This year is no different from the last, seeing a star-studded selection of rappers from both sides of the Atlantic. Phase one of Wireless’ line up was announced today via the festival’s official Instagram. 2024’s event poster gives considerable weight to female rappers, both new and old. After exploding in popularity in 2022 after her single ‘Munch’, Bronx rapper, Ice Spice will be playing on the festival’s opening night alongside Trinidadian mega-star Nicki Minaj.

Known for her risqué lyrics, Up-and-coming Missourian rapper Sexyy Red will also be performing at Wireless. Finding her audience after Cardi B’s and Megan Thee Stallion’s WAP created an industry niche for tongue-in-cheek, sexually charged, female-led, rap music, Sexxy Red capitalised on this sub-genre, finding success with her 2023 single ‘Pound Town’.

Saturday the 14th of July will see LA rapper and singer Doja Cat headline the night. After her breakout YouTube single ‘Mooo!’, which currently has 129m views, Doja Cat has continued to make a name for herself through a steady stream of popular releases and her outlandish costume designs. Off the back of her fourth studio album, Scarlet, released in November of last year, Doja Cat has secured herself a top spot at London’s biggest music festival.

Wireless’ Saturday will be host to British-born Atlanta rapper 21 Savage. 21 Savage became widely known after his 2016 feature on XXL Magazine’s freshman cypher alongside, then upcoming rappers, Lil Uzi Vert, Lil Yachty, Kodak Black, and Denzel Curry. Since his 2016 breakout, 21 Savage has gone on to release three studio albums, as well as three collaborative albums with Offset, Metro Boomin, and Drake. Fellow Atlanta rapper, Future will also be performing on the event’s Friday show. Known for his pioneering contributions to the American trap scene, Future remains one of the biggest names in the genre.

Although the setlist features only a couple of UK artists so far, with Digga D and J Hus joining the line up, Festival Republic is yet to announce the full line up, the second phase of which will be released next week. Early bird tickets for the festival will go live on January 31st at 10am. For those with either a Three Mobile or Barclay Card rewards scheme, a special pre-sale is currently available until an hour before the general ticket sale date.

The festival is set to take place from 21 August to 25 August 2024 at Reading’s Richfield Avenue and Bramham Park in Leeds and will follow this year’s festival, which included headliners The 1975, Imagine Dragons, Billie Eilish and The Killers.

American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey is set to make her long-anticipated Reading and Leeds debut, as will London-based singer and DJ Fred Again. Pop-punk icons Blink-182 will return to headline the famed twin-venue festival for the first time since 2014, while Catfish And The Bottlemen are also set to return, making their first appearance at the festival back in 2021. Another headliner who also featured at the festival in 2021 is Scottish singer-songwriter Gerry Cinnamon.

Watch the music video for Lana Del Rey’s “Summertime Sadness” below:

Liam Gallagher is yet another headliner making a return to Reading and Leeds, having also featured at the 2021 edition. The former Oasis frontman is set to play the entirety of Definitely Maybe to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the acclaimed album, with his appearance at the festival to be preceded by a tour dedicated to the anniversary of said album.

Festival Republic managing director Melvin Benn, the main promoter of Reading and Leeds festival among others, has said of next year’s event, “We are thrilled to announce the first wave of artists for Reading & Leeds 2024. I am very proud that the biggest artists in the world choose to play Reading & Leeds and to have three incredible UK festival exclusives – the electrifying Fred again.., a true generational talent Lana Del Ray and the legendary Blink-182.

Ben continued, “The iconic Liam Gallagher will return to play an all-time classic album ‘Definitely Maybe’ which will be a special moment indeed. We pride ourselves on nurturing artists from the early stages in their career, so to see acts like Catfish & The Bottlemen rising through the festival to headline for the second time is very rewarding. 2023 was a hugely successful year for attendance and sensational audience feedback, and we are eager to build upon this success even further at the UK’s biggest and best music festival.”

Watch the music video for Blink-182’s “What’s My Age Again?” below:

Tickets for the 2024 edition of Reading and Leeds will go on general sale on Thursday 30 November at 8.30am and will be available to purchase here.

The teaser created a significant amount of hype, spawning its own memes and reaction videos. The track samples G-Units “Stunt 101″ for which the track is named in homage to. Digga even interpolates the flow of 50 Cent from the track, borrowing his signature gansta rap flow in a departure from his usual drill style.

‘Pump 101′ is unique for a track that borrows so much from another, as it is a playful departure from what we have come to expect from Digga and the drill scene at large. Perhaps this will start a trend of drill artists looking back to older styles of rap for inspiration, within a genre that many long-term fans believe to be growing stale.

The track was announced after a minor controversy where many thought that Digga D had been arrested by Emirati authorities. He was trending on Twitter for a number of days as reports suggested he was facing life imprisonment for stabbing someone while on holiday there. Amongst the confusion, Digga cleared up the matter, saying that while he did get arrested, he was not involved in any criminal activity and released without charge.

Many suspected this to be a publicity stunt, with some pointing fingers at Digga’s management who they suspected ran false stories and circulated rumours of a possible sentence in order to generate hype around his name on the eve of this tracks announcement. These suspicions come without much evidence, however, as it was true that Digga was in fact arrested. It is more likely that rumours of life imprisonment spawned from the original fact of his arrest, given Dubai’s reputation in the West of having harsh sentencing laws.

“Pump 101″ is available to stream and can be listened to below:

The two U.K drill heavyweights have linked up for the first time since Digga D featured on Russ’ ‘Gun Lean Remix’ back in January. Both showcasing their unique sounds, ‘Mr. Sheeen’ is a fusion of two of the hottest drill flows right now. The bassy 808 drums and guqin style strings make this track a certified headbanger. Metaphorically associating their semi-autos to the brand of cleaning products the chorus hits different, “The semi-auto ain’t clean, pull up and spray like Mr. Sheen”.

From wearing orange community service vests to riding in a drop top Jeep, ‘Mr. Sheeen’ shows the come up of the two rappers. Keeping the orange aesthetic as a constant feature throughout, Suave’s vision allows him to add another creative video to his portfolio.

Russ received mainstream exposure when his ‘Gun Lean’ anthem was released last December. The catchy hook accompanied by the easy-to-learn dance took the U.K by storm and became an instant hit. Prompting Canadian drill fan, Drake to bring him out at the Assassination Vacation Tour in London’s O2 arena. Reaching the Top 10 Singles chart along with his second single ‘Keisha & Becky’, this success landed the young rapper from Lewisham his first major label deal with Virgin Music.

After releasing his hit single, ‘Air Force’ last year, it has been nothing but success for Digga D. His debut mixtape, Double Tap Diaries was released in April and features his latest, equally as catchy single ‘No Diet’. Double Tap Diaries has already become the highest charting project from a solely drill artist in the U.K, breaking records independently with ease.