Lincoln Park Coast Cultural District closed out the 14th Annual Lincoln Park Music Festival with an up close look at Hip Hop’s future as well as Hip Hop’s rich and brilliant history. Paterson, NJ’s own multiplatinum superstar rapper Fetty Wap performed before an excited crowd of 15,000 hip hop fans, singing his hits “My Way”, “679” and “Trap Queen”.
With his 2015 self-titled debut album, Fetty Wap made history by being the first male rapper with three songs occupying the top 20 spots on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and the first male rapper in four years to have concurrent singles reach the top 10 of same chart since Lil Wayne did so in 2011.
During his surprise performance, Fetty Wap informed the Lincoln Park Music Festival crowd that this was his first performance in Newark, NJ. Art4Change and Kicks for Kids brought Fetty Wap to the Lincoln Park music festival thru Kash Kannon Boys (KKB) as a surprise guest per Art4Change 30min Segment.
After a brief lesson in the art of turntablism by Philly’s DJ Cash Money, 1988 DMC DJ Competition World Champion and first-ever DJ inducted into the Technics DJ Hall of Fame, the legendary icon and storytelling lyricist Slick Rick hit the stage to a medley of hits including “The Show”, “Mona Lisa” and “Children’s Story” off his classic album The Adventures of Slick Rick, which was selected as one of The Source’s 100 Best Rap Albums of all time. This year also marked Slick Rick’s first-ever performance at the Lincoln Park Music Festival.
Jersey’s rising artists J-Read (Newark), J.1.DA (Montclair), Unicorn aka Kherk Cobain (Newark), Samad Savage (Montclair), Khalil Jibran (Newark) kept the crowd hype in the sweltering Summer heat. Hip Hop Culture segment curators Vibes In The City, FORSA! Radio Show and Art4Change delivered the best in local talent, World Music/Afrobeats and Caribbean flavor respectively.
Hip Hop Culture Day hosts rapper, actress and Hip Hip icon Rah Digga (Co-host The Yanadameen Godcast Podcast, Flipmode Squad,The Outsidaz) and Dupré “DoItAll” Kelly (Lords of the Underground) reminded the crowd that Lincoln Park Coast Cultural District is a non-profit organization and in order to keep the festival free and accessible to an intergenerational audience over three days, it relies on the community giving back.
The Lincoln Park Music Festival (LPMF) is the largest music experience rooted in traditions of the African American and Afro Caribbean diaspora in the tri-state region. LPMF has expanded into an audience of 50,000-60,000 international attendees that comes together, over two weekends, to experience multiple genres of music including Gospel, Jazz, House, Hip-Hop, Rhythm & Blues, Reggae, Dancehall, Soca, Kompa and of the Latinx/Hispanic diaspora, as well as film, tech and music business education.
The Lincoln Park Coast Cultural District, Inc. (LPCCD) is a non-profit organization actively engaged in the practice of creative place-making. Its mission to plan, design and develop a comprehensive arts and cultural district in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of downtown Newark. Once dominated by dilapidated buildings and vacant lots, the neighborhood is being transformed through LPCCD’s efforts into a “sustainable” arts and cultural district. This redevelopment includes “green” mixed-income housing, an annual music festival and historic preservation projects. LPCCD has completed more than 100 units of housing, and has provided new housing and employment opportunities for a diverse population. LPCCD is well on its way to creating a fully productive, mixed-use neighborhood. LPCCD’s two main arts & culture programs are the annual Lincoln Park Music Festival and Lincoln Park Music Speaks.
