An excited anticipation ran throughout the festival grounds during the final day of Summer Smash 2024, with Chief Keef fans rocking Sosa merch everywhere you looked. Sunday kicked off with Hakeem dropping beats on his DJ table for the newly entering festivalgoers at the Lyrical Lemonade Stage and Wolfacejoeyy straight from Statton Island drawing a growing crowd to the SPKRBX Stage in the stadium. The 21-year-old rapper gained fame when his songs “Buku” and “Cake” blew up on TikTok this past year, and the young star’s performance did not disappoint. But the energy really rose when FukyurPAIN hit the Drink Lyrical Tent Stage and hyped up hundreds who screamed, “Fuck your pain!” in a call and response about overcoming negative experiences with the spellbinding artists. They surfed the positively energized crowd, started a soft-dodgeball fight, and pulled a die-hard fan from the front row to get him a free tattoo on stage—all while playing sick music and ducking the dodgeballs on stage. Needless to say, one of the most engaging groups you could’ve seen set the tone for a day of intense dancing, cheering, and rapping.
Though he wasn’t the “Final Boss,” ICYTWAT’s hip-hop hit different for the now-large Lyrical Lemonade crowd. Lil Gnar took over the Tent and completely dominated the high-energy Summer Smashers. His set wouldn’t have been complete without letting the beat drop with his hit “Diamond Choker” ft. Lil Uzi Vert, and the Smashers went even harder. At the same time in the stadium, Laundry Day from Manhattan brought a unique pop rock spark to the festival with their indie and dance music that kept their crowd enthusiastic, even holding out the mic and screaming with the concertgoers.
Things only picked up when Hardrock made the mass of people at the Tent “Feel Alive” as they jumped amid the flashing strobe lights. GloUpJake likewise lit the LL Stage with fire tracks and good vibes. The Tent went crazy again when Shed Theory’s group walked on and immediately began jamming out with a costumed Lyrical Lemon man. You could tell the animated artists were there to have a good time as they sang just above the crowd and tossed around the dodgeballs left over from FukyurPAIN. The base was enough to vibrate your whole body, and the crew “took a nap” before Joeyy joined them on stage in his signature fur coat. Even while “sleeping” the performers and lemon man (who took off his head) were panting, a testament to both their intensity and the heat that stopped neither them nor the crowd from partying.
Anycia came “Back Outside” all the way from Atlanta to mesmerize the stadium smashers under the blue sky, but there was a bit of “Bad Weather” to come despite her hot songs and the festivalgoers’ sunny dispositions. Homixide Gang’s Beno and Meechie knocked ’em dead at the LL Stage with their “HI-Voltage” performance, and Kerwin Frost—entertainer, viral video content creator, and interviewer of celebs including ASAP Rocky, SZA, and Chief Keef himself—killed it at the Tent just before high winds hit and put a pause to all music for a little over an hour.
You really wouldn’t know it stormed if you saw the festival grounds once Waka Flaka Flame, Lil B The Based God, and Bashfortheworld started playing. Summer Smashers quickly refilled the front rows of every stage as the top-tier artists gave them their rap fix once more. Spirits were high as Waka went “Hard in Da Paint,” Lil B proved he was more than just a “Pretty Boy,” and Bash reminded us that it’s always “Darkest Before Dawn.”
Fans’ anticipation to see Chief Keef only built as the night went on. Ken Carson, who signed with Playboi Carti’s record label Opium in 2019 to release his debut studio album, did more than fight his demons as he tore up the LL Stage in front of a huge and growing audience. Babytron meanwhile pumped up the Tent and brought the excitement and nerves to “Equilibrium,” and Denzel Curry along with JID and A$ap Ferg walked up and down the SPKRBX Stage to give an “Ultimate” performance that the crowd went crazy for.
The end of the night saw heavy hitter Lil Yachty performing in front of tens of thousands of Summer Smashers who filled the grounds near the Lyrical Lemonade Stage. Fans had already been warmed up by dozens of talented artist before Yachty, and the night was only going to get more incredible. The rapper and singer put a wild electricity in the air as pillars of fire erupted around him, making day three of Summer Smash “One Night” the attendees won’t soon forget. YG Marley, the son of rapper and singer Lauryn Hill and grandson of reggae pioneer Bob Marley, assumed the crowd-filled stadium stage and had the “Freedom” to perform his biggest hits. It must have been “Meant to Be,” because the Summer Smashers loved it even as many departed towards the end of his set to absolutely pack the area surrounding the Lyrical Lemonade Stage.
Finally, the man, the myth, the legend, a rapper banned from performing in Chicago more than a decade ago, the person that many Summer Smash attendees had been waiting three full days for, the Chief Keef walked on stage as 40,000 festivalgoers screamed in excitement. The king of drill music was in full form as he captivated the audience with old and new songs alike. “300,” “I Don’t Like,” “Love Sosa,” and “Runner” paid homage to his come-up age and OG fans, and new hits from “Almighty So 2″ and 2022’s “4NEM,” including “Neph Nem” and “Hadouken,” gave his new generation of followers some love as well. The ecstatic crowd did indeed “Love Sosa,” and the proud father even brought his daughter on stage to sing and dance with him for a few songs in a heartwarming mini set. Chief Keef’s cousins Tadoe and Ballout along with rapper DooWop soon joined the “Almighty” to add even more energy to the show, and South Shore’s own star, G Herbo, hit the stage as a special guest, opening with his “Who Run It” freestyle to further electrify the amped-up crowd. Following Chief Keef’s example, DooWop and G Herbo brought their sons out with them as well for a wholesome Father’s Day moment.
The magnetic performances of the talented rappers brought the final day of Summer Smash to a brilliant and satisfying conclusion. Many people thought it was incredible that the festival was able to bring so many acclaimed artists together, such as all the members of Cactus Jack, members of Playboi Carti’s Opium, and Chief Keef and crew. Sosa’s first show in Chicagoland in nearly 12 years proved to be an event worthy of three days of anticipation, and one can only imagine with enthusiastic curiosity what Summer Smash 2025 will have to offer.
