Let’s talk about Hennessy and its contribution to the culture. More specifically, its role as partner to Back To The City festival, one of the biggest hip-hop festivals on the continent. In an era where brands are becoming more cautious about festivals and some established events have disappeared altogether, Hennessy has continued to show up. Five years of backing hip-hop is something the culture should acknowledge. Especially as BTTC celebrates 20 years of keeping the culture alive.
This Saturday marks five years of Hennessy and Back To The City festival, a relationship that officially started in 2022. The first chapter brought legends like Keith Murray, Talib Kweli and Lost Boyz to the BTTC stage. That lineup immediately showed that this partnership was not going to be about simply putting a logo somewhere. Hennessy was putting real names on a real hip-hop stage. And after that first year, they never really looked back.
Then came 2023, and the bar went even higher with Mobb Deep and The Beatnuts. For many people in that crowd, these weren’t just international acts on a festival poster. These were childhood heroes, artists whose records shaped how an entire generation understood hip-hop. You could feel it in the crowd when they stepped on stage. That is the beauty of this culture, and moments like these are exactly why long-term partnerships matter.
By year three, the Hennessy and Back To The City festival relationship had already become part of the festival experience. Then came 2024 and Benny The Butcher, representing Buffalo and bringing that Griselda energy to Johannesburg. His performance was one of those sets that reminded you why live hip-hop still matters. No relying on backing vocals to carry the moment, just the rapper, the music and the crowd. Kane Keid jumping on stage with Benny was a moment, and Stogie T joining him made it even bigger.
Then came 2025, with an 18,000-strong crowd coming together to witness Lupe Fiasco. Instead of trying to overload the lineup with international names, the festival put the focus on one of hip-hop’s most respected lyricists. Lupe’s presence felt intentional. It was another reminder that Back to The City festival understands its audience. Hip-hop heads don’t necessarily need a hundred names. Sometimes you just need the right one, on the right stage, in front of the right crowd.
And we can’t forget Hennessy Friend of the House Maglera Doe Boy either. His performance was another reminder that Hennessy’s contribution to BTTC isn’t only about bringing international names to South Africa. It is also about putting our own artists in spaces where they can stand alongside the best from anywhere in the world. That exchange is important. International acts bring their history, South African artists bring their perspective, and the festival becomes the meeting point. That’s culture in motion.
So, how do we talk about Back to The City festival without talking about Hennessy’s impact on the festival? The partnership has helped create a bigger platform around the music, while the Hennessy Public Viewing Area has become its own part of the BTTC ecosystem. It brings together South African artists, industry people, creatives and friends of the house. As a journalist, I personally appreciate that space because it creates opportunities for conversations that don’t always happen in the middle of a festival crowd.
Now we arrive at year five. Hennessy is still here, still putting its weight behind the culture, and this time we’re getting Ab-Soul from Top Dawg Entertainment. Then there’s Slum Village, a group whose contribution to hip-hop runs deep, alongside Blu & Exile, one of the most respected rapper-producer partnerships of their generation. For BTTC’s 20th anniversary, that’s a serious international lineup. But the question is: what will the Hennessy moment be this time?
Because five years is no small thing in this industry. Partnerships come and go, campaigns come and go, and brands can easily move on to the next thing. Hennessy continuing to invest in Back To The City festival says something about the value it sees in hip-hop and the audience around it. And with BTTC reaching 20 years, the timing makes this chapter even more significant. Two institutions, in their own ways, continuing to build around the culture.
For hip-hop consumers and the heads who have watched this partnership grow, the obvious question is whether we can get to ten years. Longevity in this space will always come down to the partnership continuing to make commercial sense for everyone: the brand, the festival, the artists and the culture. But if the first five years are anything to go by, Hennessy and Back to The City festival have built something worth watching. Here’s to the next five.