Despite announcing the lineup for 9Fest on Tuesday, the organizers had one more surprise in store after signing co-headliner Chip Tha Ripper on Wednesday.
“We have been working with Chip’s management to finalize the deal and we weren’t able to until today,” said Dominic Petrozzi, one of the event’s organizers. “He is an Ohio musician who has been getting a lot of national attention and we consider him to be one of the best talents in the state.”
After attempting to sign the hip-hop artist since 2004, the event organizers were finally able to seal the deal, ironically after the musician moved from his Cleveland home to L.A.
“We are really excited and we are going to be the first show in Ohio for him since he moved to L.A.,” Petrozzi said. “So it’ll be a type of homecoming.”
An artist of SLAB entertainment, Chip Tha Ripper has continued to release projects including Money, The Cleveland Show, Can’t Stop Me, and his most recent, Tell Ya Friend,which has been featured in KiD CuDi’s Man on the Moon series.
Touring since 2008, he has continued to climb the charts while collaborating with artists such as KiD KuDi on the release of their track, “The Almighy GloryUS,” which is expected to be released soon.
Chip also made a recent addition to his sound as he has decided to incorporate a live band with his music.
Petrozzi added that the 9Fest crew is excited about the addition and hopes that the artist silences some of the controversy that has been circulating within the past 48-hours.
“We are really stoked and excited to bring him to OU and let OU folks get that experience. We think he will fulfill the need for a national hip-hop act and what students have been asking for within the last 48 hours,” Petrozzi said. “Some were concerned about this year’s acts but we were able to finalize the deal. Being able to add him to the lineup makes 9Fest the biggest and best yet.”
lf328610@ohiou.edu
