Rolling Loud New York 2021 Is Where The Kids Came To Rage

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A cloud of rebellion and angst billowed through the subway doors of the 7 train leading to CitiField Stadium in Queens, where Rolling Loud was set to take place. Hundreds of kids roared down the subway stairs where they were met by ticket scalpers and lines to show proof of vaccination in exchange for a mint green wristband for a chance to see some of their favorite artists hit the stage live.

Rain, sleet, or snow (and it did rain), the weekend promised performances from some of the hottest bubbling rap acts such as Stunna Gambino, 22Gz, Young Devyn, Griselda, Armani Caesar, City Morgue, and of course, performances from some of the biggest names in the music industry including headliners 50 Cent, J. Cole, and Travis Scott.

The New York edition of Rolling Loud was an illuminating experience that delivered a space for young music enthusiasts to gather with their friends and listen to all the music their parents hate to love. Much like any festival, technical difficulties (A Boogie’s mic not working when 50 Cent brought him out) and artists not showing up to their set (like Chief Keef — who rescheduled for the next day) were par for the course. These are problems that I have learned to accept over the many years of attending festivals, including Rolling Loud.

Most of the performances at Rolling Loud are really about energy and vibes. A majority of these acts don’t really put on full-out shows, instead, it’s more like the artist vibing with the crowd to their own songs. City Girls had a fun set and the crowd was really with them singing along to their hits such as “Act Up” and “Pussy Talk.” Gunna, Lil Yachty, Moneybagg Yo, 42Dugg, and Lil Uzi Vert all put on the type of set that saw the artists mostly vibing with their fans from the stage. The more seasoned acts, such as J. Cole, Rick Ross, and Wale, gave more of a live performance that saw the crowds swelled up to the brim for their wealth of hits. Among the younger artists taking a chance at truly rapping live was Roddy Ricch, who also had a live band with him, but even he wasn’t immune to allowing the audience to vibe with him, especially during “The Box.”

When it came to production, performance, and energy, a few acts stood out. Namely, 50 Cent, who put on a head-bopping nostalgic set. Ending the first night of the fest via Queens, Jamaica’s finest was smooth. The rap luminary also brought out A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, A$AP Rocky, and DaBaby, which the crowd seemed to love. Who doesn’t want to see “In Da Club” or “Many Men” live from a living legend?

@uproxx

50 Cent had a FIRE set at Rolling Loud NY 🔥⚡ #50cent #indaclub #rollingloud #rollingloudnyc

♬ original sound – UPROXX Music

The following nights, however, the festival itself belonged to Playboi Carti and Travis Scott. They are clearly what Rolling Loud was made for. It is why we attend — to rage and nothing else.

God bless anyone who was front and center of the Carti set because I have been there and you have got to really be with the shits in order to survive that kind of energy. I can only imagine how wild things got when he brought out Uzi for “Shoota.” The flashing white and red lighting cloaked over his black vampiric silhouette was captivating and the rain just added texture to the entire set, while the chaos and madness were orchestrated by his guitarist. It was bewitching to witness in real-time.

@uproxx

Can we get a tape? 🥺 #rollingloud #rollinglougnyc #uzi #playboycarti #shotta | 🎥 : @/_carlosperalta_ on IG

♬ original sound – UPROXX Music

Travis Scott’s set was pure insanity. It was as if the entire festival swarmed to the Deleon Stage to catch his performance. I was situated somewhere near the middle-back of the growing crowd and at the stroke of the clock, the curtains came down and intense energy flowed through the crowd placing us all on the same frequency. The only thing to do was let go and go with the wave of the audience, instead of fighting it. Bodies bounced and dropped left to right. “I’m the highest in the room / Hope I make it outta here,” never felt so real.

@uproxx

the energy during travisscott’s set @Rolling Loud was insane! 🤘🏽🔥🌵 #fyp #rage #cactusjack #rollingloudnyc #utopia

♬ original sound – UPROXX Music

There’s all this recent talk about how the metaverse is supposed to bring people to live shows without having to be physically present. I would like to see technology accurately replicate the kind of intensity that happens at a Travis or Carti show (throw Rocky, Uzi, and Ski Mask in that category too) because — sheesh!

Overall, Rolling Loud New York provided a huge cathartic release to a sea of kids pent up during the pandemic. Even as the event came to a close, the subway was no match for the hundreds of festivalgoers who filled up the 7 train, exiting Citi Field. That is where the party continued.

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

Travis Scott Announces New Music With A Cheeky Reference To Cheesy ’90s Tabloids

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Utopia season may very well be upon us, as Travis Scott announced the first new music from his hotly-anticipated album on Twitter with a cheeky reference to cheesy ’90s tabloids like Weekly World News. Remember seeing Bat Boy on the grocery store checkout stand? Travis Scott does. Along with his exuberant promise of “SOME NEW MUSIC AT MIDNIGHT,” Travis included cover art inspired by the covers featuring the fictional Bat Boy creature, with Travis photoshopped into the character and a headline reading “THE TRUE DYSTOPIA IS HERE!”

It’s worth noting that November 5 will also kick off the third iteration of Travis’ Houston-based Astroworld Festival, which should be a nice salve for H-Town natives after the Houston Astros lost the Major League Baseball World Series to the Atlanta Braves (gotta be doubly embarrassing to lose to a team with that name, yeesh). In all likelihood, the set will be the first time Travis performs the new music from his long-awaited fourth studio album, which has long been rumored — but never confirmed — to bear the title Utopia. The art from Travis’ announcement seemingly bears out those rumors, although it also suggests that he might have been baiting fans all along for a switch to the opposite.

For fans who can’t attend Astroworld, have no fear; Travis intends to live-stream his solo set on Apple Music.

Give Saweetie Her Own Netflix Show, Already

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A show hosted by Saweetie and a pack of sex-positive puppets sounds like a strange proposition but oddly enough, it works. That’s the premise of Sex: Unzipped, a new hour-long Netflix comedy special that plays like an adult sex education course mashed up with raunchier sketch comedy than you’ll ever see on SNL, all in the mode of the least kid-friendly episode of Sesame Street ever.

It helps that the human host is game for the silliness, shamelessly flirting with the puppets and vice versa. For all of the complaints about Saweetie’s live performances, the Bay Area-bred star has a lot of charisma. While not as boisterous and playful as rap contemporaries Megan Thee Stallion and Cardi B, Saweetie still has a laid-back, confident charm that makes her the perfect on-camera personality for any number of situations. From hosting her own Icy University YouTube series, to coolly cruising through the full taste bud punishing course of wings on Hot Ones, Saweetie’s easygoing, round-the-way bearing almost demands that she skips the rap portion of her career trajectory and goes straight to hosting her own show.

Saweetie’s media takeover strategy isn’t new to hip-hop but the way she’s going about it sort of is. Plenty of rappers have made the jump from purely making music to acting, hosting, and any number of other media gigs (the new one seems to be podcasting, with everyone from Joe Budden to Nicki Minaj contracting with Apple and Spotify for their own shows). But usually, the artist in question must be established; Will Smith had already won his first Grammy by the time he jumped into television with The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air, Eve had a number of supporting roles in movies after delivering multiple platinum albums, then got her own sitcom, and both versions of Queen Latifah’s talk show came after two albums and an ensemble role on Living Single.

More recently, Saweetie peers like Cardi B reversed the formula, utilizing a role on the popular Love & Hip-Hop franchise to develop a huge social media following, then translating that into rap superstardom. After becoming the first female rapper since Lauryn Hill to reach No. 1 on the Billboard 200, it was only natural that Cardi B would go on to host her own show on Facebook, Cardi B Tries…, which built on her established fame and naturally outgoing personality. Likewise with her role on Netflix’s Rhythm + Flow. Cardi’s move into television (or what passes for television when everything we watch is on a computer, phone, or tablet screen) launched from the springboard of her existing catalog of hits and near-ubiquity in the wake of her breakout hit “Bodak Yellow.”

Saweetie, on the other hand, has yet to even release a full-length project. So far, she’s only dropped a trio of EPs, of which only Icy even registered on the Billboard 200. She’s had a string of virally successful singles, including her original hit “Icy Grl,” “My Type,” and “Tap In,” but only three have reached the Top 40, with “Best Friend” charting the highest — arguably due in large part to her co-star on the song, Doja Cat. It’s probably fair to say that Saweetie is not the pop culture dominating juggernaut that Cardi is. Even Doja Cat, fresh off her first award show hosting gig at the 2021 MTV VMAs has a No. 1 hit record in “Say So” and multiple viral trends to her name.

Yet Saweetie has still managed to cultivate the air of a much more successful artist by sheer will. At this point, I think Forbes might be the only major magazine she hasn’t done a feature with. She’s been on every internet interview show (twice, in some cases), she’s got a Sprite sponsorship, she had a guest-starring role on Freeform’s Black-ish spinoff Grown-ish, and who could forget the infamous McDonald’s partnership — which seemed based almost entirely on a handful of viral moments of people teasing her for her off-the-wall food combinations (ranch on spaghetti!?!?). Nearly all of the media Saweetie has done has been to promote her upcoming debut album Pretty Bitch Music, yet she’s pushed the album back multiple times, once as a result of the ridicule she received for a few lackluster performances.

At this point, Saweetie is just as well-known for just being Saweetie as she is for rapping. Here’s a crazy idea: She should lean into this. After releasing her album and completing the requisite tour, why doesn’t she just do a bunch of different projects with Netflix? She’s already proved that she can handle herself in front of a camera. Do another comedy special — maybe try standup! Do a Christmas movie! I’d watch a Christmas movie with Saweetie in it — and you would too. Do a travel show! Saweetie is always shouting out her Filipino heritage — take her to the islands and follow her around with a camera. Gold is guaranteed. I’d watch a Saweetie talk show, a Saweetie sitcom, a Saweetie police procedural… the possibilities are literally endless. Did you see Saweetie’s Halloween sketch where she dressed up as Catwoman and won the approval of Halle Berry? Saweetie superhero movie.

None of this is to dismiss Saweetie as an artist. She’s a way better rapper than she gets credit for (check out some of her earlier car freestyles or the time she rapped for J. Cole), she’s just had a hard time adjusting her rhyme-heavy style for the pop-friendly beats she’s employed in her attempts to crossover (something that also happened to J. Cole himself, lest we all forget). Rumor has it, she has some pretty brassy musical swings on the upcoming album, which could finally endear her to a skeptical public if they don’t turn people off entirely. The hip-hop public is notoriously fickle — why keep trying to please them when there are so many on-screen opportunities that make use of Saweetie’s best weapons? She’s got the chops, and against the odds, she’s got the resume. All she needs is the official Saweetie show, which even her haters would love to watch.

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

Cardi B Might Be Officiating Kal Penn’s Wedding

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A few weeks ago, Cardi B was licensed to perform a wedding for a lesbian couple for her show Cardi B Tries… but it looks like that license might be coming in handy again sooner than anyone expected. When actor Kal Penn noticed the “WAP” rapper on his flight, he joked on Twitter that he had a dream she officiated his wedding. However, Cardi somehow saw the tweet and seemed into the idea, wondering why the Harold & Kumar actor didn’t say hi — and suggesting that she was open to actually performing the ceremony.

When Penn responded explaining that Cardi’s “do not disturb” light was on and enthused about the idea, Cardi had just one response: “I’m down I’ll get my suit.”

Sometimes, Twitter can be good.

Kal Penn announced his impending nuptials to his longtime partner earlier this week in addition to officially coming out as gay. In his upcoming book You Can’t Be Serious, he details how the couple unexpectedly became close after his NASCAR fan partner Josh got him hooked on the sport as well.

Meanwhile, Cardi’s interactions with fellow celebrities continue to amuse and delight fans on the internet. Prior to her interaction with Kal Penn, Cardi and Penn Badgley of Netflix’s You had a cute back-and-forth resulting in the two stars swapping their profile pics to photos of each other.

The Kid Laroi And Justin Bieber’s ‘Stay’ Reportedly Hit 1 Billion Spotify Streams Faster Than Any Song Ever

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The Kid Laroi Justin Bieber 2021 MTV Video Music Awards VMAs
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The Kid Laroi and Justin Bieber’s “Stay” is an undeniable hit, as it spent multiple weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and helped both artists make history for their home countries. Now, it has apparently pulled off a major feat: Pop Crave reports the track has reached 1 billion streams on Spotify and is now the fastest song to ever accomplish that.

“Stay” was released on July 9, and if it did indeed reach a billion streams today, November 4, it did so in 118 days. (As of this post, the Spotify desktop and mobile apps indicate the song has 994,497,008 streams, although it’s possible that count is not current.) The reported previous record-holder, Ed Sheeran’s “Shape Of You,” was released on January 6, 2017 and reached a billion Spotify streams on June 8 that same year, which is 153 days later. So, even if “Stay” didn’t actually hit a billion streams today but does so in the next couple days — or even in the next month, which it will almost certainly do — it will handily surpass Sheeran’s mark.

“Shape Of You,” by the way, is Spotify’s most-streamed song ever and currently has over 2.9 billion streams. At the time “Shape Of You” hit a billion streams, it was just the third song to do so on the platform, following Drake’s “One Dance” and The Chainsmokers’ Halsey-featuring hit “Closer.” Times have certainly changed, as now, at least 100 songs now have 1 billion Spotify streams; As of November 3, Spotify’s 100th most-played song, The Weeknd’s “Can’t Feel My Face,” has over 1.2 billion streams.

Meanwhile, Olivia Rodrigo recently came close to breaking Sheeran’s record before Laroi and Bieber did: Spotify reported on October 26 that Rodrigo’s “Good 4 U” surpassed a billion streams, 165 days after its May 14 release.

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

Lil Nas X Says He Considers Playboi Carti To Be An Innovator In The Music Industry

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Lil Nas X WSJ Awards 2021
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Lil Nas X’s 2021 year just got a little better as he was one of many celebrities that were honored at The Wall Street Journal‘s 2021 Innovator Awards. He received awards at the ceremony along with Kim Kardashian, Lewis Hamilton, and Ryan Reynolds, and during an interview on the red carpet at the event, he was asked for an artist he believed is an innovator and he pointed to someone in the hip-hop world.

“I’d say Playboi Carti,” Lil Nas X, the Music Innovator Award recipient, said. “Me personally, I feel like he’s become like this huge rockstar in the rap realm. He’s a pretty entertaining performer, like, he goes out of the way and he does his own musical style. He’s gonna try what he wants to. I love that. I think that’s innovative.” He then spoke about his own work and how he tried to do things differently with his recent releases.

“As I was writing these songs and going into the booth, I was changing internally,” he said to The Wall Street Journal. “I was telling all these stories and also letting go of a lot of things that had, like, pent up through my music.”

The honor comes after Lil Nas X was given his own day in his hometown of Atlanta after he returned home to celebrate his debut album, Montero.

You can watch Lil Nas X speak about Playboi Carti in the post above

LeBron James Expresses Joy After Klay Thompson Returns To Court

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Klay Thompson has been out of the Golden State Warriors lineup for the last two years with injuries. These injuries have ranged from a torn ACL to a ruptured Achilles tendon. In Thompson’s absence, the Warriors have yet to go back to the playoffs, however, they seem well on their way this season. Thomspon is supposed to return in the not-so-distant future, and fans believe this will make the Warriors title contenders, once again.

Prior to Warriors games, Thompson has been out on the court raining down shots, and fans have taken notice. It looks like Thompson is back to his old ways and it has generated quite a bit of excitement in terms of how he will play upon return. In fact, Thompson’s rival LeBron James is excited about the prospect of a comeback, as he even stated as much on Twitter recently.

LeBron James & Klay Thompson

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“Can watch him shoot the [ball] all day long,” LeBron wrote. “TOOOOOOO PURE.” Needless to say, despite their hard-fought battles on the court, LeBron still has a ton of respect for Thompson, and he is a fan of what he sees. LeBron has always shown love to his competitors, and in year 19, he won’t be stopping this trend anytime soon.

Thompson’s return timeline has yet to be revealed so stay tuned to HNHH as we will be sure to bring you all of the latest updates from around the NBA.

Re-visiting Jay-Z’s “Streets Is Watching” 24 Years Later

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Before the days of Jay-Z rapping about real estate and Picasso paintings, the Roc Nation founder spit about what his life was like moving weight from Brooklyn to Virginia and back. 

On his second full-length release, 1997’s In My Lifetime, Vol. 1, Hov attacked some of the most iconic beats in hip-hop history, including “A Million and One Questions/Rhyme No More” and “Where I’m From,” but also spit some of the best bars of his career on album cuts like “Friend or Foe ’98” and “Streets Is Watching.” 

And 24 years after In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 dropped on November 4, 1997, “Streets Is Watching” remains one of the most underrated Jay-Z tracks of all-time. 

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Whether it’s because it doesn’t reside on a major album, like Hov’s 1996 debut, Reasonable Doubt, or 2001’s The Blueprint, or because it’s easy to lose records in his prolific discography, “Streets Is Watching” just doesn’t get the respect it deserves. (Despite it being turned into a movie with the same name in 1998.) 

Rapping over Ski Beatz production, Jay lays out the specifics of his early-90s operations and all the money they made him, but with the fair warning that, once you start walking around with something in your pocket, everybody starts watching. From other hustlers to the boys in blue, everybody wants their piece of the pie when the cashflow is crazy and life is luxurious.

Starting with one of the most iconic Hov lines ever (Look, if I shoot you I’m brainless // But if you shoot me, then you’re famous, what’s a n***a to do?) “Streets Is Watching” is the perfect throwback to a time when Jay-Z was on the edge of superstardom, but still had to deal with his old life.

Quotable Lyrics
The streets is watching you when you froze your arms
N****s wanna test you when your gun goes warm
Can’t get caught with your feet up, gotta keep your heat up
Sweet n****s running ’round swearing shit is sweeter
Once you’re tagged lame, the game is follow the leader
Everybody want a piece of your scrilla, so you gotta keep it realer

Travis Scott Is Dropping New Music At Midnight

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The wait for new Travis Scott music is over. 

With the 2021 Astroworld Festival set to kick off tomorrow, the “Franchise” rapper took to Instagram early this morning with an exciting announcement — he’s dropping tonight. 

“F*CK IT LETS START IT UP NEW MUSIC AT MIDNIGHT,” Scott captioned his post. And the IG post itself, a 90s-style newspaper cover portraying Scott as a goblin with the pointed message, “THE TRUE DYSTOPIA IS HERE,” might just be a hint of what’s to come tonight at midnight.

Back in October, after Scott confirmed that his upcoming album is called Utopia, fans speculated that we would first be blessed with a mixtape called Dystopia. Similar to when he dropped Days Before Rodeo as a prequel to Rodeo, the belief was that Travis would ease fans into the Utopia world with a mixtape. 

There was no confirmation from Scott, or anybody in his camp, that a mixtape was on the way, but with this Instagram announcement and Astroworld set to kick off in less than 24 hours, it’s not crazy to think that Travis might have something special in store. 

However, all speculation must be taken with a grain of salt. While a new mixtape would make sense, and there is already a precedent for Travis Scott prequel tapes, this “new music” might just be a new single, or a couple song EP. 

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Scott’s fans, some of the most dedicated in all of hip-hop, would surely be happy with anything new from their Cactus Jack leader, but have also been waiting patiently for more than three years for a new project. Astroworld was released back in August, 2018 and, aside from side projects and feature verses, we have yet to hear anything full-length from the Owl Pharaoh rapper. 

Keep your fingers crossed for a new Travis Scott tape at midnight, and let us know what you’re expecting down in the comments. 

Coi Leray & Pressa Share Lovey-Dovey Photos After Sparking Breakup Speculation

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Well, that was fast. Not even a few days after Coi Leray tweeted and deleted that she was “single” after venting about going to bed mad every night, the New Jersey-based rapper is back with her boyfriend, Toronto rapper Pressa. The two reunited to celebrate the release of Pressa’s new Gardner Express deluxe project, which has five new songs.

The self-proclaimed “biggest purr” showed off in her new Fendi x SKIMS collaboration, which was gifted to her by Kim Kardashian, before sharing some lovey-dovey photos with Pressa. It’s been a while since they shared the limelight on social media after Pressa started popping up in her TikToks, but after they were spotted together at Rolling Loud New York this weekend, it seems they are back on the best terms. 


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In two of the new pictures, Coi and Pressa are coupled up, kissing in one of the shots. Pressa also shared footage of them spending the night together, showing off the custom cake that Coi commissioned, featuring Pressa’s album cover. “@coileray got me right baby,” he wrote on Instagram Stories.

Coi and Pressa started dating less than a year ago, meeting when they worked on the remix to “Attachments.” Do you think they make a cute couple? Check out their latest photos below.