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.
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