Drake, Vybz Kartel, Lauryn Hill, And More Bring Three Distinct Vibes At Wireless Festival 2025

There was something for everyone at this year’s Wireless Festival in London. Though Drake was listed as the apex of the experience, Lauryn Hill and Vybz Kartel ensured that fans walked away with memories that would last a lifetime.

Day One focused on R&B, with acts like Summer Walker, Roy Woods, Sailorr, Odeal, and more on the bill. Leon Thomas took over the main stage on Friday (July 11), delivering his fan-favorite cuts such as “Yes It Is,” “Not Fair,” “Vibes Don’t Lie,” and, of course, “Mutt.” Ty Dolla $ign joined him to perform “Far Fetched” and took the time out to call his protégé the “king of this sh*t,” referring to the current R&B landscape. Given the success of “Mutt” and Thomas’s fast rise, Ty is surely on to something.

Nippa, a popular R&B act in the UK, held down the Old Spice stage with tracks “One More” and “Sum’n Serious” from his latest project, Hope She Hears This. He told the audience how, just last year, he had to hop the fence to attend the festival, and now he was an official member of the bill. He spoke to VIBE about what the moment meant and what people should expect moving forward.

“It feels like a full-circle moment, man,” he said. “I’m from around the way. I used to come here as a boy, and now I’m on the stage. It feels good to be here, man, it feels like I’m doing something right.” He shouted out the muse for his latest project, stating how the unnamed woman never discouraged him from chasing his dreams and would have said “I told you so” if she were still around to see everything he is doing.

Nippa has recently been in the studio with Cash Cobain, whom he called a “pioneer” and “one of the waviest creators.” As far as the world seeing an official release from the two, he simply said that people have to “ask the Slizzys.” Nonetheless, for anyone who didn’t see him perform at Wireless or is still unfamiliar with him, he suggested three songs to get to know his offering: “‘Unfair,’ “Kiki’s Brown Eyes,’ and ‘One More.’” 

The main event of Day One was a co-headlining set from PARTYNEXTDOOR and Drizzy. PND opened things up by ripping through his classic records, such as “Break From Toronto,” “Wus Good/Curious,” and “TBH” before diving into his 2024 album P4. “Make It To The Morning” and “For Certain” got huge reactions from the London crowd, setting the stage for the 6 God to appear for his verse on their collaboration “Come And See Me.” 

Drake followed his partner-in-crooning’s lead, delivering “Marvin’s Room,” “Teenage Fever,” “Feel No Ways,” and “Passionfruit.” Like any of his performances, he offered a sentimental speech about what the moment meant for him and that he would make it worth everyone’s while. “I’m treating this like three OVO Fests in three days,” he said, hinting at surprise guests before continuing to sing some of his fan favorite tracks like “Jaded” and “Shot For Me.” 

Guest appearance time was kicked off by Bobby V, who passionately sang “Slow Down” before jokingly stating that he was going to sign to OVO Sound. Mario pulled up next, leading the crowd in an emotional rendition of “Let Me Love You.” Giveon followed up with a quick run of his chorus on “Chicago Freestyle” and a bit of his recent single “Twenties” before a longer performance of his breakthrough record “Heartbreak Anniversary.” The Long Beach, Calif. singer paid homage to Drake before leaving the stage, stating, “This man changed my life, he changed my family’s life, and I’m forever indebted.”

As if that wasn’t enough, Bryson Tiller appeared next. He gave the crowd a taste of “Whatever She Wants” before remembering that it was R&B night and breaking into his classic hit “Exchange.” PND returned to the stage so he and the Toronto superstar could perform records from $ome $exy $ongs 4 U for the first time, namely “CN Tower,” “Something About You,” “Die Trying,” and “OMW.” The peaks of their set were the cult hit “Somebody Loves Me” and the Billboard No. 2 smash “Nokia.” 

Drizzy showed love to Lil Wayne, who was not present, by playing Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” much like Weezy does to end all of his concerts. He did his best to get close to his fans, with a crane taking him around the entire audience of 50,000 people before returning to the stage. However, this was not the end of the show. Lauryn Hill and The Fugees popped out to perform “Ready Or Not,” “Lost Ones,” and “Ex-Factor,” which transitioned into “Nice For What” and “In My Feelings.” 

How could that evening be surpassed? Honestly, it wasn’t, but Day Two was a strong contender. Major credit to Lancey Foux, who performed tracks like “Daylight” and “Mmm Hmm” while the crowd created several mosh pits. Of all the London acts who took the stage throughout the weekend, he may have captured the crowd the most. That is a huge statement considering who Drake brought out for his headlining set.

UK rappers Fakemink, K-Trap, Headie One, J Hus, Skepta, Dave, and Central Cee all blazed the stage, prompting the weekend’s headliner to make a controversial statement that has been circulating the internet regarding UK rappers being the highest form of rap. Many disagree, but the London crowd seemed to be in support, and rightfully so. 

The United States-based rappers who were surprise guests didn’t go down without a fight, though. Latto, Sexyy Red, and 21 Savage all appeared to deliver their hits, either on their own or alongside Drake. The biggest moment of the night, though, was a shocking appearance by Vanessa Carlton. She sat behind a piano, playing the keys while singing Black people’s favorite “white person song,” thanks to White Chicks, “A Thousand Miles.” Nobody could have predicted that would happen, but Champagne Papi is always about making moments for the people.

Day Three felt and sounded like the biggest draw, largely due to Vybz Kartel performing in London for the first time in over 20 years. It was evident given that the main stage was more crowded early in the day compared to the previous two days. Plus, there was lack of phone service. Di Worl Boss made it worth their while, and Drizzy seemingly understood the moment because Kartel’s set went well beyond its initially planned hour. The energy never dwindled, and the vibes were high.

Burna Boy was another blockbuster set on Sunday afternoon. The African Giant delivered “On The Low,” his remix to “Talibans,” “Ye, “Last Last,” and the second surprise Lauryn Hill performance of the weekend. She didn’t stay long, but she ensured people witnessed another magical moment in performing “Killing Me Softly,” one of the classics that was likely omitted on Friday due to time constraints.

At last, here came Drake once again to close out the weekend. From the very beginning, he acknowledged Finsbury Park had an earlier curfew, but he would do his best to make the truncated time worthwhile. He opened with an unreleased song with Central Cee, an Afrobeats record focused on getting the women to dance and decide: “You want Cench or your ex, which one?/ You want friends or success, which one?”

The 6 God called his set a “party,” to match the high energy from Burna and Kartel’s sets. Popcaan popped out to perform his remix of “Come Closer,” and then, much like his interlude during the It’s All A Blur Tour, Drake played house mixes of some of his best and most popular reggae and Afrobeats records. The crowd danced and sang along to “Passionfruit,” “Controlla,” “Find Your Love,” “Work,” “One Dance,” and more.

Rema made a surprise appearance, blitzing through his hits such as “Calm Down,” “Baby (Is It A Crime),” and Dumebi. Vybz came back out to drop the infectious “Fever” on the people before the Toronto icon closed off with “Hotline Bling” and a third consecutive performance of “Nokia.”

It was admittedly the shortest and most underwhelming set of his three, understandable due to the time constraints. It’s reasonable to believe people would have preferred fewer house mixes of songs that they really love, but given the huge crowd sticking it didn’t appear to turn too many people away. Additionally, Friday and Saturday evening were loaded with so many surprises that Sunday may have been a welcome “cooldown.”

Wireless may never be able to provide an experience like this again, with Drake, the many throwback R&B stalwarts, UK and American rap stars, all coming together. And that’s okay because you only get one 20th anniversary. Three days, three distinct vibes loaded with memories to last a lifetime, or, at least, until the 30th anniversary.