The Roots’ Questlove announced today the lineup for the 2018 Roots Picnic, the 11th annual iteration of the day-long concert curated by Philadelphia’s favorite hip hop outfit.
This year’s picnic will take place at Festival Pier at Penn’s Landing on Saturday, June 2, with a lineup that includes rappers Jadakiss and Fabolous, as well as a hosting appearance from comedian Dave Chappelle.
As part of the day’s festivities, Chappelle will host a Roots Jam Session, an impromptu performance between the Roots and what Questlove called “mad mad mad surprise guests.” No word about who the Roots will jam with exactly, but as Blackthought and Questo told Billboard, the band has hosted several jam sessions with Chappelle over the last 10 years, so the special guest list runs long and legendary.
Black Thought — one of the best freestyle rappers in hip-hop today — and collaborator J. Period will perform a “Live Mixtape” session alongside Jadakiss and Fabolous, two staples of early-2000s hip-hop. Fans of that era of rap can also look forward to The Diplomats, aka Dipset, featuring rappers Juelz Santana, Jim Jones, and Cam’ron, as well as 90s R&B teen queen Brandy.
Throwing it back even further back is Kid Capri, a hip-hop legend who got started in the 70s, but became a household name in the 90s with Def Comedy Jam. The long-running Sun Ra Arkestra, formerly fronted by late influential bandleader and composer Sun Ra, will also perform.
Philly-wise, attendees can expect performances from North Philly native Tierra Whack, who the Inquirer profiled last year, as well as DJ Drama, Lil Uzi Vert, and Temple University alum Bri Steves, who released an ode to Will Smith’s “Summertime” with “Summer’s Mine” last year.
Other acts appearing at the Roots Picnic this year include the Drake-endorsed dvsn , crooner 6lack, Ghanian singer JoJo Abot, “Crew” rapper GoldLink, and indie outfit the Dirty Projectors.
Tickets go on sale to the general public on Friday starting at noon. A CITI cardholder pre-sale is active now, with Roots Picnic Alumni and Live Nation pre-sales scheduled to begin Thursday. You will be able to start purchasing tickets here.
Check out the festival flyer below.
Photo Credit: Owen Ela
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