We announced this weekend that Stormzy was due to play in Dubai in February, and now we know why.
The British grime artist has just been announced as one of the headliners for RedFestDXB 2020.
Stormzy will be joined by Cheat Codes and Machine Gun Kelly on Friday, February 7 for the annual two-day event. Martin Garrix, Bastille and Young Thug will play on Thursday, February 6.
Fans will want to be quick off the marks for tickets, as they are due to go on sale today at 10am. As with previous years, the concert will take place at Dubai's Media City Amphitheatre.
Stormzy is set to launch his world tour from Dubai with the one-night performance. The much-awaited tour will take him to 53 cities around the globe, but Dubai will be his only stop in the Middle East.
It’s been a massive year for the 26-year-old artist, who headlined Glastonbury in June and became the first black solo artist to do so.
The dynamic rapper took to the stage at the UK festival wearing a stab vest designed by graffiti-master Banksy and proceeded to tear through politics, racism and Britain’s ever-growing knife crime problem in his set list.
The musician shot to fame in 2014 when he released his debut EP Dreamers Disease. He was subsequently named best Grime Act at the 2014 and 2015 Mobo Awards.
In 2017, he released his debut album Gang Signs & Prayer which went to the top of the UK and Irish charts and entered charts around Europe.
Who else is playing at RedfestDXB 2020?
Bastille
Bastille are returning to RedFestDXB after first taking to the stage in Dubai in 2015. Since their single Pompeii became a record-breaking, multi-platinum global hit in 2013, the British band's star has continued to rise. Last year was another big 12 months for the band, with hits such as Doom Days, Joy, Those Nights and the festive hit Can't Fight This Feeling featuring the London Contemporary Orchestra, which appeared in the John Lewis Christmas advert.
Martin Garrix
EDM superstar Martin Garrix will bring his brand of high-energy electronic-dance anthems to Dubai. He's known for energetic singles such as Summer Days, which features rapper Macklemore and singer Patrick Stump from pop-punk group Fall Out Boy.
Young Thug
American rapper Jeffery Lamar Williams, otherwise known as Young Thug, is no stranger to the top of the charts. With collaborations with big-name artists such as recent Abu Dhabi F1 performer Gucci Mane, Birdman, Waka Flocka Flame and Richie Homie, his songs have become a radio mainstay.
Cheat Codes
Los Angeles-based electronic trio Cheat Codes debuted in 2015, and have since accumulated more than 1.8 billion streams on Spotify.
They are the producers of several radio airworms, including No Promises featuring Demi Lovato. The different backgrounds of the three members of the group – Matthew Russell, Trevor Dahl and Kevin Ford – helped form Cheat Codes' stylistically varied sound, which can range from warm pop to outright big house bangers.
Machine Gun Kelly
The American rapper and actor burst on to the music scene in 2012 with the release of his first album Lace Up. He won US Artist About to Go Global at the 2012 MTV EMAs.
His 2015 sophomore album, General Admission, soared to the top of Billboard's R&B/Hip-Hop Album charts. His most recent album, Bloom, spawned what might be his most recognisable single, Bad Things. The song stayed atop the Billboard 100 list for more than 16 weeks in 2017. His fourth album, Hotel Diablo, was released on July 5, 2019.
