AFROPUNK, the nation-wide music and culture experience, has made a name for itself as being a community-fostering celebratory event of Black life and culture – and the festival has just announced that it’s coming to Minneapolis.

For the first time, AFROPUNK is coming to the midwest over the weekend of Juneteenth,
June 18-19, as Planet AFROPUNK Live: Minneapolis. With city-wide events and discussion panels taking place on June 18, and a full musical lineup stacked with national and local musicians performing at Northeast Minneapolis’ Sheridan Memorial Park on June 19, the festival hopes to celebrate the bustling community of Black creators and activists living in the Twin Cities, while opening space for a conversation around the struggles facing the community at large. Tickets for the event go on sale April 21 and start at $60.

Planet AFROPUNK Live: Minneapolis will cultivate a new era of Afropunk experiences. Besides staging 16 singers, rappers and DJs, the festival will highlight local food and art attractions including the Spinthrift Market – a shop market full of local Twin Cities makers, selectors and curators – and AFROPUNK’s Bites ‘n Beats, which gives visitors the opportunity to try foods from renowned Midwestern chefs and local food trucks. The festival will also include a live mural, early morning yoga sessions, art galleries and film screenings.

With a mixture of 16 nationally loved musicians and up-and-coming local acts performing in the heart of Minneapolis on a holiday commemorating our country’s shameful past and slowly progressing future, AFROPUNK is bringing together celebration and conversation about what the city of Minneapolis has accomplished, and what needs to change.

Check out six of the 16 artists below, and be sure to take a look at the entire lineup on AFROPUNK’s website.

Ari Lennox
Since dropping her first EP, “Pho” in 2016, Ari Lennox has made waves in the world of R&B with her jazz-infused silky vocals and summertime-warmth bops. Originally from Washington D.C., Lennox was the first woman to be signed to J. Cole’s record label, Dreamville Records, and her song “Shea Butter Baby” has over 120 million streams on Spotify alone. She includes features by J. Cole and JID on her 2019 album of the same name and has been featured on songs by Smino, Summer Walker and Dreamville.

Noname
Noname – the Chicago-based rapper, poet and record producer – made her debut rapping appearance on Chance The Rapper’s song “Lost” in 2013 and has since released two albums, four singles, and has a total of over a million followers on Spotify. It will be a rare opportunity to see her take the stage this summer. Her nursery-rhyme play on the syllables bounced around in her imagery-inducing lyrics has landed her as one of the top rappers coming out of Chicago.

Mereba
Formally known as Marian Mereba, the Pennsylvanian-raised and now LA-based musician has been interested in music since the age of 4 and has since become a popular rapper, singer and producer. After releasing two full albums, two EP’s and seven singles, Mereba has accumulated over 1.5 million followers on Spotify. With appearances by JID and 6LACK on her albums, and making appearances with Vince Staples, Berhana and Dreamville, Mereba has steadily climbed into the world of R&B and hip-hop.

Miloe
The local Twin Cities indie sensation Miloe will be making an appearance at the festival with over 5 million Spotify streams following him. After gaining popularity with his song “Winona” that was released in 2020, Miloe toured with Beach Bunny earlier this year and has an exciting summer coming up stacked with a tour with indie group, Coin, and multiple stops at music festivals around the country.

Ricki Monique
After releasing her single “Immortal” on January 25, Twin Cities-based rapper Ricki Monique has gained over 290,000 streams of the song and totals nearly 68 thousand monthly followers on Spotify. As if being hypnotized, Monique’s voice glides over polished instrumentals – music that could easily be fitted to a current-day fairy tale. Monique’s ethereal style and music creation has quickly placed her as one of the Twin Cities most prominent up-and-coming rappers.

Papa Mbye
The Twin Cities’ visual-artist-turned-musician will be making an appearance on AFROPUNK’s stage. The experimental, auto-tune loving rapper, Papa Mbye, has long been part of the local visual art scene and has recently been wowing audiences after releasing his EP, “Mang Fi” in 2021. From a sold-out headlining show at the 7th Street Entry in November to being included in First Avenue’s “Best New Bands” lineup this year, Mbye is quickly becoming a prominent force in the local music scene.