Did someone say summer? As we embrace with wide open arms the joys that come hand-in-hand with the British population’s best loved, most highly-anticipated season, team UKHH are preparing to do rounds of some of most exciting festivals the UK (and beyond) have to offer. In April we announced some of the antics we’ve got planned for Nozstock—thefirst strand of this years UKHH Summer Sickness—and now we’re proud to say we’re adding the mad universe that is Boomtown Fair to the roster.
Undeniably one of the strongest branches of the UK’s festival tree, Boomtown boasts the most impressive, all-genre encompassing lineup going—and best believe that includes a whole load of hip hop. While huge names such as Ms. Lauryn Hill and The Streets will be seen headlining on the Lions Den stage, a mad mix of hip hop-and-rap based acts will be making appearances across various districts.
While the lineup proudly dons some exciting artists who’ll be flying overseas to perform this year, it should come as no surprise that it also boasts a tasty portion of the bounties of talent from right here in the UK.
Last year saw performances ranging between likes of heavy weight Lowkey, to the UK hip hop get-about that is Dr Syntax, through to Lost Scroll Records’ Creatures of Habit comprised of none other than Sean Peng, Eric the Red, and Illinformed. (We even shot visuals on site for Peng and Illinformed’s track ‘Third Eye’, which you can check below).
Boomtown have stayed true to that pattern of showcasing a range of UK talent and this year we’re especially gassed to see sets from man of the moment slowthai, the ever-rising star Little Simz (a personal favourite here at UKHH), a High Focus takeover which is sure to pop off, and of course, a tonne of other heads that’ll be showing face across the festival.
Stay locked over the coming weeks for our full length guide of what Boomtown has on offer for hip hop heads this year. We’ll also be speaking in depth with the team at Poco Loco, the main venue for hip hop and its associate genres, about what antics they’ve got in store this year, and what goes into making the magic happen.