Buying a ticket for OVO Fest feels a lot like gambling—you’re not quite sure how big your investment is going to pay off until the cards fall. Every year, Drake pulls out all the stops to assemble the hottest lineup in music, showcasing the OVO squad, welcoming hip-hop’s heavy hitters, and facilitating mind-blowing throwback performances from artists who can only be described as legendary. There’s a reason this thing sells out in a matter of minutes every year.
As soon as OVO Fest concludes, speculation about next year’s lineup begins. With 2015’s festivities fast approaching, we decided to put together a definitive list of special guest predictions. We looked at previous OVO Fest lineups, Drake’s recent discography, the general state of Drake's relationships, and artist tour schedules in order to calculate the odds on whether or not 50 potential artists will show up this year. We’ve included the hypothetical (see: completely fabricated) Vegas odds for each artist, so you can call your local bookie and drop a band on the likelihood of Norm Kelly showing up and telling the crowd to watch him whip, and then subsequently watch him nae-nae. Here’s what we came up with.
The Safe Bets
The OVO Crew
The Regulars
The Classics
Drake always caters to the ‘80s and ‘90s babies with at least one throwback performance by someone of legendary status. Previous guests have included Stevie Wonder, Lauryn Hill, TLC, Diddy, and Ma$e, and given Aubrey’s desire to consistently one-up himself, it’s easy to let your imagination run wild. These might seem like lofty dreams, but knowing OVO Fests previous, nothing is out of the question. Will Dr. Dre drop an album the night of OVO Fest, as prophesized by 22 Jump Street star Ice Cube? Maybe Will Smith will come through, given that he’s allegedly working on new music with Drake. Can you imagine Ginuwine doing “Legend”? Or, picture this: “Remember one night, I was at Erykah Badu’s house…ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Ms. Badu to the stage.” Anything can happen.
Dr. Dre (Vegas Odds: 100/1, 0.99% Probability)
Will Smith (Vegas Odds: 50/1, 1.96% Probability)
Ginuwine (Vegas Odds: 14/1, 6.67% Probability)
Jodeci (Vegas Odds: 50/1, 1.96% Probability)
D’Angelo (Vegas Odds: 30/1, 3.23% Probability)
Mary J. Blige (Vegas Odds: 50/1, 1.96% Probability)
Missy Elliott (Vegas Odds: 50/1, 1.96% Probability)
Timbaland (Vegas Odds: 100/1, 0.99% Probability)
Erykah Badu (Vegas Odds: 14/1, 6.67% Probability)
