Hip-hop's hottest will grace KUBE Summer Jam stage

The annual "KUBE 93 Summer Jam" has an amazing track record when it comes to landing big names, like Destiny's Child, 50 Cent, Ludacris, Usher and T.I. But this year tops them all.

The local urban/hip-hop station was smart enough to sign Lil Wayne months ago, and he arrives at a peak in his career, with his album "Tha Carter III" at the top of the charts, and on its way to becoming the biggest-selling album of the year.

The others on the bill for Sunday's show:

T-Pain — The colorful singer-rapper appeared at last year's Summer Jam, but he's blown up since then, dominating hip-hop radio and the charts with his many collaborations (not as many as Lil Wayne, of course) and his vocoder-enhanced vocals, which everybody seems to be copying now. In a purple paisley suit, complete with matching top hat, the fun-loving showman dominated the recent BET Awards, where he had the most nominations (five) and performed "Good Life" with Kayne West, "Low" with Flo Rida, "Boss" with Ross and "I'm So Hood" with all of them. But he spent the most time onstage with his main man, Lil Wayne, delivering a medley of hits, featuring "Lollipop." Summer Jammers are hoping he does the same thing at White River.

Bow Wow — He used to be "Lil," too, but he's dropped that. After all, he's 21 now. He had a bunch of hits as a teen but has been concentrating on an acting career in recent years, appearing in "Like Mike," "Johnson Family Vacation" (with Cedric the Entertainer) and, starting in the fall, as a regular character on HBO's "Entourage."

The Game — Back in 2005, the Game was a little like Lil Wayne is now: a dominant force in rap and hip-hop (even though his raps were a little corny at times). His career has cooled down in recent years, but right now he has a hit collab with Keyshia Cole, "Game's Pain."

Ray J — Remember when he was known primarily as Brandy's cute little brother, appearing on her TV sitcom, "Moesha"? He's all grown up now, as seen on the video for "Sexy Can I," a song (featuring rapper Yung Berg) from his latest album, "All I Feel." The Game also appears on "All I Feel," and the two will likely perform together at Summer Jam.

Patrick MacDonald: 206-464-2312 or pmacdonald@seattletimes.com