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Chicago's 2024 Summer Smash took place for the second time last weekend at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview, IL. This festival has been hosted annually since 2018 by Lyrical Lemonade (L.L.), a company founded by well-known record executive and Illinois-born Cole Bennett. Since its recent venue change last year from Douglass Park to Seat Geek, this year was a step forward for the festival by embracing its true potential to be shown in a more familiar and organized venue presented by SPKRBX, a Chicago-based concert production company founded in 2014.
Bennett kickstarted L.L. by writing and directing music videos for more underground and local rappers around the Chicago area, such as Vic Mensa and King Louie. He uploaded these videos to the YouTube channel Lyrical Lemonade, with the rise of the underground rap scene on Soundcloud in 2016. The company has since expanded its horizons by working with artists like Ski Mask the Slump God, Smokepurpp, and Lil Pump. One of the most recognized videos from L.L. is Juice Wrld's "Lucid Dreams," released in May of 2018 and currently garnering over 900 million views. Cole decided to host the first Summer Smash in 2018 in Douglass Park with a mix of rappers every year. Its production has been improving and growing, always giving fans a better experience, so it is something they look forward to every year.
What would L.L. be without its own lemonade? This year, they launched their lemonade line in stores with three varieties: original, watermelon, and peach, found in select 7/11 stores, Walmart, and Amazon. At the festival, limited edition cans were available in collaboration with Nardwuar, the iconic interviewer; Glo Gang, Concrete; and Harold’s Chicken.
The festival expected about 120,000 people to attend over the 3 days, and with that, they included various activations and activities at the festival grounds. You can win limited edition L.L. plushies!
and prizes at the carnival game stands around the grounds and interact with companies like The Chicago Bulls and Rockstar,
Summer Smash is a very interactive festival with photo ops that let fans recreate iconic moments from music videos like "Lucid Dreams" and "Doomsday."
Day 1!
ELIJAH WALLACE
We're starting strong with Elijah Wallace in the house! You probably heard of him through one of his songs, "Summer Smash." Elijah is an up-and-rising artist and creator based in New York. He is continuously growing through TikTok and Instagram platforms.
Other than Wallace, Friday night featured incredible performances by artists like That Mexican OT and Cactus Jack.
Friday night's closers included a performance from Cactus Jack, their first-ever live performance together. It included acts from Sheck Wes, Don Toliver, SoFaygo, Chase B, and Travis Scott. With a long-awaited performance that was running a little behind, the crowd went crazy for their performance. Including hits like “Mo Bamba” by Sheck Wes that had the crowd jumping in mosh pits, “After Party” by Don Toliver, and “Fein” by Travis Scott off his new album Utopia, with a feature by Playboi Carti. The set ended with the group performing “GANG GANG” from the album JACKBOYS. This unforgettable performance gave the crowd a taste of the weekend that was just beginning.
Day 2!
Kodak Black performed on Saturday evening, and many fans were excited to see him! He’s known for his iconic songs like “Tunnel Vision,” “Super Gremlin,” “ZEZE,” and “Like Dat.” With an unfortunate incident after someone threw a water bottle and hit Kodak, he left the stage but then came back and performed even more songs! Cole Bennett also came out on stage and sang Happy Birthday to Kodak. He thanked him for coming out to Summer Smash!
Some other performances included Lil Skies and Lucki! Check out the images below :)
Saturday closed off with Playboi Carti, and… his OPIUM team! Acts from Cartis to his team, Destroy Lonely, Ken Carson, and Homixide Gang, being supporters! This is Playboi Carti’s 3rd consecutive year performing at the Summer Smash (4th year overall!), and the crowd will never get enough of him.
The setlist includes:
H00DBYAIR
2024
Ketamine
Type Sh*t
BACKR00MS
FE!N
All Red
Untitled
Different Day
Stop Breathing
EVILJ0RDAN
Carnival
Shoota
Sky
Fans we have talked to mentioned their excitement about seeing Carti whilst actively expressing themselves by starting mosh pits and singing along to their favorite songs.
Day 3!
Sunday would be one of the most exciting days in the festival's history. It was a historic comeback and a day of celebration with an exciting lineup that included artists like Anycia, Babytron, Lil B, Lil Yachty, JID, and Chicago’s own Chief Keef. The weather showed Sunday would be the hottest of the weekend, with the sun beaming hard and the crowd excited for the final day of Summer Smash. You could feel it in the air.
Brenda and I were allowed to cover and photograph Anycia, a new rapper from Atlanta who recently released her debut album, Princess Pop That. One of her most popular songs is “Back Outside,” which you’ve probably heard as it features Latto, another rapper who's making her name known. Anycia gave a great performance and interacted with the crowd by inviting a fan from the crowd to come up and rap one of her songs! The fan's name was Kenny, and he was so excited and hyped to come up the stage. Knowing every word for word, he sang the rap and seemed like he had been a performer in another life!
After Anycias’s performance, Bashfortheworld was next. Fans rushed into the stadium, but unfortunately, the festival had to be evacuated due to high winds. As the announcement rang across the grounds, people started leaving, and with a few seconds to spare, I made it to my care safely before an extreme downpour started! Fans were running to find shelter, but the summer smash team made sure everyone was calm and safe and handled the unexpected situation well.
After about an hour of rain delay, the news was announced that the gates were open again. With the summer smash team quickly releasing a new and updated lineup, fans could still see Wocka Flocka, Babytron, and more!
Baby Tron and Lil B closing out Lenny's Tent on Sunday!
Lil Yachty was the performer right before Chief Keef; I decided to sit on the turf and watch from afar while the sunset was going on during his set! With classic hits like "Brocolli," "One Night," and "Poland," he really had the crowd going and excited. especially when he brought out IAN to perform “Figure it out,” another up-and-coming rapper from Dallas, Texas. With an exciting set and special guests, Yachty had the crowd anxiously ready for the Chiefs' return.
SOSA IS BACK, CHICAGO!!!
Chief Keef, the legendary Chicago rapper and pioneer of drill music, made an epic return to his hometown. Known for his raw lyrics and powerful stage presence, Keef has been a major influence in the rap scene since his breakout hit "I Don't Like."
Chief Keef closed off Day 3 with his family and daughter, celebrating Father’s Day in an unforgettable way. The energy was electric as he performed his biggest hits and even brought out a special guest, G Herbo, making the performance even more exciting. When Keef performed “Faneto,” the Chicago anthem, the crowd went wild. Hearing Chief Keef rap this song in the city where he grew up was powerful. The entire crowd rapped along word for word, BAR for BAR, creating a truly unforgettable experience.
We would like to thank the Summer Smash team for giving us the opportunity to cover this festival! This is our 2nd year covering Summer Smash, and we are happy to say that the vibes are always there! Looking forward to what Summer Smash and Lyrical Lemonade has in store for upcoming events!
Check out some portraits Brenda was able to take!
