From Coo Coo Cal to Chicken P, One World Fest assembling generations of Milwaukee rappers

It’s a night decades in the making — and on a scale Milwaukee has never seen before.

The One World Music Festival, happening Friday at the Riverside Theater, is like “The Avengers” of local hip-hop showcases. Fast-rising local stars like Chicken P, J.P., and 414BigFrank — all long overdue for big hometown showcases — are finally getting the large stage they deserve.

But there’s more, much more. Joining some of Milwaukee's biggest rap stars are veterans who helped put the city's hip-hop scene on the map — most notably Coo Coo Cal, the first, and still only, rapper based in Milwaukee to see a song top a Billboard chart, with "My Projects" in 2001.

Over 30 names are on the eye-popping poster, ranging from pain rap brothers MT Twins to R&B singer Carolyne Scott to veteran hip-hop artist and city activist Ray Nitti to Yung MKE, a rapper who's just 8 years old.

Also planned for One World Music Festival: a roller-skating performance; dance acts, including a routine inspired by Milwaukee rapper and TikTok breakout SteveDaStoner; and R&B tributes to breakout artists like Tank, Jacob Latimore and Rico Love that hail from the city.

"It's definitely making history for the city," J.P., real name Josiah Gillie, said about One World. J.P. had a breakout song last year, "Juicey Ahhh," whose fans included rap superstar Lil Uzi Vert. J.P. has been among the most prominent practitioners of lowend, a twerk music-inspired subgenre that originated in Milwaukee and has been getting national notice. He followed it up with another smash single this year, "Bad Bitty," that Pitchfork recently proclaimed "the catchiest song anywhere right now."

"You have all these artists from the city performing all at one time and showcasing the talent Milwaukee has put out over the years," J.P. said of One World. "There are artists like me and Frank and Chicken P that are getting country-wide recognition for our music, but its also highlighting the ones in the past that have done it before and the younger ones that have the opportunity to do it now."

"It will definitely be one of those shows that Milwaukee will remember forever."

One World is the brainchild of engaged couple Tierra McClain, 37, and Anthony Milons, 35, who together run local promoter Our Money LLC. The venture started when events started returning after the pandemic, McClain explained, with Our Money staging comedy, poetry and live music showcases at smaller venues like Oasis Lounge, Jack's American Pub and Club Timbuktu.

After doing an event with J.P. in January, McClain and Milons came up with the idea of doing something on a larger scale.

"We wanted to put some production behind some of these artists," McClain said, who in addition to promoting and organizing the shows is making costumes for the festival by hand. "People have been waiting for this to happen, and it needed to happen."

McClain and Milons were able to book Chicken P, originally envisioning One World as a big show centered around him. But they realized that One World could be more than a celebration of one artist. The roster expanded to include artists like J.P. — and kept expanding.

"It was kind of a snowball effect," Milons said. "Trying to get these different artists together, that started opening doors. ... By incorporating the older generation we're giving homage and respect to those who paved the way, and we can show the older generation these younger cats we need to get behind. ... We need to grab hold of each other and uplift the community from the inside."

"It's harder for the hip-hop community and R&B community to get into these larger venues," McClain said. "We are trying to bridge the gap."

That remains one of the biggest challenges for those scenes, especially for Milwaukee street rap. In the mid-to-late 2010s, a growing group of local rappers began routinely getting hundreds of thousands of YouTube views for their music videos. Chicken P, in collaboration with late rapper Jigg, got over 3 million YouTube streams for 2019 local hit "Fast Cash Babies," a watershed moment for the scene.

The audience has continued to grow rapidly online, including through TikTok and Spotify. Pitchfork and Rolling Stone are among the major publications singing the scene's praises. Breakout Milwaukee rappers like Lakeyah, DC The Don, Certified Trapper and Chicken P have inked major label deals.

Nevertheless, local shows on the scale of One World have been few and far between, although things may finally be improving.

There have been noteworthy opening gigs and surprise appearances at the Rave for Trapper, Chicken, J.P. and 414BigFrank, with Trapper headlining his own show there last year. Local artist Djay Mando booked a big local hip-hop showcase led by Lakeyah at Wisconsin State Fair Park in 2021, and this year, Trapper and DC The Don are Summerfest headliners.

McClain and Milons hope One World will generate more major, overdue local show opportunities — and that footage from the show may inspire Summerfest and other major music events this summer to book some One World acts.

"When we stand together, when we support one another and use our gifts and talents that the most high our creator has given us, there's no limit to what we can do," McClain said.

"It's great to be a part of change. This is just the beginning."

More: It's a golden age for Milwaukee hip-hop. Here are 15 rappers you need to know about.

IF YOU GO

What: One World Music Festival

When: 7 p.m. Friday

Where: Riverside Theater, 116 W. Wisconsin Ave.

How much?: $55 to $95 at the door, the Pabst Theater box office (144 E. Wells St.) and pabsttheater.org.

Contact Piet at (414) 223-5162 or plevy@journalsentinel.com. Follow him on X at @pietlevy or Facebook at facebook.com/PietLevyMJS.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Generations of Milwaukee rappers joining forces for One World Festival