Blockfest brings global rap stars to Tampere

Blockfest, described by Yle as the Nordic region’s largest hip hop festival, will bring international rap stars and leading Finnish artists to Tampere’s Ratina on Friday and Saturday.

About 80,000 people are expected to attend the festival. Blockfest has sold out every year since it was first held in Tampere in 2008, although a small number of tickets were still available on Friday morning. The organiser expects the event to sell out again.

International stars

US artist Yeat, whose real name is Noah Smith, will perform at Blockfest for the first time on Friday. He previously appeared in Finland at Ruisrock last year.

The 26-year-old artist makes rage, a subgenre of trap that combines synthesiser melodies with distinctive vocabulary. His album Lyfestyle topped the Billboard 200 chart in 2024. Yeat has also released music with reality television star Kylie Jenner, who performs under the name King Kylie.

US artist Future, whose real name is Nayvadius Wilburn, will take the main stage on Saturday. He is known for melodic mumble rap, a style named after its mumbled delivery.

Future became the first hip hop artist to achieve three number one albums on the Billboard 200 within six months in 2024. Spotify ranked him 19th on its list of the 20 most listened-to artists of all time, published in April.

Offset, whose real name is Kiari Cephus, will also perform on Saturday. He is known from the legendary rap group Migos, one of the most popular rap groups of the 2010s and a pioneer of the trap genre.

Offset’s song Ric Flair Drip, made with Metro Boomin, has been streamed more than two billion times on Spotify. He was also injured in a shooting in Florida in the spring and received hospital treatment. Offset is known for his turbulent relationship with rapper Cardi B, with whom he has three children.

Leading Finnish rappers

Turisti, whose real name is Harlova Vukulu, will perform his only show of the summer on Blockfest’s main stage on Saturday. He was Finland’s most listened-to artist on Spotify in each of the past two years.

Turisti performed this year at the Eurovision Song Contest’s Finnish selection show as part of an interval performance with three other Finnish rappers. He won the Emma award for rap in 2024. His 2022 song Mietin ääneen also sparked discussion after its lyrics were interpreted as misogynistic.

Popular Finnish artist Lauri Haav, whose surname is Haavisto, will also perform at Ratina Stadium on Saturday.

His album No Haav No Love, released in the spring, addresses topics including his mother’s death. Haav has also spoken openly about bullying, mental health problems and other difficult personal experiences.

Haav won the Artist of the Year award at this year’s Emma gala and was also voted the best Finnish artist of the year by the public. He took part in the latest season of the television programme Vain elämää, which was broadcast last year.

The festival will also feature Finnish indie newcomers, including Lounaonline, whose real name is Louna Kukkonen.