Kmel Summer Jam Tickets

An annual celebration of the genre that came up in the 70's, the Summer Jam has now become the premier festival dedicated to the hip hop and rap genres. KMEL, the brainchild behind the festival, is a local radio station that airs out of San Francisco, California. Broadcast on FM 106.1, KMEL is one of the few radio channels that actually helped launch many of today's most revered artists, such as MC Hammer, Mac Dre, Tupac Shakur and Mariah Carey.

In 1987, KMEL launched a summer celebration of music. Artists from across the board were invited to come in and perform live. The first Summer Jam was held in 1987, when Keith Naftaly, the director of the KMEL Program, called in Lisa Lisa and the Cult Jam to headline the concert. Since then, this Summer Jam has gone on to become one of the biggest and most loved concert shows in the country. Every year, the radio station puts together some of the biggest names in the urban music genres, and every year, fans flock to the venue to watch the hottest stars perform their biggest hits.

This year, the Summer Jam returns with a line-up that boasts of some of the industry's biggest upcoming names. Kendrick Lamar, Ty Dolla Sign, Rico Love, Rayven Justice, Sage the Gemini, Kid Ink and T-Pain are included among others to perform at the festival.

Kendrick Lamar began his journey in the hip hop world in 2003. Inspired by Dr. Dre and Tupac Shakur, Lamar aspired to emulate them. At sixteen, he secured his first recording contract and since then, there has been no looking back for him. Lamar has released two studio albums to date. His first effort, Section.80, debuted at number one hundred and thirteen (113) on the charts and gave him limited airplay in the mainstream industry.

However, his second effort, Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City, was far more successful with the critics. The 2012 release gave Lamar his first number one on the R&B and Hip Hop Charts. His songs "Poetic Justice," "The Recipe" and "Memories Back Then," have given Lamar a strong following. Apart from that, he has collaborated with some of the biggest names in the business, such as Alicia Keys, Imagine Dragons and Robin Thicke, which has made him a force to be reckoned with in the industry.

T-Pain is an artist who broke into the industry in 2006, and since then, he has established a name for himself. From his debut album, Rappa Ternt Sanga, to his 2014 release, Stoicville: The Pheonix, T-Pain has proven his talents. His hit songs include "Bartender," "Freeze," "Turn All the Lights On," "I'm So Hood," "Cyclone," "Kiss Kiss," "Good Life," "Low" and "Blame It." He has become a constant on the charts and his loyal fan following can't get enough of him.

Another big gun joining the stage for the Summer Jam is Kid Ink. He joined the industry in 2009, and since then he has gone on to release three successful studio albums and singles that include "Money and the Power," "Iz U Down," "Main Chick" and "Show Me." Ty Dolla Sign will also join the line-up, who became popular with the singles "Paranoid" and "Toot It and Boot It".

Previous years have seen artists such as Ice Cube, Naughty By Nature, Queen Latifah, Run DMC and A Tribe Called Quest perform at the festival. Fans have not only rocked along to the uncensored, all out, live performances, but they have also been involved in the infamous food fights, and enjoyed two days of the biggest party in town. This year, as the performers gear up to perform, and fans prepare to rock along, make sure that you are part of the experience by getting your KMEL Summer Jam tickets now.