Hip-hop fans, gird your loins. Some of the most sought after names in the genre are descending on Australia’s biggest arenas for the inaugural run of touring festival Light It Up.
Leading the announcement is North Dakota hip-hop juggernaut and entrepreneur Wiz Khalifa, who will headline shows in Australia for the first time since his 2015 sell-out tour, which came off the back of the globally revered single, ‘See You Again (ft. Charlie Puth)’, from the Fast & Furious 7 soundtrack.
Joining Wiz Khalifa on the national festival run will be American hip-hop duo Rae Sremmurd and Brooklyn based Billboard Hot 100 charting artist Lola Brooke, fresh from huge sets at Coachella 2023. While Rae Sremmurd will be landing Down Under for the first time since their stand-out performance at FOMO Festival in 2019, Lola Brooke will officially be making her Australian debut.
In addition to a line-up stacked with top-tier American hip-hop acts, Australian born and raised hip hop will also be front and centre, with NSW’s very own pioneer of Australian drill, Samoan/Chinese artist Hooligan Hefs and Australian-Samoan hip-hop rising star Youngn Lipz, as well as the DMC Champion DJ BeastMode.
Light It Up is gearing up to mark the next major step for hip hop-focused festivals in Australia. (Shh, don’t tell the powers-that-be who wanted “rapper music” banned from the Sydney Royal Easter Show.)
The festival kicks off at Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena on Saturday, September 2, before touring to Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Melbourne and Auckland.
Pre-sale tickets drop at noon on Thursday, June 1, and general public tickets are on sale from noon on Friday, June 2 over here.