British rapper Skepta has announced the line-up for his inaugural Big Smoke Festival. The event will take place on July 6 at Crystal Palace Park in South-East London. Skepta will be performing too, marking his only UK performance of 2024. The big smoke stage and the Más Tiempo Stage will be topped by the artist. The latter venue, hosted by his record label of the same name, will be a platform for various dance artists. A “special guest” on the Big Smoke Stage is yet to be announced.
Other artists include The Streets, Mahalia, JME, Lancey, and K-Trap, amongst others. Many more artists will be confirmed in the coming weeks and months. The festival was announced by Skepta last November. The rapper had said: “I know a lot of people have been wondering when they’ll see Skepta at a festival, and I really wanted to save all that energy and put it into something that was for us, by us.”
Speakers at the festival have commented on the positive news, saying that this marks a major milestone for the rap/hip-hop music scene and that the line-up includes some of the best acts around. Skepta is due to release his sixth studio album, entitled “Knife and Fork,” and has previewed the single ‘Gas Me Up (Diligent)’ as the first sample.
Earlier this month, he removed the cover artwork for the song and apologised to fans after some accused him of referencing the Holocaust in the image. Skepta wrote: “I vow to be more mindful going forward.” In conclusion, this will be one of the biggest festivals of the summer and is not to be missed.
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