The night after a plane ticket with the name “Epps, Tauheed” and a video appeared on the Dillo Day website, Mayfest officially announced 2 Chainz as the Night Time Headliner, with co-sponsorship from Northwestern Ski Trip. 2 Chainz will perform starting at 8:30 pm and follows Wiz Khalifa, another energetic hip-hop up-and-comer, as the Dillo Day night headliner.
“We’re thrilled because when we think about Dillo Day and the end of the quarter before finals, we want it to be a party,” said Xander Shepard, Mayfest Co-Chair.
2 Chainz is a rapper from Atlanta who released his debut solo album, Based On A T.R.U. Story, in 2012 and his follow-up, B.O.A.T.S. II: ME Time, last year. The latter also included a copy of #MEALTIME, a special cookbook with some of the rapper's favorite meals.
2 Chainz follows Chance the Rapper as the only artists named so far for this year’s Dillo Day. Chance the Rapper, the other confirmed artist for Dillo Day, also played a late slot at last year’s Lollapalooza. While both are rap acts, 2 Chainz would be the first to say that he’s different.
“They have very different styles of hip-hop, so we’re not worried about redundancy,” Shepard said.
The headliner announcement also confirmed the airport as Denver International Airport and the dates as Dec. 13-19 for next school year’s Ski Trip. This co-sponsorship will potentially be more than a one-year partnership, explained Weinberg senior Corey Goodwin and Weinberg junior Harris Goodison, Co-Presidents of NU Ski Trip.
“Both groups help foster the feeling of a Northwestern community,” he said. “Ski Trip is usually confined to one week of publicity, so we wanted to increase our visibility and give back to the community that made Ski Trip what it is.”
“One’s in the snow, one’s on the Lakefill, but we have very similar goals,” said Ian Robinson, Mayfest Promotions Co-Chair.
The last notable show in the Chicago area for 2 Chainz was at Lollapalooza 2013, where he played a night set on The Grove stage.