New Orleans rapper Juvenile announced he will join the 2023 ESSENCE Festival of Culture lineup after recently calling out organizers for excluding him from their 50th anniversary of hip-hop celebration.

Earlier this month, the multi-platinum rapper took to social media to criticize ESSENCE Festival organizers for not including him in the lineup. “How is ESSENCE doing 50 years of hip hop in New Orleans without me???” Juvenile said in a post that has since been deleted.

ESSENCE Festival is set to feature curated and hosted performances, including the “50th Anniversary of Hip-Hop Curation,” “The South Got Something to Say,” “50 Years of Women in Hip-Hop,” and “West Coast All-Stars.” 

The original lineup for “The South Got Something To Say,” curated by Jermaine Dupri, featured artists from the South, including Big Boi, Gucci Mane, Lil Jon, Ludacris, and T.I., but no New Orleans rappers were featured.

The only local talent included in the lineup initially was New Orleans rapper Mia X, who is set to perform in “50 Years of Women in Hip-Hop,” hosted by Angie Martinez.

On the evening of June 7, Juvenile announced on social media that he had been added to the ESSENCE Festival evening concert lineup on June 30, stating, “Hip-Hop 50 without Juvie? Not a chance. June 30, NOLA, we live!”

In its earlier years, ESSENCE hosted many more local New Orleans acts in its musical offerings, often in “superlounges” in the Superdome, but over the course of time, inclusion of local musicians and music has been reduced drastically, and this year the only local act originally included was Mia X—until Juvenile released his social media post.

On the same day Juvenile announced his performance on social media, ESSENCE Festival organizers released a statement on the festival’s commitment to representing the New Orleans community.

“Whether it be the celebration of Hip Hop femcees like New Orleans native Mia X, who has previously been announced, or special surprise performances from local Hip-Hop artists that should not be missed, along with our all Crescent City musical lineup during our Family Day celebration, the city of New Orleans and state of Louisiana will be well-represented including Hip-Hop artist, Juvenile. We look forward to once again unapologetically celebrating BLACK during this year’s event,” the ESSENCE Festival of Culture press team said in a statement.