Rolling Loud California Still Held Some Surprises For The Long-Running Festival

After three iterations of Rolling Loud in the Los Angeles area with remarkably similar lineups, you’d think the traveling festival might be all out of surprises. But its latest iteration — this time, in a new location after a forced hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic — proves that the show’s organizers still have a few tricks up their sleeves, beginning with the new venue at the National Orange Show event center in San Bernardino.

One of the biggest surprises of the weekend was Kanye West’s guest appearance during Future’s headlining set on Sunday night, but Rolling Loud didn’t need big-name pop-outs to make an impression. Many of the billed artists at the Power 106 stage, such as KenTheMan, Teezo Touchdown, and Snot, were able to leave an imprint on the crowd as assuredly as the headliners’ special guests.

In particular, Chance The Rapper-co-signed Teezo Touchdown caught my eye as an unusual artist with a flair for the dramatic, who clearly puts a lot of work into his presentation — even if it’s a little off-putting at first. Teezo’s hype man, presenting himself as a boisterous coach character, did an almost 5-minute skit to begin the Texas artist’s set, which was a gamble given the short set times at Rolling Loud in general.

But Teezo, whose “gameday” outfits usually consist of an elaborate arrangement of nails — yes, like the kind from the hardware store — draped all over his football jersey (with pads!) and hair, backed up the eye-popping imagery with songs that the crowd clearly enjoyed. KenTheMan also left me with the sense that she’ll be climbing the Rolling Loud totem pole in due time thanks to her fun, engaging set.

Ever since my interview with Latto for Uproxx’s latest cover story, I can’t unsee the performance disparity between men and women rappers and who’s expected to do what onstage. For instance, Teezo’s set wound up being the most elaborate one — for the most part, the other male rappers kind of just stood there, reciting their lyrics and occasionally stage diving or yelling at the crowd to open up a mosh pit.

Meanwhile, the women I saw — Ken, Rico Nasty, and Flo Milli — went all out, either bringing dancers or other bells and whistles to their sets. Certainly they were a lot more dressed up than the guys, who mostly opted for some combination of jeans and shirts — although plenty wore jackets as a concession to chilly desert temperatures (Saturday night saw lows in the 30s).

With the new venue, which was likely a concession to the pandemic planning needs of the usual LA venue in Exposition Park, the layout was cozy and the organizers did a pretty okay job of incorporating permanent structures like the Orange Pavilion into the festival. The pavilion was turned into the Loud Factory, packing in a skate park, basketball courts, a bar, and a screen displaying the live Twitch feeds fans could escape the weather and get off their feet at the picnic tables positioned inside without missing sets from their favorite artists.

Meanwhile, with so many of my personal favorites like Cordae and Lil Nas X deep in album mode or committed to the Jingle Ball Tour, I got a chance to check out acts I might have ordinarily skipped, like Teezo. The mid-line artists at the Punx and Ciroc stages wound up offering the most entertainment value, as Kalan.FrFr and Drakeo The Ruler lived up to their billing, and undercards like Ty Dolla Sign perfectly set up the headliners, J. Cole, Future, and Kid Cudi.

Some notes, though: Sound issues plagued a number of acts, although they were quickly cleared up, so props to the sound and video teams. I wasn’t able to truly figure out the parking situation until the last day, but that may not be an issue at future iterations of the fest if my theory about the pandemic forcing the venue change pans out. The age limit on this year’s fest, despite being prompted by tragic events elsewhere, actually led to a more enjoyable fest for everyone. There was enough room to spread out, crowd crushes were basically non-existent, and there seemed to be a generally more respectful, chiller vibe than I got used to at previous Rolling Loud festivals. That one, maybe they should keep.

Roddy Ricch Taps Future, Lil Baby, And More As Guests On ‘Live Life Fast’

Roddy Ricch’s new album, Live Life Fast, drops this Friday, and the latest part of the rollout has arrived: The guest list, which includes collaborators like Future, Lil Baby, and more. Roddy shared the guest list on social media today building on the momentum he created by the trailer he released last week and the cover art, which he shared before that.

In addition to the above-mentioned superstars, the guest list Roddy shared includes names like deadpan Atlanta bogeyman 21 Savage, rising R&B star Alex Isley, alt-R&B singer Bibi Bourelly, Brooklyn drill flag-waver Fivio Foreign, drip purveyor Gunna, the multihyphenate Jamie Foxx, Florida rap rebel Kodak Black, Migos member Takeoff, and LA hook master Ty Dolla Sign. Roddy also showed off the producers at the bottom of the poster he shared: Beezo, Boi 1-Da, Cardo, D Keyz, G-Ry, Heavy Mellow, Jasper Harris, Kenny Beats, Lil CC, Mustard, Rex Kudo, Ronny J, Sonic, Southside, Tarentino, TM88, and Wheezy.

Roddy’s ending the year strong with his new album, much as he did with the release of his debut, Please Excuse Me For Being Antisocial. Led by the inescapable lead single “Late At Night,” Live Life Fast is set to launch Roddy into an even higher level of the atmosphere in 2022.

Live Life Fast is due on 12/17 via Atlantic Records.

Kanye Joined Future For A Surprise Performance At Rolling Loud

In the handful of years since its inception, Rolling Loud has accumulated an impressive number of memorable surprises, from Offset popping out during Cardi B’s headlining set with a big public apology to DaBaby bringing out Tory Lanez for his set in Miami. And while both of those examples land more on the “Facepalm” side of the spectrum, the final night of the festival in San Bernardino brought one that was much more exciting and positive.

During Future’s closing set, the Atlanta rapper brought out one of the biggest names in hip-hop: Kanye West, aka Ye, who joined Future to perform a freestyle to Future’s “F*ck Up Some Commas,” as well as his own monster hit, “Can’t Tell Me Nothing.”

The surprise performance capped an impressive week for Ye, who also held his Free Larry Hoover concert in Los Angeles just a few days earlier. Unfortunately, in true Kanye fashion, that show now has as much potential for controversy as anything else he’s done in the past few years. A new report found that the merchandise profits from the show — which also featured Drake as a special guest, constituting a ceasefire between the two rapperswon’t be donated to any charities.

Rick Ross’ ‘Richer Than I Ever Been’ Tracklist Features Future, Wale, 21 Savage, Blxst, And More

More than two years after releasing his last album, 2019’s Port Of Miami 2, Rick Ross is getting ready to drop another. The Florida rapper’s next record, Richer Than I Ever Been, is locked in for a December 10 release date. So far he’s released two singles, “Outlawz” with 21 Savage and Jazmine Sullivan, as well as “Little Havana,” with The-Dream and former drug kingpin Augusto Guillermo “Willy” Falcon. Now, with just six days left until the new album arrives, Rick Ross unveils the tracklist.

Ross opts to keep things relatively short this time around, with a mere 10 songs. In addition to features from 21 Savage, Jazmine Sullivan, The-Dream, and Willy Falcon, the album also includes appearances from Benny The Butcher, Wale, Future, Yungeen Ace, Major Nine, and Blxst.

“Really, I feel this is the best album I’ve ever done,” Ross said about the album back in September. “I make progress every day. I feel like some of the stuff I’m saying on this album is really going to separate it from others.”

You can view the full tracklist for Richer Than I Ever Been below.

1. “Little Havana” Feat. Willie Falcon & The-Dream
2. “The Pulitzer”
3. “Rapper Estates” Feat. Benny The Butcher
4. “Marathon”
5. “Warm Words In A Cold World” Feat. Wale & Future
6. “Wiggle” Feat. Dreamdoll
7. “Can’t Be Broke” Feat. Yungeen Ace & Major Nine
8. “Made It Out Alive” Feat. Blxst
9. “Outlawz” Feat. Jazmine Sullivan & 21 Savage
10. “Imperial High”

Richer Than I Ever Been is out 12/10 via Maybach Music Group/Epic Records.

Wale is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Gunna And Future Add Roddy Ricch To Their Boisterous ‘Too Easy’ Remix

Although Atlanta-bred YSL rapper Gunna has had a productive year as a featured artist on songs like “Repeat It” from Lil Tecca, “Butter ATL” with Ludacris, and his label crew’s solid compilation Slime Language 2 — including Uproxx Best Songs Of 2021 inclusion “Ski” — we haven’t heard quite as much from him on the solo side of things. However, in September, he did release the thunderous single “Too Easy” with Future, suggesting he might be spooling up for the follow-up to 2020’s Wunna soon.

Today, the hometown hero lent even more credence to that suggestion by releasing a boisterous remix to the track, adding the fitting inclusion of Compton rapper Roddy Ricch, who he previously worked with on both Wunna and Roddy’s debut album, Please Excuse Me For Being Antisocial. The two certainly have established chemistry thanks to their similar, Young Thug-inspired sing-song flows, and Roddy’s slick boasts fit right in alongside his elders as he brags, “First time I called Elliot, Gunna told me to spend two-fifty / Now my chain cost half a milly and I’m plottin’ on a silly billy.”

Listen to Gunna’s “Too Easy” remix featuring Future and Roddy Ricch above.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Best Hip-Hop Songs of 2021

A year full of rising rap newcomers and seasoned vets that delivered a solid soundtrack over the last 12 months. Continue reading…

Newcomer Nardo Wick Gets Big Looks From Future And Lil Baby On ‘Me Or Sum’

Coming from Jacksonville, Florida, newcomer Nardo Wick has explosively crossed over with his new single “Who Want Smoke” with 21 Savage and G Herbo. He continues his hot streak with another new single backed by some of the biggest names in street rap, “Me Or Sum,” tapping Future and Lil Baby for a timely assist. The three rappers share their blunt observations on transactional relationships, offering material possessions in exchange for physical affection.

Although still a relative rookie in the rap game, Nardo Wick’s breakthrough single has already charted on the Hot 100, debuting at No. 17 in October and accruing 60 million streams across all major platforms. Notoriously, Wick claims he had to shoot the “Who Want Smoke” video twice simply because the gun-laden original concept couldn’t be shared on his social media. He also featured on the Judas And The Black Messiah soundtrack last year, likely contributing to the buzz for his new music before the release of his viral single.

It hasn’t been all good news for Wick, however; in August, he was reportedly arrested by US Marshals for concealed weapons charges.

However, tapping in with big names like 21 Savage, G Herbo, Future, and Lil Baby seems to have raised his profile enough that he’s got more attention for his music than his legal issues, which is the sweet spot when it comes to crossing over and becoming a star.

Listen to Nardo Wick’s “Me Or Sum” above.

Drake And Future’s ‘Life Is Good’ Goes Diamond Less Than Two Years After Its Release

Drake and Future have given us numerous collaborations in their careers including their 2015 joint album What A Time To Be Alive and their most recent single, “Way 2 Sexy” with Young Thug. The duo has been able to strike magic on records time and time again, and their work has now paid off more than ever as one of their collaborations earned a unique accolade. Drake and Future’s 2020 track “Life Is Good” recently landed a Diamond certification meaning that the single sold 10 million or more copies since its release.

Dwight Elder, who is Future’s manager according to Hypebeast, took to Instagram to celebrate the accolade as Future received a plaque to commemorate the accomplishment. To make things better, the rapper received the plaque during a celebration for his 38th birthday.

Shortly after “Life Is Good” was released at the beginning of last year, the track debuted at No. 2 on the singles chart becoming Future’s highest-charting song at the time. It held on to that title until this year when “Way 2 Sexy” reached No. 1 to become the first chart-topping single in Future’s career. While “Life Is Good” may be the first Diamond-certified single for Future, it’s the third for Drake as “Sicko Mode” with Travis Scott and “God’s Plan” previously surpassed the 10 million sales mark.

You can watch Future receive the plaque for “Life Is Good” above.

Young Thug is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.