Chance The Rapper is bringing the Black Star Line Festival to Jamaica. Last year, Vic Mensa and Chance announced the original festival, which was to take place in Ghana. At the time, Chance and Vic accompanied eight Chicago students to Ghana, aiming to educate them about their origins. It marked their second trip there together in 2022. The two Chicago-born artists revealed their plans for The Black Star Line Festival at the flagship location of Free The Youth in July. The festival ended up bringing out 50,000 attendees in Ghana and featured performances by Erykah Badu, Jeremih, and T-Pain.
In a press release about the festival, the duo explained the meaning behind it and the inspiration for the name. “Founded in 1919, and operated by Black people, the [Black Star Line] would link America, the Caribbean and Africa, to global shipping and tourism opportunities,” they explained. “The Black Star Line was a symbol of pride, not only for Africans, but also for Black people in all ports of call. After nearly 40 years, the Ghanian government launched their fleet with the same name, in homage to Marcus Garvey, and even added a black star to the country’s new flag.”
Bringing The Black Star Line To Jamaica
Back in March, Chance The Rapper spoke about future plans for the festival in an interview on The Tonight Show. “We’re actually thinking about hosting the next one in Kingston, Jamaica,” he said during the interview. “We’re still working it out in our heads. And we love the city of Accra and Ghana and West Africa as a whole. We just want to continue to, like, create community in other spaces.” It would appear those plans are well under way now since Chance stopped by the US Embassy in Jamaica to talk about it.
The official Twitter account for the Jamaican US Embassy tweeted out a photo of Chance’s visit to the office. The photo features a friendly smile from the ambassador as he shakes hands with the rapper. “Ambassador Perry met with @ChanceTheRapper as part of his birthday trip to Jamaica,” the tweet read. “The two discussed the rapper’s upcoming plans to host the Black Star Line Festival in Jamaica.” What do you think about Chance and Vic expanding the Black Star Line Festival? Who do you hope performs this time around? Let us know in the comments!
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