Drake has received backlash online for seemingly calling UK rap legends “the mandem” on the line-up for this year’s Wireless Festival.
This weekend saw the Canadian rap juggernaut announced as the sole headliner for Wireless 2025 – which will take place at London’s Finsbury Park this summer, running from July 11 to 13. He will be performing three different sets – each with a unique, curated group of guests – for the festival’s 20th anniversary celebration.
While the Friday will be dedicated to R&B with the help of Summer Walker and PartyNextDoor and the Sunday will see Drake pay homage to dancehall and Afrobeats by enlisting Vybz Kartel and Burna Boy as special guests, the line-up of the Saturday in between simply teases the headline slot “Drake and the mandem”.
The use of the popular British slang term will likely mean UK rappers might join him on stage, with many fans and figures from the music world taking to social media to share their upset that UK artists were reduced to just “the mandem” in their home country.
IT’S BEEN A WHILE BUT THE BOY IS HOME 🇬🇧
For our 20th anniversary.… @Drake will headline all THREE nights with three different setlists.https://t.co/TYiE06jNRA for pre-sale info.
General sale on Wednesday 19th Feb at 12pm GMT.@burnaboy @partynextdoor @IAMSUMMERWALKER… pic.twitter.com/CfmMGq0DnC— Wireless Festival (@WirelessFest) February 16, 2025
“UK acts are being reduced to the ‘mandem’ in their own gaff [skull emoji] – I wonder why Americans take the piss out of us,” one X/Twitter user wrote.
Another backed them up, saying: “Every day, ‘It’s not that deep.’ Now, they won’t even call you by name in your own city [sad face emoji]. A 20-year celebration of a homegrown festival… and they’ve named you ‘The Mandem’ like a twerking collective… crazy. I’m so sorry. So Solid didn’t do ’21 seconds’ for this!!!”
Mega Man from history-making UK garage group So Solid Crew agreed – stating that, “Legends are not called ‘the mandem’ tbh… we call them by their names or brand.” He went on to share a string of tweets, further explaining why the term is absurd: “UK artist we see are regularly being used as props for outsiders to certify their look while here. Know your worth [and] quit being that UK artist they can call just because it looks good or the money is right. Build your brands and demand a high level of notoriety.”
“So we are okay with a UK Festival slyly insinuating no UK act [or] artist was big enough for first reveal on their promo run,” he concluded. “We have over 21 top acts, men [and] women. I can name them too from R&B to grime to rap to garage to jungle/DnB.”
Others meanwhile have defended the phrase, with some reasoning that “it’s not that deep” and “obviously, wireless just don’t wanna put out all the names yet? People cry on this app for nothing.”
Check out more reactions below.
Uk acts are being reduced to the “mandem” in their own gaff 💀 wonder why Americans take the piss out of us
— SetGdNia🇯🇲 (@ShaniaJacko) February 16, 2025
“The Mandem” is so funny. A bat signal to all the 16 year old boys in the shires if I’ve ever seen one
— martha (@mxmsworld) February 16, 2025
Legends are not called “the man dem” tbh … we call them by their names or brand. 🇬🇧
— So Solid Crew / Mega (@OFFICIALSOSOLID) February 16, 2025
UK respect yourselves a lot more
UK entertainers respect yourself more
UK Promoters respect yourselves & your cities
— So Solid Crew / Mega (@OFFICIALSOSOLID) February 16, 2025
So we are okay with a UK Festival slyly insinuating no UK act/artist was big enough for first reveal on their Promo run…
We have over 21 top acts, men & women. I can name them too from R&B to Grime to Rap to Garage to Jungle/DnB
— So Solid Crew / Mega (@OFFICIALSOSOLID) February 16, 2025
UK artist we see are regularly being used as props for outsiders to certify their look while here.
Know your worth & quit being that UK artist they can call just because it looks good or the money is right.
Build your brands and demand a high level of notoriety.
— So Solid Crew / Mega (@OFFICIALSOSOLID) February 17, 2025
20 years of Wireless and not a single UK artist headlining 🤣🤣 just reduced to “The Mandem” lmao
— JC (@vernitosl) February 16, 2025
Big up all "The Mandem" doing up side character for wireless this year#OVHOESFESTIVAL https://t.co/bgKBdCo5gh
— Mr Furious™ (@MrFuriousDJ) February 16, 2025
I cannot believe the uproar it’s caused with Drake and this wireless situ 😂🤦🏼♂️ it’s not that deep
— Robertoo (@ImRobertoo) February 17, 2025
People getting upset over “the mandem” when obviously wireless just don’t wanna put out all the names yet ? 😭😭😭😭 people cry on this app for nothing
— 🇬🇩 (@T1Dread) February 16, 2025
There’s suttin in this British air that gets people mad for no reason. Wireless has been dying for years and Drake makes people wanna go again and man are complaining cos it says “mandem”😭 https://t.co/Can1f75WH3
— Mordzs (@Mordzs_) February 16, 2025
I think you lot forget that wireless is a business and the main aim of a business is to do what makes money, a lot of u that are lifting up your skirts for “the mandem” are forgetting that wireless openly said they can’t book set uk artists no more cos of the beef years ago
— Uncle Wanda (@WandaMusicUk) February 17, 2025
People are mad about the ‘mandem’ in the wireless flyer….what else should they have put to get the point across of the theme? They probably have not even booked anyone yet. They might need the ticket sales to get the rest of the coins. 😭
— tt🦋 (@tashxriene) February 17, 2025
Tickets to Wireless go on sale at 12pm GMT this Wednesday (February 19) and will be available here.
Last year’s Wireless was headlined by Doja Cat, Nicki Minaj and 21 Savage, although Tyla and Digga D dropped out and the festival ended early on the Sunday in time for England playing in the final of the Euros.
In other news, Drake is currently on the ‘Anita Max Wynn’ tour – his first Australia and New Zealand tour in eight years.
He also released his collaborative album ‘$ome $exy $ongs 4 U’ with PartyNextDoor on Friday (February 14), a collection of sultry R&B-infused songs that sees the rapper address his feud with Kendrick Lamar and tensions with Future, Metro Boomin and Rick Ross.
The album also came days after Kendrick Lamar took several shots at him during his headline Super Bowl Halftime Show last Sunday (February 9). Lamar even made light of the rapper’s ongoing lawsuit with Universal Music Group for promoting ‘Not Like Us’.
Meanwhile, Will Ferrell and Ana Gasteyer covered Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’ at the SNL 50 concert this weekend. During their performance, they also called for Drake and Lamar to “hug it out” and end their infamous feud.