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.
As I interview rising rapper Kalan.FrFr, I’m struck by his humility. The 26-year-old is generous in his assessments of the burgeoning wave of new rappers from the Los Angeles area, yet he nearly always deflects praise for his own accomplishments. “It didn’t have to be me,” he says repeatedly. “It could be anybody.”
Maybe that mentality is a result of his upbringing, shuttling back and forth between his dad in Compton and his mom in neighboring Carson, or perhaps it was instilled when he avoided extended prison time on a breaking-and-entering charge from his early adulthood. At the time, he was attending San Diego State University, where he was on the football team — an endeavor he dropped as a result because he didn’t want to have to tell the team about his arrest.
However, he finished school and switched focus, picking up the threads of an interest in music stemming from his high school days throwing parties with his friends. After an initial run of buzz in Atlanta failed to pan out, he returned home to LA, released a pair of mixtapes in 2018, and saw his fortunes change for the better ever since.
Now, he signed to Roc Nation, his latest tape, TwoFr 2, is generating the sort of buzz that suggests a big breakout in the coming year, and he and his South LA cohort, which includes members like the 1Take crew, AzChike, BlueBucksClan, Blxst, Roddy Ricch, Rucci, and others, are beginning to draw more attention from both critics and fans with songs that nod to LA’s homegrown G-funk while also incorporating melodic impulses from Atlanta rap, the snickering punchline style from Detroit, and the off-kilter cadences of the nearby Bay Area.
While on a Zoom call with Kalan (his real name), we swapped stories of growing up in Compton, participating in separate “New West” waves a decade apart, and how his prior experiences prepared him for the nearly inevitable fame coming his way.
First of all, I want to say thank you for coming through Uproxx and doing the UPROXX Sessions with us. How did you like doing that man?
Man, that was dope. Seeing all the other artists that have done it and when they do it, it’s like different stepping stones. So when I was able to do that I probably was happier to be there than you all was happy for me to have done it, bro. I ain’t going to lie, that was big to me, man. So I really appreciate it.
I don’t know about that man because I’ll tell you, I get excited for two kinds of artists. I get excited for artists who I’m a really big fan of and I get excited for artists from Compton. Usually, I like to ask this question at the end of all my interviews, but I know that as a newer artist, a lot of journalists have to ask the who, what, where, why, when questions. Know that gets boring. So the question I like to close out all my interviews with I’m going to start this one with this one is, do you have any topics or subjects that you want to talk about that nobody ever asks you about?
Nobody ever breaks down my songs. Nobody ever really breaks down my lyrics. They get the outer layer of it, but like, it’d be, sometimes it’d be so much deeper than what I just be saying. It might mean something totally different than what people be getting. I’ll just be wondering if people be catching on or see how I see.
Do you have like a specific example of a song where you know you got off and people don’t really see it?
Ain’t going to lie, gang, I be making so much music. I’ll be lying if I try to just pull one up out of nowhere right now. [laughs]
So are you from Compton or Carson? Because I’ve seen both and I love a definitive answer.
So my daddy from Compton and my mom from Carson. I lived in between both houses. I went to school in Carson. I went to school in Compton. Half the time I was at my momma’s house. The other half, the time I was at my daddy house, and it ain’t nothing but five minutes away from each other. It’s literally separated by a freeway bridge.
It’s definitely within walking distance if you have enough time.
You feel me? If you walk across the freeway bridge you right there in Compton so it ain’t no separation. So that’s why I say I’m from Compton and Carson.
If you had to compare, which is the one that you would really stick to?
I love both, man. I love both.
Did you have a specific goal in mind when you were recording TwoFr 2 What were your expectations for it?
I try to do everything with no expectations. Because I’m real emotional and if some shit don’t go how I wanted it to go, my feelings going to be hurt. I’m going to hate it. I try to do everything just being thankful that I got the opportunity to do it. I know if I put some music out, somebody going to listen to it. Somebody that’s doing the same thing, working just as hard as me, might be better than me at doing music. And ain’t nobody listening to their music right now. So I’m just happy to be here. I’m blessed.
So I ain’t really had no expectations really. I wanted it to be better than my last project. That’s it. I don’t never want nobody to go back and say that “That wasn’t it.” I always try to make sure you don’t have to skip a song. You can walk all the way through every song. Just make sure it’s undeniable.
It definitely rides straight through. So something about that last response hit a chord with me: When people ask you why you are special, you always come back to I’m blessed. Where does that come from?
This could be over tomorrow, bro. It ain’t no telling. And at the end of the day, I just wanted to be able to take care of myself. I like to do music. Even if I wasn’t getting paid for making music, I would still be making music. I probably just wouldn’t be able to make as much music because I would have a job or something. Now that I’ve learned how to take care of myself forever, making music in the long run, I know I can make some money doing this and I’m going to be able to be okay, I’m going to have residual income for a long time.
That’s why I don’t complain about shit because it’s what I asked for. So you got to be able to take everything that come with it, the ups and the downs. I remember sleeping on the couch in Atlanta and dropping a song, dropping “Fine Ass” and coming back to LA and then just start getting booked for shows.
It just started happening so fast I’m not really noticing, but just looking back I was like, “Damn I was like damn near homeless like last month.” It’s a blessing, man, because it didn’t have to be me. It could be anybody.
What was the biggest difference, internally and externally, between before and after, and where would you put the line?
I think it was literally July 1st, 2018. I dropped the first TwoFr. And then I think maybe the same day I got booked to perform in Arizona. I got booked 4th of July to go perform. It cost me more money to get to the show than what I made. Got this Airbnb because nine homies want to come. We got to drive out of here. It looked like I’m just going to walk away with $200, $300. It’s going to be a rough day, a rough little weekend. But it was all a blessing because it didn’t have to be me.
I’m forever grateful for every experience. Because every day I can see it. I’m going back and performing at the places I used to go open up for people. Listening to older music that I made, hearing it and how hearing how different I sound now. The different shit I would never do again. So everything just started coming full circle, man.
What I find really special is that when I was about your age, the last big wave of West Coast artists, when it was, Pac Div and U-N-I and Kendrick and everybody was coming up, we were all coming up together.
Overdoz and all them. I used to go watch that shit. I was like one of them kids. My cousins was older, so they was like really up on it. I was in like sixth grade and fifth grade and I used to really be in to like Pac Div and Overdoz, they got a lot to do with like my musical influence. I would never take that away from them because I really with music bro. I really with Casey Veggies a long time ago.
I hear that in your music. And now you are part of the new wave with Blxst and Roddy Ricch, who I hear you getting compared to a lot. Is that more of an advantage or a detriment, getting comparisons to those guys are also blowing?
I just look at it like, if they think that these guys are the best guys and you want to put me around whoever you feel are the best guys, I appreciate it. I’m not in competition with none of these n****s. At the end of the day, God got a plan for me. It’s already written. So whatever going to happen, going to happen. I got too much shit to be worried about for me to be worried about what’s going on with somebody else. I got to do what I got to do. I got people depending on me. I got people that took chances on me. I take all this serious.
I find that interesting because the things that I was originally initially pursuing, wound up informing my current job so much that it gives me certain insights I don’t think anybody else has. So I look at your story, playing football and going to school, and I wonder how it informs your current grind.
I can’t find the excuse for nothing. If it’s an excuse, it’s a goddamn good one. It don’t make no sense because I do whatever. I done waited for my homies to be done with they studio session so I could get an hour or try to squeeze the song out the last hour. Wait until they was falling asleep so I can record some. I had to learn how to mix my own shit so I could put music out. Because I couldn’t afford to pay for no engineer. So it’s not no excuses at all.
Whatever I needed to do, I’ll make sure it got done. So, with football, either you going to swim or you going to drown. If you not doing what you supposed to do, they going to get rid of your ass. You going to get the same results you put in. You might not never play in the game. They might call you and if you’re not ready, you ain’t never get called up again.
Where do you see Kalan.FrFr in 2022?
My album LP Two. I want to have had that out and be working on just the EP. I just want to be bigger than what I am now, man. I just want results, that’s it. I would never say like, I want to have a million followers and this. Because maybe I’m not supposed to have it right then. If I get it that fast, how long is it going to last? I just want to get better every time really. I just want it to be better than the last one. I wanted to be better than the last one I would like to be performing at night at Rolling Loud.
After Mozzy made a whole album with YG earlier this year, the Sacramento native once again taps in with a Compton star in the video for “Whole 100” from his new album, Untreated Trauma. The video sees Mozzy and Kalan.FrFr operating an ice cream truck, which helps put them in contact with baddies at the beach, as well as the usual assortment of block-bound misfits. With an upbeat and lighthearted tone, it’s something of a departure for the usually serious-minded Mozzy but Kalan.FrFr helps make this one a party-ready good-times anthem.
Thanks to Mozzy and YG’s collaborative effort, Kommunity Service, and Untreated Trauma, Mozzy’s profile is higher than ever. Not only has he become something of a fixture of West Coast turn-up joints like “Perfect Timing,” “Vibe With You,” “Gangsta,” and “Dangerous,” but now his name rings enough bells to get put on songs with hitmakers like Eminem and Polo G — Skylar Grey’s “Last One Standing” features all three. Untreated Trauma is Mozzy’s highest-charting album yet, peaking at No. 19 on the Billboard 200.
Meanwhile, Kalan is having something of a breakout year himself after dropping his debut album TwoFr 2 in March. That led to him starting to land more placements, while his UPROXX Sessions performance of album cut “Never Lose You” has generated impressive buzz for the West Coast rising star.
Watch Mozzy’s “Whole 100” video featuring Kalan.FrFr above.
I previously wrote about the return of touring for Uproxx’s fall preview of the most anticipated tours in hip-hop. But talking ain’t doing, and I had to get back out there myself after a year away. What I discovered in doing so? We are all a little rusty — artists and fans, both.
But, if you’re going to be a little rusty, Blxst has the blueprint for blowing past those first awkward speed bumps and putting on one hell of a show. Wednesday night at The Observatory in Santa Ana, the local rising star provided a pitch-perfect example for how to return from hiatus, even if you never really got a chance to tour in the first place.
That informed part of my reasoning for choosing Blxst as my own return show. Uproxx was high on the guy since even before the release of his fan-favorite EP, No Love Lost (which is also the title of his current tour — check out his UPROXX Sessions performance). Then, he was chosen as one of XXL‘s 2021 Freshman Class, causing his hype to skyrocket. Yet, even after all that, none of us has ever gotten to see him in tour context because his entire breakthrough happened during a global pandemic that basically shut down the industry.
So, of course, I had to make sure he’s the real deal. But also, going to shows can be overwhelming from the other side too. The Observatory has been pretty trusty for me over the years thanks to its out-of-the-way location (no Hollywood hustle and bustle), relatively cozy floor arrangement (I know my spots to get a good view without getting stepped on), and cheap drinks. I thought it’d be relatively easier to slip back into a groove somewhere I’ve been catching shows since even before it was my job.
That rust, though. For the first time, I actually had anxiety about getting to the venue late (I hate standing in line, so my tendency is to arrive right before the show starts in earnest), what I was going to wear (resolved by my old man tendency to just wear sweats to everything but weddings), and the whole entry rigamarole. I forgot my earplugs. I remembered to bring cash for parking. I give myself a cautious 7/10.
Blxst, meanwhile, saw some room for improvement right at the start of his set, as fans were treated to the sight of a roadie’s desktop while they struggled to switch backdrops from the opener’s simple static graphic to Blxst’s animated reel. However, the mishap may have illustrated Blxst’s greatest strength. While all this was going on behind him, he was actually performing his first song. I don’t think a whole bunch of people noticed the backdrop because the performer himself is so magnetic.
One thing that helped his stellar performance was the fact that No Love Lost is chock full of absolute slappers. “Overrated” got a huge pop, as did “Be Alone,” “Gang Slide,” and “Just Say’n.” He also peppered in joints from his and Bino Rideaux’s joint project Sixtape 2, and some of his more popular features with local acts like 1TakeJay and Kalan.FrFr, both of whom popped out to perform along with him. However, the crowd absolutely roared when Sacramento spitter Mozzy and LA summertime sovereign Dom Kennedy showed up to perform their songs with Blxst (Bino is on his own tour, and more than once I overheard a fellow attendee wish aloud for him to make an appearance).
Another tip for artists preparing to pop out: it helps to launch your tour with a rowdy local show. The young crowd — think early-20s, college-age kids, although The Observatory is an all-ages crowd (always get the mid-week show if you can) — was in his pocket from the jump. We’ve all spent months hearing his music at house parties, on our work/study playlists, and at local mainstays like the Drew League. On some songs, it almost seemed the crowd was doing all the singing for Blxst, although he and his talented backup singer were very impressive.
It’s clear that Blxst has spent time honing his live show, even if he couldn’t actually perform it for anyone yet. And that might be the biggest takeaway from his blueprint: use the time you have to perfect the craft of performing. While it seems a lot of artists throw together a setlist and head out, the long hiatus has, I believe, left fans hungry for more. Honestly, they deserve more. Before the pandemic, my last concert was an absolute yawner simply because it didn’t seem like the artists themselves felt like performing for fans was special. They’d taken it for granted. Blxst, who never got the chance to sing for an appreciative crowd, never did. He made it feel special for all of us — the artist and fans, both.
Compton rapper Kalan.FrFr gives a confident, charismatic performance of his plaintive TwoFr 2 single “Never Lose You” on this week’s episode of UPROXX Sessions, demonstrating why he’s rapidly becoming one of the Hub City’s fastest-rising talents.
Giving off a similar vibe to LA area rap crooners 03 Greedo, Bino Rideaux, and 2021 XXL Freshman Blxst (who has produced beats for him), Kalan blends a melodic delivery and emotive penmanship with lush, G-Funk-inspired beats to tell relatable stories of heartbreak, love, and loyalty shot through with the familiar notes of Los Angeles street culture. Starting off making beats in high school, Kalan retired from San Diego State University’s football team (he played defensive back) to focus on rap full-time.
The switch paid off earlier this year when he was signed to Roc Nation in March. He followed up the signing with the release of his debut album TwoFr 2, which has rapidly become a local favorite. With his deluxe version dropping over the weekend and adding impressive features from fellow South LA standouts 1TakeJay (a fellow UPROXX Sessions alum), BlueBucksClan (stay tuned), and Chicago breakout star Lil Durk, Kalan is one hit away from following his song-rap brethren into the mainstream spotlight.
Watch Kalan.FrFr’s UPROXX Sessions performance of “Never Lose You” above.
UPROXX Sessions is Uproxx’s performance show featuring the hottest up-and-coming acts you should keep an eye on. Featuring creative direction from LA promotion collective, Ham On Everything, and taking place on our “bathroom” set designed and painted by Julian Gross,UPROXX Sessionsis a showcase of some of our favorite performers, who just might soon be yours, too.
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