Hip hop trailblazer Playboi Carti will join Dillo Day’s 2021 lineup as headliner, Mayfest Productions announced Thursday. 

An Atlanta native, Carti has collaborated with notable artists such as Nicki Minaj,  Lana Del Rey and Travis Scott. His performance will take place on May 22, as part of this year’s POSTMODERN-themed event. 

Carti, who frequently works with Harlem-based hip hop collection A$AP Mob,  released his self-titled debut mixtape, “Playboi Carti,” in 2017. Songs on the record, like “Magnolia” and “Woke Up Like This,” charted on the Billboard Hot 100 and affected the future of hip hop music in years to come, the release said. 

The artist joins previously announced performers Beabadoobee and Omar Apollo in the 2021 Dillo Day lineup. 

In the years following his initial release, Carti dropped his sophomore effort, “Die Lit,” as well as his third body of work, “Whole Lotta Red.” With each release, Carti continued to experiment with the genre and garnered public praise. 

More than just a highly popular artist, Mayfest Booking Director Amirah Ford said Carti’s inclusion in this year’s lineup was an intentional choice in her effort to center the tastes of previously underrepresented groups on campus. As the group’s first Black booking director, she said she hopes Carti’s music will satisfy the musical interests of many in NU’s Black population — a central goal she has held throughout her tenure.

“It is not enough to just bring more diverse artists, we need artists that speak to and represent the musical interests and identities of those who are marginalized on this campus,” Ford said in the release. “Dillo Day deserves to be an inclusive, all-embracing space and fostering that begins with the lineup.”

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Tags: Dillo Day, Mayfest Productions, Playboi Carti, Amirah Ford

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