The best acts at this year’s Mad Decent Block Party in Brooklyn

Self-proclaimed "swavey" artist Tory Lanez recently turned down a spot in the prestigious XXL Freshman class, much like his Toronto compatriot Drake did back in 2010—an artist who he's recently voiced plans to dethrone. Ambitious, considering the young rapper-singer has yet to even release his debut. But the endless allure of his driving brand of silky pop-R&B—as heard on singles like "Say It"—make those goals seem not so far off.

Remember moombahton? The genre's pioneer and perennial prankster Dillon Francis certainly does. The guy's mucked around a bit in electro house and trap the past few years as well, but regardless of which EDM niche he's mining, his spastic production remains blisteringly, face-meltingly heavy all the same.

The pop singer, still engaged in a legal battle with producer Dr. Luke, is returning to the stage after making a surprise appearance at Coachella earlier this year with DJ-producer Zedd (not to confused with Canadian duo Zeds Dead, also on the Mad Decent tour). Her stirring Billboard Music Awards performance of Bob Dylan’s “It Ain't Me Babe” was most folks’ first chance to see post-lawsuit Kesha in action, and she didn’t disappoint. No word on whether this set will consist of covers, new material or her Animal hits, or some combination thereof—either way it’ll be can’t miss.

The Toronto beatmaker has produced hits for Drake ("Best I Ever Had," "Over" and about a thousand others), Eminem ("Not Afraid") and, most recently, Rihanna ("Work"). You can expect Boi-1da to run through a selection of those sing-along-able gems and who knows what else for the crowd at MCU Park.

^{_{Photograph: Courtesy CC/Flickr/originaltone}}