If you love both hip-hop and sports, you do not want to miss the 2026 ESPYS.
Slick Rick, Ghostface Killah and De La Soul are all set to perform on the show, which will air live from the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center in New York City on Wednesday, July 15, at 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT on ABC.
SNL star Marcello Hernández will host this year’s ceremony, which will also feature a performance by the Savannah Bananas, an exhibition barnstorming baseball team based in Savannah, Georgia.
As a member of Wu-Tang Clan, Ghostface Killah will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on Nov. 14. Slick Rick received a lifetime achievement award from the Recording Academy in 2023. De La Soul won a Grammy in 1998 for their featured role on Gorillaz’s “Feel Good Inc.,” which was voted best pop collaboration with vocals (and was also nominated for record of the year and best music video).
Hip-hop performers were also showcased at last year’s ESPY Awards. Busta Rhymes, Clipse, rapper and singer Tobe Nwigwe and basketball player-turned-rapper LiAngelo Ball — who raps under the stage name GELO — performed at the 2025 ESPYS, which were held at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. Shane Gillis hosted.
ABC has aired the ESPYs every year since 2015 (except for the pandemic year of 2020, when the show aired on ESPN). This year’s show will also stream on the ESPN App in pattern with ABC airings across time zones and be available to stream the next day on Disney+, Hulu, the ESPN App, and ABC Video on Demand.
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