Richmond rapper Iamsu! hasn’t performed his own live show since 2019 — when the pre-pandemic world felt limitless and more socially manageable. But now, fresh off a guest appearance in Oakland at Larry June’s “The Great Escape” tour, Iamsu! is back on our minds with an upcoming concert of his own: IAMSUMMER Fest.
For Su, a founding member of the rap collective Heartbreak Gang, the time feels right to finally re-emerge after a pandemic-triggered hiatus.
“Once I got settled into the pandemic, it was tough to crack the shell to come out,” he says. “It feels hella good to be back out in this space and picking my right spots, having the right homies to work with and just being intentional about it. It’s a real summer jam.”
The concert takes place at California’s Great America, the amusement park that invokes heavy nostalgia for many Bay Area natives, including Su, who grew up riding favorites like Top Gun, Drop Zone and The Demon.
“As a young boy, the experience of going through those gates, seeing the fountains, eating churros, that just puts a smile on my face,” Iamsu! says. “That magic, that fun, it’s not always present in the Bay these days. It’s just a small escape from our regular lives.”
