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By: Adam Belmares
With the 2025 Lyrical Lemonade Summer Smash hip-hop music festival coming up, the lineup is destined to be dropped any week now. The three-day music festival is powered by Cole Bennett’s Lyrical Lemonade, which is his independent multi-media company, and SPKRBX Presents. The biggest independent hip-hop festival in the Midwest is held annually in Chicago at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview, IL.
Considering the consistent powerhouse artists, surprise guests, and rising stars included in the lineup each year since the festival began in 2018, I will share my predictions for potential headliners I expect to make an appearance this year.
Potential Headliners:
Young Thug:
Jeffery Lamar Williams II, known as Young Thug, has recently been sentenced to 15 years of probation after accepting a guilty plea after being involved in the infamous YSL R.I.C.O case that included crimes related to gang activity, drug possession, and firearms. Williams has not officially made a return to the stage since being arrested in 2022, leading to my prediction of this music festival serving as the best setting to do it. With a collaboration history with Cole Bennett, I believe Williams will be one of the headliners this year and represent as one of Hip-hop's most influential artists and showcase Atlanta’s role in the old and new eras of music. Also, the chances of Williams being a headliner increased after his hit song “Digits” was selected as the background music for the 2025 Lyrical Lemonade Summer Smash Instagram teaser, promoting blind presale passes.
Future x Metro Boomin:
Nayvadius DeMun Cash, known as Future, is considered one of the pioneers of the mumble rap era and is a highly respected figure within the music industry for his consistency in releasing new music and hit-making ability. After going on their We Trust You Tour together, which consisted of 27 North American shows, Metro Boomin, one of the most highly influential producers in modern hip-hop, and Future are potential headliners considering that they headlined Lollapalooza in Chicago last year as a duo. Future has not headlined for Cole Bennet’s festival since 2023, alluding to another possible appearance with or without his close associate producer.
Yeat:
With having a history of collaborating with Cole Bennett for music videos, Yeat has yet to perform on the Summer Smash as a mainstream rapper. Noah Olivier Smith, known as Yeat has become a mainstream rapper within the last three years and has strengthened his music discography since appearing on the Summer Smash stage in 2021. After headlining his first solo show in Europe in Manchester, UK, in October 2024, Yeat has now inserted himself as an artist who is capable of selling out shows as a main headliner. With the demand increasing and fans hoping to rage to his newly released music, Yeat is a highly-anticipated headliner fans are eager to see.
A$AP ROCKY:
Since being announced as one of the 2025 Lollapalooza headliners, the chances of Rakim Athelaston Mayers, famously known as A$AP Rocky has become one of the least likely artists to headline for the festival. The fashion icon and hip-hop sensation was found not guilty of two assault charges on February 18, dodging 24 years in jail after turning down a plea deal. With fans waiting patiently for his highly-anticipated Don't Be Dumb album, which was set to release on August 30, 2024, but was delayed, fans have been left without an official new date and assume a new album would come with a new tour. Prior to Lollapalooza announcing his appearance at the festival, many fans figured the possible Summer Smash appearance would serve as a return to the stage after dropping his new music.
Travis Scott:
Jacques Berman Webster II, known as Travis Scott, headlined Summer Smash last year with his entire Cactus Jack music label consisting of Don Toliver, Sheck Wes, Sofaygo, and DJ Chase B. Fans speculate that Scott is set to drop new music soon after teasing a JACKBOYS 2 album, the second Cactus Jack collaboration album. Scott is known to only appear on the main stage only so many times and tends to favor performing at Rolling Loud or his own tour dates over independent festivals. After thinking about the rareness and being recently announced as one of the Coachella 2025 headliners, Scott is not a favored candidate to headline Summer Smash, but…never say never.
Playboi Carti:
After releasing his new Music album, Jordan Carter, known by his stage name Playboi Carti, has headlined Summer Smash for the past three festivals (2022, 2023, 2024). After announcing himself as a co-headliner with The Weeknd for their After Hours Til Dawn, Carter’s loyalty as a consistent festival headliner for Cole Bennett will be questioned. Due to the radius clause that enforces rules that limit artists to perform within a certain area for a certain period of time, Carter's chances of performing at Summer Smash can be nearly impossible. With Carter, anything can happen, whether we are discussing when he will finally drop new music or if we are talking about where his next performance will be. The thing with Carter is that you just have to sit back and hope that he will keep his word in what he claims he will do next.
Final Prediction: Young Thug, Yeat, Future x Metro Boomin
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