Update on Friday, March 22, at 2:10 PM: This show has been postponed. All tickets will remain valid for the new date.
Rappers who enjoy long careers often diversify their skill sets. Dipping a toe into acting, book writing, motivational speaking, or political activism isn’t uncommon for a tenured word-slinging entertainer. But those who’ve made their most significant cultural impact through their music will always have fans eager to queue up to hear their classic tracks. And that’s the joy of Spring Powerjam, whose insane turn-of-the-century lineup includes trap forefather Gucci Mane, original “baddest bitch” Trina, and multihyphenate icon Cam’ron.
Gucci (aka Radric Davis) is a bona fide hip-hop GOAT—most contemporary trap stars can trace their roots back to his music. He’s parlayed a feverish mixtape and album run and chart-topping singles into a means of introducing the world to a new universe of southern rappers and producers, including Plies (who appeared on his 2017 hit “Wasted”), Future, Metro Boomin, and Rae Sremmurd.
Born Katrina Laverne Taylor, Trina blew up in the late 90s after appearing on Trick Daddy tracks such as “Nann Nigga” and “Shut Up.” She went on to release a stream of her own raunchy projects, influencing a generation of baddies in the process. Trina has since done some reality television (she costarred with Trick Daddy in VH1’s Love & Hip Hop: Miami in 2018), and she continues to release quality music, most recently her seventh album, T7, in 2022.
Rounding out Powerjam is Cameron Giles, better known as Cam’ron. Some folks may know him primarily as a successful sports analyst with his own widely watched online show, It Is What It Is, but his music career stretches back to the mid-90s, when he was a member of Harlem’s Children of the Corn. In the early 2000s he cofounded New York’s Dipset crew, dropped hits such as 2002’s “Hey Ma” and “Oh Boy,” and taught guys how to be gangsta while wearing pink. Thanks to his legendary 2003 The O’Reilly Factor interview with producer Damon Dash and a frustrated Bill O’Reilly, he also popularized the perfect taunt: “You mad?” Spring Powerjam is a show for the ages, providing an opportunity to see three of the most important rappers who’ve had a hand in the robust hip-hop culture we all enjoy today—don’t sleep on it.
UPDATE FRI 3/22: This show has been postponed.
Gucci Mane, Cam’ron, Trina Part of Spring Powerjam. Sean Mac, DJ Pharris, Ydot Gdot, and Nomii also perform. Fri 3/22, 8 PM, Credit Union 1 Arena, 525 S. Racine, $49-$229, all ages
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