YG and Saweetie are apparently still going strong, as the former brought the latter out during his Rolling Loud performance in Los Angeles on Friday (March 15). Moreover, rumors and reports previously indicated that the two went their separate ways in early January, but their onstage PDA suggests that they either changed their minds or never broke up in the first place. “I love you girl,” the Cali rapper told his fellow Cali rapper as she made her way offstage following their steamy interlude. The two have been together since around May of 2023, and with their anniversary coming up, maybe their bond will feel stronger than ever.
However, we can’t say that this reunion is all that surprising, considering that fans were already starting to put two and two together. For example, Saweetie’s recent Instagram post from back in February had fans thinking that she hadn’t broken up with YG yet. Not only that, but news of their split was coming from other sources and reports that weren’t either of the MCs directly. As such, there were plenty of reasons to wait and see what they did, and we’re glad we waited to get this Rolling Loud guest slot.
Elsewhere, both artists are celebrating a lot these days and basking in their success and acclaim. For Saweetie, this recently manifested in a new single “Richtivities,” a stunning appearance at the Vanity Fair Oscars afterparty, and an alleged incident with Cardi B at this event. This is just more hearsay and gossip, but one that’s also based on fan interpretation of the Bronx rapper’s recount. Perhaps we’ll never know if they really ran into each other here.
Meanwhile, the Still Brazy spitter was one of many guests on Ye and Ty Dolla $ign’s VULTURES 1. Their collab “DO IT” is among the more fun and bouncy cuts on the record, even if its second half is pretty much just “Back That Azz Up.” But can’t we all revisit what we love? Seems like this couple took a cue from those sessions. Fo more news and the latest updates on YG and Saweetie, come back to HNHH.
Kanye West is an artist who’s always been able to see the value of a great performance. His career is full of legendary on-stage moments from his rendition of “Hey Mama” honoring his late mother at the 50th Grammys, to him and Jay-Z unpacking a Watch The Throne classic 12 times in a row in Paris, to his brief rekindling with Drake for a special Larry Hoover Benefit show. In the past 10 years of his career, however, he’s become a fan of the listening party.
But despite assumptions the iconic moments haven’t slowed down a bit since. The unveiling of his Yeezy Season 3 collection alongside the debuting of material from The Life Of Pablo is one of the most recognizable moments of his career. A few years later he captivated fans all over again with a trio of DONDA listening experiences preceding the album’s release. Fans watched early material transform over time and shared in the surprise as artists like DaBaby and Marilyn Manson appeared. All of that is to say that a special VULTURES listening party at Rolling Loud Los Angeles was rife with potential to be his next legendary moment. Despite all of that potential, West delivered a night that won’t exactly enter the textbooks of rap history.
Kanye West’s Underwhelming Evening
Credit: Frankie Perez @sketchyfrankie
To start, many of the fans in attendance were fully expecting a performance instead of just a listening party. Rolling Loud itself didn’t exactly build up expectations for a live performance, but they were also careful about their wording. “Vultures headlining,” and “Vultures live” were used to describe the set. For fans paying attention to West’s recent run of shows it was easy to connect the dots, but it’s clear that many others came in expecting a more conventional concert.
Those disappointed fans got the chance to express themselves in the comments of a Rolling Loud post about the show. Underneath pictures of the duo on-stage attendees shared their thoughts. “I’m grateful to see Kanye Live but this was probably his worst performance ever” one of the top comments on the post reads. “This should’ve just been a Fortnite concert” another agrees.
The bulk of Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign’s “VULTURES” show was similar to many of the other recent listening parties. It got underway around 40 minutes after the scheduled start time, which felt early by West’s standards. The pair made the long walk onto a stage in the center of the crowd sporting ski masks and black jackets. The stage itself sat underneath a dome-like pair of crisscrossing beams. They served as overhead lighting throughout the performance while massive smoke machines covered all the artists on stage in a thick mist.
As you’d expect, the listening party was a star-studded affair. Among the least surprising guests was North West, who brought a group of friends along sporting matching Vultures shirts to dance to her now beloved guest verse on “TALKING.” Despite being an expected addition the adorable moment was undeniably one of the highlights of the night. YG was also there which was unsurprising as he’s performing at the festival alongside Tyga at the festival on Friday.
A High-Profile Guest List
Credit: Frankie Perez @sketchyfrankie
Throughout the night numerous guests joined. Freddie Gibbs marked the first surprise appearance of the night and fans erupted when he came on stage to mime his standout verse on “BACK TO ME.” Additionally Quavo, Rich The Kid, and Bump J were all in attendance for their appearances on various VULTURES cuts. Though the crowd was excited as guests emerged on stage, the allure of seeing a surprise collaborative performance didn’t quite transition into a listening party.
As the set went on, more and more attendees appeared to realize that they weren’t there for a performance. Compared to viral videos showing seas of hyped crowds at Rolling Loud the demeanor of the audience felt stuck in a permanent state of anticipation. Throughout the night the DJ pulled a classic live performance move and cut out memorable refrains from various songs to let the audience’s singing take over. But it was impossible not to notice throughout the night that the enthusiasm was fading.
A Series Of Unfortunate Teases
Credit: Frankie Perez @sketchyfrankie
West and Ty left the stage after around 40 minutes with their performance failing to reach the 9:30 time promised despite getting off to a late start. Around 30 minutes into their set, in full view of the crowd, the pair both dramatically removed their masks and headgear on stage. It would have been the absolute perfect time for them to pick up a microphone and surprise the crowd with an actual performance. But it never came to be and the pair departed the stage after playing shortened versions of every song from VULTURES 1 and the previously debuted Backstreet Boys-sampling “EVERYBODY.”
What followed was unfortunately the crystalizing moment of the entire evening. Following a 5 minute interlude where fans waited in bulk for some kind of encore, the crowd erupted in cheers as “Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 1” came on over the speakers. The expectation of the audience was clear, West would come back out and finish his set with a few classics, but that never happened. As one hit after another came on over the speakers, “Flashing Lights,” “Runaway,” “Fade,” and more, fans slowly realized that the show was over.
One of the most fascinating features of Rolling Loud’s main stage is that planes fly shockingly low overhead as they land at LAX. It happened throughout the night and fans repeatedly pointed their cameras at the passing aircraft in bulk as they soared by. Around 10 songs deep into the DJs set following West’s exit the Watch The Throne classic “Otis” came on the speakers. Just as the song shifted into the intense final verse yet another plane passed overhead, shortly followed by West’s lyric “Can’t you see the private jets flying over you.” Had he been performing the track live, the moment could have been yet another instantly timeless entry into Kanye West’s career. Instead fans were left with the perfect lasting image of the VULTURES Rolling Loud set. Watching an accidentally brilliant moment fall short of its potential as more and more of the fans in attendance began shuffling away from the empty stage towards the exit.
Rolling Loud Portugal announced yesterday (Dec. 6) that Travis Scott will headline their 2023 festival. Kicking off next summer, the “Goosebumps” rapper will perform his slew of hits for the overseas crowd.
This past July, Rolling Loud Portugal made its debut after postponing the festival in past years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. J. Cole, Future, and A$AP Rocky headlined, with Key Glock, Flo Milli, Lil Baby and more sharing their hits with fans at the event.
Additionally, Rolling Loud revealed last month that Scott will headline their California event next year. Future, Lil Wayne, and Playboi Carti are also leading the show, with dozens of other musicians also performing at the Inglewood-based festival next March.
Though Scott hasn’t released a solo album since his 2018 project Astroworld, the Houston rapper is keeping fans satisfied with his recent collaborations.
MIAMI, FLORIDA – DECEMBER 03: Travis Scott performs at E11EVEN Miami during Miami Art Week on December 3, 2022 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Alexander Tamargo/Getty Images for E11EVEN)
The 31-year-old also debuted “Down In Atlanta” last month, which features mega-producer Pharrell. He will also be on SZA’s S.O.S. album, which drops this Friday.
In November 2021, Scott came under fire after a crowd surge at his Astroworld Festival resulted in ten deaths. Speaking out in a statement soon after the festival, Scott shared that he was “devastated” by the tragic incident.
“My prayers go out to the families and all of those impacted by what happened at Astroworld Festival,” he added. “Houston PD has my total support as they continue to look into the tragic loss of life. I am committed to working together with the Houston community to heal and support the families in need.”
Per Variety, Rolling Loud California will mark Scott’s first festival show since the Astroworld tragedy.
As a traveling hip-hop festival, Rolling Loud has had to change locations plenty of times, but usually, that’s just the city in question. Over the years, it’s gone from raging in Miami to taking over New York City and has even gone international with events in Toronto and Portugal. But ever since its first event in Los Angeles, it’s had to move venues with each successive year as it scales up and works around COVID-19 regulations, going from Banc Of California Stadium to San Bernardino’s National Orange Show Event Center.
The next event just might prove to be its biggest yet as it changes venues yet again. Today, the fest’s organizers announced the dates for the next Los Angeles-based event as well as its new venue: the Hollywood Park grounds in Inglewood, adjacent to the recently built SoFi Stadium in Inglewood. The show is scheduled for March 3-5, 2023 — which means no LA festival in 2022, but it’ll be the first time the fest takes place in LA since 2019 after 2020’s iteration was canceled due to COVID.
In addition to announcing the dates and new location, Rolling Loud also shared the pre-sale registration link. Stay tuned to find out whether Future ends up headlining yet another Rolling Loud when the show returns to within the Los Angeles city limits.
(@rollingloud.pt)
