Fetty Wap announced as 2026 Spring Lawnparties headliner

American rapper and singer Fetty Wap will headline Lawnparties on Sunday, April 26. Lawnparties is a biannual event featuring a headlining performance on Frist North Lawn, as well as various artists hosted by the eating clubs on Prospect Avenue, food vendors, and other activities. 

The announcement from the Undergraduate Student Government Social Committee comes five days before Fetty Wap is set to perform, closer to the event than all but one announcement since 2022. The Fall 2025 announcement came four days before the event. Motel Glow, a student band, and members of the student-run Princeton DJ Collective will open before Fetty Wap takes the stage on Sunday.

Fetty Wap is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter who quickly rose to fame after his 2014 debut commercial single “Trap Queen.” He was born in Paterson, N.J. and attended Eastside High School before dropping out to pursue his music career.

In January, Fetty Wap was released from federal prison in Minnesota after serving more than half of a six-year sentence for his part in a drug trafficking conspiracy involving over 100 kilograms of fentanyl, cocaine, and heroin. 

According to USG Social Committee Chair Vivian Chang ’28, 72 students requested Fetty Wap, the most of any artist, in a USG free-response form with 465 submissions meant to solicit student suggestions for the event’s headliner. 

The Lawnparties theme was announced Saturday as “Princhella #2016.” 

“2016 is a year every student remembers… it represents a sense of pre-pandemic ease that has recently resurfaced in the ‘2026 is the new 2016’ trend,” Chang wrote to The Daily Princetonian. “This year’s Lawnparties draws directly from that nostalgia, bringing a high-energy, throwback atmosphere to Princeton’s biggest social event of the year.”

Fetty Wap’s “Trap Queen” peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and led Fetty Wap to sign with 300 Entertainment. With the release of “679” featuring Remy Boyz, “My Way” featuring Monty, and “Again” in 2015, he became the first act in the history of the Billboard Hot Rap Songs chart to have four entries simultaneously in the top 10.

Born Willie Junior Maxwell II, he coined his stage name “Fetty,” slang for “money,” and appended “Wap” at the end to pay tribute to Gucci Mane’s alias, “Guwop.”  

Fetty Wap’s selection continues Lawnparties’ recent preference for hip-hop and rap headliners. Six of the past eight Lawnparties headliners have been rappers, including Lil Tecca in Spring 2024, NLE Choppa in Fall 2024, and A Boogie Wit da Hoodie in Spring 2025. 

Fetty Wap has received two Grammy Award nominations and won the 2016 awards for “Best New Artist” by the iHeartRadio Music Awards and “Top New Artist” by the Billboard Music Awards.

Fetty Wap has the second-highest number of monthly Spotify listeners of the artists who have performed at Lawnparties since 2021, with over 21 million.

According to Chang, the USG Social Committee has coordinated with several University entities, including the Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Students, Public Safety, Environmental Health and Safety, and the University’s Risk Management team, to preserve and strengthen the safety infrastructure for Lawnparties. In past years, tight crowds have led to student injuries. 

This semester’s Lawnparties will include food options as usual, including Nomad Pizza, Tico’s Eatery and Juice Bar, Rita’s, Taco Bell, Cheesecake on a Stick, Alfalfa, Jammin’ Crepes, Watermelon Cups, and a new Kosher sushi option. 

Ambre Van de Velde is a staff News writer for the ‘Prince.’ She is from Boston and can be reached at av8447[at]princeton.edu.

Gray Collins is the assistant News editor for the ‘Prince’ leading University administration coverage. He is from outside of Philadelphia and can be reached at graycollins[at]princeton.edu.

Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.