Meet Latto and Role Model, Block Party 2025’s Dynamic Duo

Article By Olivia Phipps, University Union Editorial Board Assistant Editor | Photo by University Union Design Board

Want to celebrate the end of the semester with a show from some of the hottest artists of the moment? University Union’s Block Party returns to the JMA Wireless Dome on April 25 with performances by Latto and Role Model! Here’s everything you need to know about this year's acts.

Latto

As the first female Block Party headliner since 2013, rap sensation Latto is bringing the ATL energy to CNY. She broke onto the scene at only 16 years old and her subsequent rise to stardom has been outstanding. 

Photo by Getty Images

Latto got her start when she won the first season of Lifetime’s talent competition show “The Rap Game” in 2016. After turning down a contract from Jermaine Dupri’s record label, she began making music independently, releasing three mixtapes and an EP in the subsequent 2 years. In January 2019, ahead of her second EP, she put out single “B*tch From Da Souf,” earning her a first entry on the Billboard Hot 100 and a deal with RCA Records.

In August 2020, she was named part of the XXL Freshman Class, just before releasing her first studio album, “Queen of Da Souf.” In early 2021, she changed her stage name to Latto before achieving a smash hit with “Big Energy” that September. The undoubtedly catchy summer anthem peaked at No. 3 on the Hot 100 and went triple platinum, cementing her status as a rap star across the country. She released her second album, “777” in March 2022. 

2023 was a year of commercial success and accolades for Latto. She earned two Grammy nominations and won Best New Hip-Hop Artist at the iHeartRadio Music Awards. The same year, she switched out Atlanta hip-hop for K-pop, featuring on the remix of “Seven” by BTS member Jung Kook. The earworm was an immediate hit across the globe, debuting at No. 1 on the Hot 100, winning Song of the Summer at the MTV Video Music Awards and becoming the fastest song in history to reach 1 billion streams on Spotify after only 108 days. 

Latto’s latest album, “Sugar Honey Iced Tea,” came out in August 2024. The 21-track project was led by five singles, including “Put It On Da Floor” and its remix with Cardi B. Heavily featuring guest artists like Megan Thee Stallion, Ciara, Playboy Carti and UU show alumni Flo Milli and Teezo Touchdown, the record pays homage to her Southern background. It shows off her versatile flow while staying rooted in the Atlanta hip-hop sound. 

With experience performing on the biggest stages—like at Coachella and Rolling Loud—Latto took the album around the country on a 22-city tour last fall. About the tour, she told Billboard, “when I watch footage back, I’m like, ‘Oh, my gosh. Who is she? That’s not the same girl from rehearsal.’ I feel like I’m looking at a star.”  We can’t wait to see her shine at Block Party!

The must-hears

Role Model

Tucker Pillsbury, aka Role Model, is taking the stage at the Dome in the midst of a career revolution. The singer-songwriter from Maine has been reaching new heights online since he decided to “turn up the twang” on the bonus tracks he put out this February—a long way from the start of his music career in 2016.

During a brief stint studying film in college in Pittsburgh in 2016, Role Model began rapping. He released a mixtape and an album before taking on his current stage name with a pivot to pop in 2017. That same year, he released his EP “ARIZONA IN THE SUMMER,” which earned him internet recognition and an invitation to Los Angeles to work with Mac Miller. He signed with Interscope Records in 2018 before releasing two more alternative-pop EPs: “oh, how perfect” in 2019 and “our little angel” in 2020.

His debut studio album, “Rx,” came out in April 2022. The music video for its third single, “neverletyougo,” has amassed over 5 million views on YouTube. He performed the album of falling-in-love anthems at Coachella and on a world tour the same year.

Photo by Miles Humphries (Northern Exposure)

“Kansas Anymore,” Role Model’s sophomore album released in July 2024, took on a more folksy sound to tell the story of a breakup that has resonated strongly with audiences. Its deluxe edition, “Kansas Anymore (The Longest Goodbye),” came out in February and is currently charting on the Billboard 200 albums chart. 

Despite telling GQ that “TikTok is depressing” in 2022, the singer-songwriter has found success on the app in recent months. A snippet of his country-influenced bonus track “Sally, When The Wine Runs Out” circulated before its release on the “Kansas Anymore” deluxe edition, landing the song on the Spotify Viral 50 charts. You can find him showing off his humorous side on TikTok as alter ego @saintlaurentcowboy. 

He joined Gracie Abrams on her “Secret of Us Tour” last fall; it was “the ‘Sweat’ tour for people who wear loafers,” he told past UU guest Jake Shane on a podcast. He also wrapped up his own “No Place Like Tour” world tour earlier this month. 

Role Model is set to perform at the Governor’s Ball and Bonnaroo music festivals this summer, but not before an important stop in Syracuse. His words of wisdom from the start of a concert in London in 2022 should serve as a motto for Block Party: “Please be kind to the people around you in the crowd. Your safety is our first priority. And lastly: it is absolutely mandatory to sing every word of every song!”

The must-hears

Don’t miss the chance to see them right here on campus. Get your Block Party tickets today! And prepare for the show with UU’s Block Party playlist on spotify with all the highlights from both performers’ discographies. See you in the Dome on April 25!