Last Saturday and Sunday, hundreds of rap fans in the Bay Area came to the Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View for the Rolling Loud Festival. Rolling Loud is a company based in Miami which travels all over the world to host hip-hop festivals. Rolling Loud decided to come to the Bay for the first time ever this year. One of the Rolling Loud associates announced at the festival that they will be back to the Bay for many more years.
The majority of the festival’s headliners were young adults, just like the people who attended. This was truly a festival by the youth, for the youth. The venue was split up into two stages for the 56 artists. The lineup had some of the best names in hip-hop right now, from up-and-coming Soundcloud rappers like Trippie Redd to big-time rap legends like Lil Wayne.
Day 1
Trippie Redd
18-year old Trippie Redd, the up-and-coming rapper and singer from Ohio, has attracted a huge fan base, despite his novelty as an artist. Complex News‘ claim that Trippie Redd “sounds like pain” could not ring more true. He practically screams on his tracks. This mood of pain and grief is carried throughout most of his songs, especially in his most famous single “Love Scars.” Because he is not a big headliner yet, he only had a twenty-minute set. Still, he managed to perform with so much mastery and stage presence that the crowd was super hyped. He came out with the amazing beat of “Bust Down,” then previewed his new collab with Diplo, “Make a Wish/The World is Yours.” Of course, he played “Love Scars,” which made the crowd go insane, “In too Deep,” and “Poles 1469.”
Throughout his performance, the crowd chanted “1400.” Trippie Redd also goes by Lil 14. He got this nickname because he grew up on 14th Street in Canton, Ohio. This is where he started making music with A1 Billionaire and Tavion Harris. Now, he has worked on tracks with Xxxtentacion, Famous Dex, Kodie Shane, and Playboi Carti’s main producer Pierre Bourne.
A Boogie wit da Hoodie
A Boogie wit Da Hoodie performed with a smile and a positive attitude.
Surprisingly, his relationship toward another rapper at Rolling Loud turned hostile that day. A Boogie with Da Hoodie and PnB Rock allegedly jumped rapper Lil B backstage and stole his equipment. Lil B canceled his performance on Saturday, and PnB Rock also backed out of his performance Sunday. According to Lil B, he was jumped by about ten guys because he said something bad about A Boogie’s music.
damn lil b got jumped by a boogie backstage at rolling loud. heres the video
b said he’s goin to the hospital pic.twitter.com/0COWwrM5LK
— nobodys ? (@NobodysVideo) October 22, 2017
s.o the west coast for the communication. Not too many people got it in them to forgive that easy, as a man I gotta respect that ? https://t.co/xOYaNskqwf
— ABOOGIEWITDAHOODIE (@ArtistHBTL) October 23, 2017
Ugly God
Ugly God followed SOB x RBE wearing a long sleeved striped sweater to embody his “ugly” title. While crowds were still forming for the later performances, Ugly God performed his songs “Water,” “F Ugly God,” “Welcome to the Booty Tape,” and “I.D.C.”
Playboi Carti
Playboi Carti came out with a ton of energy. He sported a bright yellow beanie, a light wash jean jacket, and an orange purse, which he swung around during his performance. He seemed to never run out of steam as he jumped up and down and yelled into his mic. He performed “Yah Mean,” “Kelly K,” and “Wokeuplikethis.” The crowd loved his performance of hit “Magnolia,” and he slowed it down toward the end of his set with “Minute.” As Carti sang “I’m a rockstar,” he held up rockstar horns and the crowd mimicked him.
Lil Uzi Vert
Lil Uzi Vert followed right after Playboi Carti, the crowd still electric from the previous performance. Unfortunately, he did not perform much of his new album “Luv is Rage 2,” which disappointed many in the crowd. In fact, he had his friends perform songs and would walk off the stage many times during his set. He brought out Carti to perform their song “Wokeuplikethis,” but did not rap his verse. He also brought out G Herbo, who had performed at the festival earlier in the day. Uzi did perform some of his older songs, such as “Ps and Qs,” “Do What I Want,” and “You Was Right.” He also played “Neon Guts,” “444+222,” “The Way Life Goes,” “Money Longer,” and “XO TOUR Llif3.”
Travis Scott
Travis Scott appeared thirty minutes late, enveloped in a mysterious cloud of smoke with his signature flying hawk. He came out performing “the ends,” and “Mamacita.” Once he got on his hawk, he performed “Father Stretch My Hands Part 1,” “4 AM,” “through the late night,” “outside,” “pick up the phone,” “goosebumps,” and “beibs in the trap.” The songs he picked to perform were not just upbeat, hyped songs — he also played classic slower beats like “90210,” “Drugs You Should Try It,” and “Love Galore.”
To let everyone know his firm stance on the Lil B-Boogie beef, Travis repeated “Protect Lil B at all costs,” during his performance.
His auto-tuned melodies and high energy made Travis’ performance the best of the entire day. “Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight”’s gothic vibe dominated the entire festival grounds and successfully wrapped up the tiring day.
Day 2
Kreayshawn
Since PnB Rock canceled his performance on Sunday, female rapper Kreayshawn was added to the setlist to fill in his time. As soon as she took the stage with her song “Blasé Blasé,” the male-dominated crowd started to boo and shout for her to get off the stage. “Respect women! Respect women!” Kreayshawn kept repeating throughout her performance.
Defying Kreayshawn’s simple request to respect women, impatient Lil Pump fans were constantly putting her down and yelling for her to leave because their favorite artist would be taking over the stage next.
Lil Pump
Lil Pump is only seventeen years old and some of his Soundcloud tracks have over 40 million plays. In less than a year of stardom, Lil Pump has gained a large fan base which is almost like a cult following. Even before Lil Pump showed up, people all over the festival had the words “Lil Pump Esketit” on their chests. “Esketit” is Lil Pump’s personalized phrase for “let’s get it.” Lil Pump uses it as an ad-lib in his songs, and says it is his favorite word. His fans showed their love for him when they would yell with him, “Esketit!” and open the mosh pits.
He came out with his “strawberry banana flavored Trix yogurt” hair, and played “Gucci Gang,” “Boss,” “D Rose,” and “Flex Like Ouu.”
Kodak Black
Kodak Black’s performance was relaxed and fun. He played some older songs such as “Skrt” and “Lockjaw,” and newer songs such as “There He Go,” “Tunnel Vision,” “Transportin,’” and “Roll in Peace.” He told the crowd funny stories about his crushes on girls, which had everyone laughing. He also revealed that he wanted to jump into the crowd but did not want to embarrass himself if he fell.
He did not move too much except to dance a bit, and told the crowd that he prefers a more low-key performance over a crazy one.
Lil Yachty
During Lil Yachty’s time on stage, he was concerned with making sure that every person in the audience would have a good time. He took five minutes to throw out a bunch of water bottles to the crowd, and told them to lift them up. When the base dropped, there were mosh pits and a huge water fight. On the stage with Yachty were Lil Pump and Kodie Shane. Lil Pump and Yachty performed new song “Back,” which is featured on Lil Pump’s new album. Yachty also performed classics such as “One Night,” “Minnesota,” “iSpy,” and “Wanna Be Us.”
Lil Wayne
Lil Wayne had the best performance of Day 2. He was introduced as “the best rapper alive,” and once he came onstage that legendary title was clear. Since he does not perform live much, this festival was important both to him and to the people who came. He repeated to the audience, “None of y’all are shit without the man up above, and I ain’t shit without you.”
Unlike some of the other rappers at the festival, he rapped almost the entirety of his songs. He was so happy to be performing and the crowd enjoyed hearing some throwbacks they had not heard in a while, such as “Lollipop,” “She Will,” “Mrs. Officer,” and “6 Foot 7 Foot.”
ScHoolboy Q
ScHoolboy Q was the first headliner for Rolling Loud in Miami, and he definitely delivered a finale for the music festival. Performing right after Lil Wayne so fans could gather, the Los Angeles rapper started off with “Collard Greens.” He sported a white robe which he later took off along with his shoes, getting the crowd moving in wild mosh pits. He paid homage to his friend Kendrick Lamar by singing “m.A.A.d city,” and “HUMBLE.” He went on to do three encores, including “Man of the Year” and “Studio” from his album “Oxymoron.” He also played “Dope Dealer” from “Blank Face,” and “Hands on the Wheel.”
