As Chip Tha Ripper flies from one end of the country and back, dashing from city to city for the To The Moon Tour alongside headliner Kid Cudi and Don Toliver, he looks forward to their homecoming festival date in Cleveland, aptly named Moon Man’s Landing.
The fest, orchestrated by Cudi, hits The Land on Sept. 17 — a celebration of local rap and culture boasting a lineup of homegrown legends like Bone Thugs-N-Harmony among the incoming moon men.
“It’s a beautiful thing, and I want to see more of this happening,” says Chip. “What I always wanted for the Cleveland scene is to have the people come together and support the artists.”
Tickets are on sale for Moon Man’s Landing but will likely go fast as the date approaches. With a stacked lineup, including Pusha T, Haim and more, the event’s reputation precedes itself.
Before you fly to the moon, we caught up with Chip Tha Ripper to talk about the festival, its importance and Cleveland rap culture.
Cleveland Magazine: How has the tour been going for you so far?
Chip Tha Ripper: It's been a really good tour. We end the tour off in Cleveland with a big festival. Honestly, it's almost unimaginable.
CM: We’ve seen the buzz around Moon Man’s Landing, what does it mean to bring such a big festival to The Land?
Chip: I just think that, you know, whatever it is — whether it's Moon Man’s Landing, whether another festival comes — anything that we can add to the Cleveland culture is going to be mega. So we'll see this repeat itself along with other things.
CM: How does the event fit into Cleveland Rap Culture?
Chip: I think that the way of life transcends into the music, and every place has its own way of life and new way of operating — its own collective mentality that the people have. The city clearly has a unique combination of variables that lead us to be the Cleveland people that we are. It comes down into music, it comes down in all the arts, you know, whether it be film, whether it be music or actual art.
CM: When you both arrive, you’ll be rapping alongside Kid Cudi, who you’ve collaborated with several times. What’s the history between you two?
Chip: He's a friend of mine — we’re artists, you know. Music is something that is really cool because we just kind of noticed that we had something to do, and we had to do it together. His mother was actually my music teacher when I went to Roxboro. Before I met him, I didn't even know anything about her personal life, if she had kids or anything. It just kind of came full circle. And [Cudi’s mother] was like a mother figure to a lot of us. And she was sweet, but she was stern. She was firm. And that was what I needed at the time. She was a great teacher and great, amazing, amazing woman.
CM: With such deep ties to Cleveland, is there anyone else you’re excited to see when you come home? Anyone you’re excited to perform alongside?
Chip: Bone Thugs-N-Harmony was my biggest inspiration, just for the simple fact that they grew up in the same zip code that I’m from. They're from the 44108 zip code. They started Cleveland. And for them to be as mega as they are, and for them to be so close to where I was — I remember as a kid feeling like I could achieve these things that I wanted to do just because they were so successful and so close. They were talking about the place I was from, so it was like it was already kind of on the map. Because in that hip-hop and rap space it was just Bone, Bone, Bone.
