Abu Dhabi’s First Wireless Music Festival

By Rufaro Zaranyika, Arts and Entertainment Editor, The DAA Pawprint

The Wireless Festival is an annual rap and urban music festival held in London, England. Live Nation owns and manages it. While it began as predominantly a rock and pop festival, it has since shifted its attention to hip hop and other urban music. Wireless Festival first launched in 2005 at London’s Hyde Park, To date, it’s attracted some of the world’s biggest artists, including Jay-Z, Kanye West, Justin Timberlake, Rihanna, Bruno Mars and Stormzy.

The Wireless Festival is making its way to the capital. Wireless Festival Abu Dhabi 2023 will be arriving in the UAE capital in March, and with it a whole host of incredible international talent.

Exclusive performances by the world’s best talents in hip-hop, urban, rap, R&B, grime, dance, and other genres will take place at Wireless in Abu Dhabi. Travis Scott, Lil Uzi Vert, Wegz, Black Sherif, Ali Gatie, King, Divine, and Young Stunners will be among the international and regional acts performing, with more names to be announced. Here is more information about each artist that will be performing in this year’s festival, starting off with Travis Scott.

Travis Scott is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and producer born Jacques Berman Webster II. Scott released his album Astroworld in 2018, which quickly became the pinnacle of his discography, Astroworld was named one of the best albums of 2018 and the decade by various publications, solidifying Scott’s standing in the hip hop world. With his first Billboard Hot 100 number-one single Sicko Mode, which he performed at the 2019 Super Bowl halftime show, he cemented his spot as a top global artist on his third and most recent album Astroworld. Scott has been known for his distinctive style, which combines streetwear and high fashion, and he has become a streetwear superstar with shoe collaborations like Nike Air Force 1, Nike Air Jordan, and Helmut Lang, which sold out in seconds.

Symere Bysil Woods (born July 31, 1995) is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter better known as Lil Uzi Vert. Their music is frequently characterized by dark subject issues and images constructed around a melodic emo approach to trap, as evidenced by their face tattoos, facial piercings, odd hairstyles, and androgynous fashion. Growing up in Philadelphia, Lil Uzi Vert rose to fame after the release of the popular mixtape Luv Is Rage (2015), which led to a recording contract with Atlantic Records, under DJ Drama’s Generation Now brand. Following the release of their debut single “Money Longer” in 2016, Lil Uzi Vert gained mainstream notice. The song would act as the lead single for the following mixtape Lil Uzi Vert vs. the World (2016), which also includes the song “You Was Right”. Lil Uzi Vert was featured on Migos’ Billboard Hot 100 chart-topping single “Bad and Boujee” after releasing two additional mixtapes in 2016 and 2017, one in cooperation with Gucci Mane. They went on to have their first number-one single, “XO Tour Llif3,” which won the MTV Video Music Award for Song of the Summer.

Ali Gatie is a Canadian musician known for his passionate, womb-like R&B and SoundCloud rap. He first rose to prominence in 2017 after winning the RhymeStars songwriting competition sponsored by online digital production marketplace BeatStars. A year later, his longing ballad “Moonlight” went viral, paving the way for his platinum-selling single “It’s You” and 2020 Top 20 Billboard R&B-charting debut, YOU. Over the next two years, the albums The Concept of Her (2021) and Who Hurt You? (2022) were released.