A lineup of classic hip-hop acts including Big Daddy Kane and Slick Rick will provide the soundtrack for Mobile’s MoonPie Drop as the city prepares to ring in 2024.

Organizers of the annual MoonPie Over Mobile festivities unveiled their lineup Tuesday at the Mobile City Council’s weekly meeting. Former councilman Fred Richardson, whose idea to drop a MoonPie at the stroke of midnight developed into the city’s signature New Year’s Eve celebration, revealed the roster: After an opening set by area band Yeah Probably will come a five-act main show featuring Yo-Yo, Dana Dane, Big Daddy Kane, Slick Rick and Rob Base.

Richardson and Amberley Harris, a member of the event’s board, highlighted the fact that 2023 has widely been touted as the 50th anniversary years of hip-hop. That resonated with several council members.

“Giving honor to 50 years of hip-hop, this is going to be better than New York City,” said Council President C.J. Small. “I think this is going to be the best place in the United States to have a New Year’s Eve event this year.” “A lot of these artists have been traveling around the world celebrating 50 years, but now they will close it out here, in the city of Mobile,” said Councilman Cory Penn.

Yo-Yo emerged in 1990 as a protégé of Ice Cube; her best-known singles include “You Can’t Play With My Yo-Yo.” She has extensive film and TV credits, including appearances in “Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood” and “Saturdays.”

Dana Dane’s top singles likewise came in the ‘90s and include “Little Bit of Dane Tonight,” “Record Jock” and “Rollin’ with Dana Dane.”

Big Daddy Kane is a Grammy-winner widely regarded as one of the genre’s top MCs, an influential figure who set an example both with rap skills and in hip-hop fashion. Signature songs include “Smooth Operator,” “Groove With It” and “Cause I Can Do It Right.”

Slick Rick is a pioneering rapper and producer who, like Big Daddy Kane, often ranks high in listings of the genre’s top MCs and lyricists. Key songs include early breakthrough tracks “The Show” and “La Di Da Di” with Doug E. Fresh as well as “Children’s Story” and “I Shouldn’t Have Done It.”

Rob Base had the major crossover hit “It Takes Two” with DJ E-Z Rock in 1988. Other signature songs include “Get on the Dance Floor” and “Joy and Pain.”

In general, MoonPie Over Mobile celebrations will follow the established pattern. A kids’ zone will operate in Mardi Gras Park early in the day. Evening celebrations will include the cutting of the world’s largest edible MoonPie in the courtyard of the Renaissance Riverview Plaza Hotel; a second-line parade to the main stage; and the descent of the city’s illuminated MoonPie down the side of the RSA Trustmark Building.

Organizers said there will be one new feature this year: The addition of a ticketed VIP viewing area at the main stage. In the past, attendance MoonPie Over Mobile has been free across the board.

Amberley Harris, a board member of Events Mobile, said the move was a response to public demand. Organizers have had many requests for a VIP area in the past, she said. Harris said that ticket prices for the VIP area would be revealed by or on Oct. 1. Updates will be announced via @MoonPieOverMobile accounts on social media and at www.moonpieovermobile.com.

This will be the MoonPie’s third year since a pandemic hiatus. The festivities set for Dec. 31, 2020, were called off because of the COVID-19 pandemic: Gov. Kay Ivey’s “Safer at Home” order discouraging large public gatherings had been extended into January 2021. MoonPie Over Mobile made a triumphant return at the end of 2021, with an exuberant set from Trombone Shorty leading up to the countdown that welcomed in 2022.

Third Eye Blind headlined festivities on Dec. 31, 2022. The occasion was marred by an eruption of gunfire that took place on Dauphin Street not far from the MoonPie main stage at 11:15 p.m.: One man was pronounced dead at the scene and at least nine were injured.

On Monday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Alabama announced that 23-year-old Thomas Earl Thomas Jr. had been sentenced to 120 months in prison for his role in that incident. According to information provided by the office of U.S. Attorney Sean P. Costello, Thomas received the maximum sentence for illegally possessing a machine gun, in this case a .40 cal. Glock pistol modified to allow fully automatic operation via a device called a “Glock switch” and equipped with an extended magazine.

Thomas also faces pending charges in Mobile County District Court including first-degree murder. Mobile Police Chief Paul O. Prine released a statement saying the federal sentencing was “a significant milestone in our pursuit of justice and community safety.”

Small referred to that incident on Tuesday, saying that it wasn’t representative of the event.

“The bad tragedy last year was not part of the MoonPie Drop, it happened away from the MoonPie Drop,” Small said. “This is going to be a safe and fun, friendly event.”

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