It’s now March, which means that the cruel English Winter is drawing to a close and that the festival season is fast approaching. At the top of UK-based Hip Hop fans’ agenda this year is Boom Bap Festival, which takes place in Suffolk this June [5-7]. With a line-up [fully announced on Monday] that both showcases the finest the UK has to offer and attracts globally successful artists from across the pond, we’re brimming with anticipation for what will prove to be one of this Summer’s highlights. Below are just a few things we can’t wait to get stuck into.
Earl Sweatshirt
In our books, Earl Sweatshirt’s ‘Doris‘ is one of the best Rap albums in recent years, and a UK appearance from the Odd Future affiliate is quite the rarity. He’s been working on new material in preparation for album number two, and we’ll be waiting with baited breath to see if any of it makes it on to the stage.
Hip Hop Cinema
Boom Bap introduce a “cosy, cushion-lined hip-hop cinema” exclusively for the festival, which is set to screen documentaries and features on all aspects of Hip Hop culture. They’ve lined up a marathon of cult satire ‘People Just Do Nothing’, Larry Clarke’s classic ‘Kids’, Girl and Chocolate’s skating epic ‘Pretty Sweet’, rare graffiti biopic ‘Dirty Handz’ and Michael Rapaport’s A Tribe Called Quest documentary ‘Beats, Rhymes & Life’.
Foreign Beggars [UK Homecoming Set]
You can’t really talk about UK Hip Hop with out mentioning the Beggar Fam. Their 2003 debut ‘Asylum Speakers’ is widely regarded as one of the finest in the UKHH canon, and the group and its affiliated have all gone on to work on various other exceptional projects. Boom Bap will see them re-visit ‘Asylum Speakers’ in a special UK Homecoming Set.
Homeboy Sandman
Born in Queens and studied in London, MC Homeboy Sandman is one of the most intelligent out there at the moment. His most recent project ‘Hallways‘ was an undeniable success, and we can’t wait to see how is lackadaisical yet carefully crafted flow will play out in a live setting.
Problem Child
With their debut, ‘Confessions of a Normal Human Being‘ released last July, UK Hip Hop supergroup [consisting of illaman, Dabbla, Dubbledge and Sumgii] Problem Child will light up the festival, combining their many years of experience in the UKHH scene.
Ratking
Harlem trio Ratking recently announced that they’ll soon be releasing a new mixtape entitled ‘700 Free’, and their most recent album ‘So It Goes‘ shone out as one of the greatest projects of last year. Hak, Wiki and Sporting Life have openly cited the UK Grime scene as an influence on their music and have even worked on a remix of ‘That’s Not Me‘ with Skepta, so their inclusion at Boom Bap makes a whole lot of sense.
Graffiti
Transforming the site from start to finish will be “an army of graffiti artists, including 3Dom, London’s Tizer, Brighton’s Dowta, Ryder, Smak, News, Squid, Karm and Amoe”. Live murals and breath-taking production pieces will be created before an audience as Boom Bap pays homage to one of the culture’s most important elements.
Hannah Faith
London DJ Hannah Faith is the first to represent the Brits among purveyors of ‘the sounds of the future’, Soulection. Faith chops up chilled Hip Hop cuts with the best of them, and the thought of her on a sun-drenched stage in Suffolk is getting us right in the festival mood
With the final line-up released this week, all that remains is the long wait until June. Heat to boombapfestival.co.uk and get your ticket – fast!
Province 