EXCLUSIVE: Strawberries & Creem main headliners announced

The full lineup for Strawberries & Creem 2016 has dropped, and it includes some of urban music’s biggest names. 

Hip-hop and R&B giant Nelly, known to his mum as Cornell Iral Haynes, Jr, needs little introduction. He’s sold millions of records around the world, including no less than four US and UK number 1 hits (Hot in Herre, Dilemma, Shake Ya Tailfeather & Grillz). And whilst we can safely say he his glope-trotting exploits have yet to reach quaint old Cambridge, this will soon change when he headlines this year’s festival. He may already provide the majority of the bangers for your standard Sunday Fez, but seeing him live in June will be an opportunity you most definitely don’t get every week.

Joining him just below on the bill is an MC whose career is of an equal length, and whose back catalogue which makes up a substantial part of the original (and new) grime canon, is sure to spark an equally fierce audience reaction. Maybe you know him from from his incandescent clash with Wiley at the first Lord of the Mics, or maybe from his present-day bangers such as 3 Wheel-ups and GarageSkankFREESTYLE; either way, he’s a quality addition to the bill, and one that continues S&C’s trend of booking the hottest acts in urban UK music. If you haven’t already, watch his stupendous Fire in the Booth below, in preparation for what will undoubtably be a set to remember.

The two acts join a lineup of equally impressive talent, including the legendary reggae DJ David Rodigan (MBE no less), and producers-of-the-moment Snakehips.

Enough star power to put the most lavish of May Balls to shame

Whilst the festival may be doubling its capacity in its third year to 5,000, there are few £35 early bird tickets left. For this money – less than half the price of a June Event ticket – the festival is a heavyweight contender in the May Week calendar for all those interested in urban and bass music.