The Laneway Festival have announced that Atlanta’s visionary and enigmatic rapper Young Thug will join the line-up for Australia and New Zealand.

Young Thug is one of the most prolific recording artists of the moment. After knocking out collabs with hip-hop heavyweights Travis Scott, Gucci Mane, and Laneway alumni Jamie xx, Young Thug returned this year with a full body of work titled Jeffrey. The album, with huge singles ‘Pick Up the Phone’ (92 million streams) and ‘Wyclef Jean’, showcases Thug’s ever-evolving, unpredictable style inspired by gender, identity, fashion, and Elton John.  

Laneway Festival New Zealand Co-Promoter Mark Kneebone says: "Young Thug is one of the most brilliant voices of his generation; knowing that we are going to have him play a twilight set in the middle of Albert Park is a wonderful thing."

Young Thug joins a list of stellar hip hop acts to play Laneway over the years including Vince Staples, Run The Jewels, Vic Mensa, Danny Brown and Earl Sweatshirt, and will play alongside Mick Jenkins and Clams Casino on the 2017 line-up.

These shows will be Young Thug’s first ever shows in the region. Young Thug fills the spot left by the withdrawal of The Julie Ruin, who are unable to play the festival due for medical reasons.

St. Jerome's Laneway Festival 2017

Monday January 30th: Albert Park, Auckland

Tickets via lanewayfestival.co.nz

The Laneway Festival New Zealand line-up in alphabetical order:

AURORA - Bob Moses - Car Seat Headrest - Clams Casino -
Cut Off Your Hands - DMA'S - Fazerdaze - Flight Facilities -
Floating Points (Live) - Fortunes - Glass Animals -
Julia Jacklin - k2k - Mick Jenkins -  Mr. Carmack - NAO -
Nick Murphy (Chet Faker) - Nikolai - Purple Pilgrims - Refused -
Tame Impala - The Chills - The Veils - Tourist -
Tycho - White Lung - Whitney - Young Thug - Yukon Era