends, and Omarion. Before the main show, the outdoor festival stage will feature B.o.B., Joey Bada$$, Dej Loaf, Travi$ Scott, and Teyana Taylor.