15th March, 2012
Nigerian pop star, D’banj will join American hip-hop act Jay-Z, already booked to headline BBC Radio 1’s Hackney Weekend 2012.
The concert, coming up on 23 and 24 June at London’s Hackney Marshes, is a huge outdoor festival and part of the 2012 London Olympic Games. It will hold up to 100,000 concert goers. And majority of the tickets for the event are being given free to residents of Hackney and the surrounding London Boroughs.
Jay Z and D’Banj will be performing alongside a stellar line-up of acts already announced including Tinne Tempah, Jessie J, Ed Sheeran, Florence + the Machine, Professor Green, Leona Lewis, DJ Fresh, Plan B, Flo Rida and Will.i.am.
“Our goal was to deliver the most ambitious and exciting event in Radio 1’s history and with the artistes already announced, I think we’ve achieved that, but to now add the world’s biggest hip hop icon, Jay-Z to the line-up, is fantastic news,” said Jason Carter, Event Director for Radio 1’s Hackney Weekend.
Last year, D’Banj played a show that was a sell-out at London’s Hammersmith Apollo alongside his Mo’Hits Records mates. At the show, another Americn hiphop star, Kanye West, made a special appearance.
—Funsho Arogundade