Lupe is one of the most revered lyricists of his generation. He is famous for classic bodies of work like 'Food & Liquor', and 'The Cool'.
Founder and organiser of Hip Hop festival Back to The City (BTC), Osmic Menoe, says this year’s headline act, US rapper Lupe Fiasco, represents what the festival is all about.
“An artist like Lupe embodies what we’re about. You know he’s big on education, I think he lectures,” Osmic told The Citizen.
🔥 AFRICA’S BIGGEST HIP-HOP FESTIVAL RETURNS! 🔥
— #BTTC2025 (@BacktothecitySA) August 15, 2025
Back to the City Hip-Hop Festival storms Newtown, Johannesburg on 11 OCTOBER 2025 – one monumental day, thousands of fans, and the ultimate celebration of the culture! 🎶✨
This year, the stage belongs to "LUPE FIASCO"… pic.twitter.com/XEyyaBcmrb
BTC is an annual one-day hip hop festival that takes place at Mary Fitzgerald Square in Newtown, Johannesburg.
The event has been hosted annually since 2007. It was previously held on Freedom Day each year, but since the Covid-19 pandemic, it has been moved to October. This year it will be hosted on 11 October.
Lupe the lecturer
Lupe is one of the most revered lyricists of his generation. He is famous for classic bodies of work like Food & Liquor, The Cool and Tetsuo & Youth.
His biggest song is probably Daydreamin’ featuring Jill Scott, which won a Grammy for Best Urban/Alternative Performance. His other hits include Kick Push and Sunshine.
Over the years, his presence in the commercial scene hasn’t been as prominent as it was with his earlier work. Part of this is because of a disagreement with his former label Atlantic Records over control of his music and promotional strategies.
He has gone into lecturing as a professor at Johns Hopkins University’s Peabody Institute, teaching rap as part of a new 4-year hip-hop degree Programme.
He also has a role as a visiting professor at the MIT Centre for Art, Science & Technology, where he teaches a course called Rap Theory and Practice.
“He does a lot of talks on Hip Hop education specifically, and he’s big on chess. He’s a big thinker. When you listen to his music and what it represents, it just made the most sense for us to go in this direction,” said Osmic about booking Lupe.
“And I think he speaks to young people, he speaks to the older people-that convergence is gonna be super perfect.”
“The streets are buzzing, people are happy…the people really want this.”
What do you mean I am going to see Lupe Fiasco perform in South Africa!!? pic.twitter.com/VxLeAdJvwG
— Tuduetso 🌞 (@joeymafikeng) August 16, 2025
In 2024, BTC had another US rapper, Benny the Butcher, as the headliner.
NOW READ: Back to the City: Osmic on why he never books younger international acts
