Rolling Loud Miami 2024: 7 Best Moments

Earlier this 12 months, YG Marley turned the sixth Marley member of the family to hit the Sizzling 100 when his breakthrough hit, “Reward Jah Within the Moonlight,” reached No. 34. Now that Buju Banton and Vybz Kartel are again exterior with us, each reggae and dancehall might be in for seismic shifts within the subsequent few months and years — the sorts of shift the style struggled to come back by for many of the previous decade.

With a set that upheld the integrity and legacy of conventional reggae whereas highlighting his idiosyncrasies and the cross-generational enchantment of his household, YG Marley held it down for the West Indies at Rolling Loud Miami. Not solely did he deal with the gang to his personal information, however he additionally introduced out his mother — Ms. Lauryn Hill — for a cameo that included renditions of Fugees classics corresponding to “Killing Me Softly With His Track.” Although the competition’s main demographic appeared worlds away from “Killing Me Softly,” a canopy as enrapturing and as timeless as this one at all times finds a manner round.

Whereas YG repped reggae, award-winning “Talibans” singer Byron Messia did the identical for dancehall, an superior second for each Miami’s Caribbean immigrant group and the way forward for Rolling Loud because it brings extra genres and types beneath its banner.

Sexyy Crimson has continued racking up hits this 12 months — and three of these songs earned a number of the most fervent crowd reactions of the weekend. “Get It Sexyy” sparked a cacophony of handclaps that might rival an earthquake, whereas her verse on GloRilla‘s “Whatchu Know Bout Me” activated Soiled South vitality all through the packed crowd. However it was her considerably shock rendition of Tyler, the Creator’s “Sticky” (No. 10) — which turned Sexyy’s first Sizzling 100 prime 10 hit earlier this 12 months — that really delighted her followers. There was a beautiful second of pause that the gang took to course of what track was being performed, and as soon as it clicked, they rapped alongside to each final phrase of her verse. The one time the viewers received even louder was when Sexyy introduced out Orlando native Hotboii to carry out on “Don’t Want Time.”

That includes a notable shift away from the Trump-nodding imagery of a few of her previous performances in addition to markedly improved staging, sequencing and pacing, Sexyy Crimson’s set was the work of an artist who’s actually making use of the lesson they’ve realized from previous performances to future ones.

“A Bar Track (Tipsy)” often is the observe that tied the all-time report for many weeks at No. 1 on the Sizzling 100 (19) and launched his profession to stratospheric heights, however Shaboozey has a vital chapter in his profession that precedes that track.

In 2022, Shaboozey launched his second studio album, Cowboys Dwell Ceaselessly, Outlaws By no means Die, which housed notable songs like “Tall Boy,” “Beverly Hills” and the Garzon-assisted “Why Can’t Love Be the Motive.” For his Rolling Loud Miami debut, Shaboozey handled the predominantly hip-hop crowd to a particular set of his songs from his markedly extra hip-hop-inflected sophomore LP. “Performing a very uncommon set of songs from my final album at [Rolling Loud] tomorrow for most likely the primary and final time ever,” he wrote on X on Dec. 14.

Musically, it was a wise option to do a particular set for Rolling Loud, however watching Shaboozey win a crowd earlier than touching his largest hit was a surprising reminder that he actually works magic on stage. From rapping “Sticks and Stones” with a bottle of Jack Daniel’s in hand to serenading the gang with “All Males Die,” the Virginia native expertly threaded collectively the story of his catalog. Along with Cowboys Dwell Ceaselessly, Shaboozey additionally carried out “Drink Don’t Want No Combine” (with BigXthaPlug) and “Final of My Variety” (with Paul Cauthen) from this 12 months’s Grammy-nominated, Billboard chart-topping The place I’ve Been Isn’t The place I’m Going LP.

A part of the rationale JT landed at No. 8 on Billboard’s 12 months-Finish employees rating of 2024’s Hottest Feminine Rappers was due to the sturdy business efficiency of her debut mixtape, Metropolis Cinderella. Serving as her verst first post-Metropolis Ladies solo full-length mission, Metropolis Cinderella peaked increased on the Billboard 200 (No. 27) than each single one of many albums JT made as a part of her former duo. Metropolis Ladies’ affect on the Miami hip-hop scene and the eyeballs it introduced the town after their breakout is a significant a part of their lore, so it was notably shifting to see the Rolling Loud Miami crowd embrace JT as a solo star within the hometown.

In between executing slick choreography to “Uncle Al,” rapping each phrase of “No Bars” with the utmost conviction, and taking a well-deserved victory lap to the soundtrack of “Okay,” JT had a couple of moments the place she dropped the sheen of her stage persona to absorb the hundreds of adoring fan screaming for her and her solo music. She’s been on tour for almost all of the 12 months, and the development in her general stage presence — not to mention the composition of her units — is extremely promising for what 2025 will carry her manner.

Speaking a few new Playboi Carti album typically seems like attempting to confirm the existence of a legendary creature. However for a couple of moments throughout his headlining set at Rolling Loud Miami 2024, I Am Music felt extra tangible than ever earlier than.

Constructing on the development of elaborate stage reveals sparked by Future and Travis on the competition’s two previous nights, Carti rocked the Amazon Music stage with a setlist that combined sneaky teases together with his largest hits. After kicking issues off with a pair of unreleased tracks anticipated to seem on his Complete Lotta Crimson follow-up in some capability, Carti tore by a few of his most up-to-date drops corresponding to “H00DBYAIR” and “Ketamine” in addition to chart-topping collaborations together with his activates Future & Metro Boomin’s “Kind Shit,” Travis Scott’s “FE!N” and ¥$’s Wealthy the Child-assisted “Carnival.” “This my track,” he proclaimed earlier than leaping into “Carnival.” “Each track I’m on is my track.”

When it comes to his stage present, Carti proved himself an extremely bodily performer who used each a part of his physique — from hanging himself the wrong way up in true vamp trend to letting out guttural growls and shrieks into the microphone rather than ad-libs. He was surrounded by a considerably unsettling crew of bald dancers whose naked heads helped unfold mild throughout the obsidian stage. Managed chaos and darkness have been the governing energies of Carti’s set, and that’s precisely what his devoted moshers embodied within the crowd. Whereas Carti’s set was visually arresting and aesthetically addictive, the tiring teases, lack of concrete information relating to the brand new album, and absence of visitor look (save streamer Younger Dabo) created a stage of hype that was merely insurmountable. At the least the brand new Weeknd collab he teased on the finish of his set appears like a worthy follow-up to “Timeless.”

Whether or not you’re measuring Future’s 12 months by his three Billboard 200 No. 1 albums, his rap battle-sparking and now two-time Grammy-nominated “Like That,” or his arena-packing We Belief You Tour — 2024 was the most effective of the rap icon’s profession.

To commemorate his banner 12 months, Pluto tore by a few of his largest hits — together with 2012’s “Identical Rattling Time,” 2014’s “F–ok Up Some Commas” and 2022’s “Wait For U” — whereas ceding most of his set to this 12 months’s Mixtape Pluto. As its title suggests, Future’s newest mission thrives within the cavalier grittiness of his mixtape mode; followers reacted notably strongly to his renditions of “Lil Demon,” “Informed My,” and “Plutoski,” whose wordless utterances reverberated throughout Laborious Rock Stadium.

Earlier than he even started his set, a decoy Future walked throughout the stage whereas engulfed flames earlier than the precise rapper got here out of a recreation of the Dungeon Household home to an introduction calling him “the most important rapper on this planet, Mixtape Pluto.” And that’s what he undoubtedly was all through his set. Though he did carry out a few of his largest collaborations, Future not often performed something aside from his personal verses or hooks from these songs — a not-so-subtle reminder that your favourite track might be your favourite track due to one thing he did on the observe. With spectacular stamina that helped him cowl over a decade’s value of music, Future’s 2024 Rolling Loud Miami set helped set the tone for the improvements in set design and the evolution of rap stardom that may be on show all through the weekend.

Travis Scott’s 2024 Rolling Loud Miami headlining set belongs within the pantheon of all-time nice competition performances. Sure, it was actually that spectacular.

Earlier than a single observe left his mouth and reached his microphone, Travis performed an introductory video interlude that discovered him touchdown a helicopter on the roof of Laborious Rock Stadium and using in a SWAT tank to the principle stage. What was exceptional was that the video gave the impression to be streaming in real-time, which is probably finest illustrated by the gang’s heads collectively ping-ponging between the seen helicopter atop the stadium’s roof and the cinematic visuals on the stage’s screens.

The grandiose opening expertly ready the gang for each Travis’ elaborate set (full with grass, makeshift mountains, multicolored lasers, and pyro that seemingly shot out of the gang and towards the stage) and a cameo from none aside from Oscar-nominated actor and screenwriter Owen Wilson. “I’m feigning for extra,” he screamed to kick off the “FE!N” part of Travis’s set, which discovered the rapper enjoying his Carti-assisted Sizzling 100 prime 10 hit (No. 5) over 5 instances in a row. Owen’s shock look got here as he was filming scenes for his upcoming R-rated comedy movie, Rolling Loud, on the competition earlier within the day. Written and directed by Jeremy Garelick, the movie is anticipated to star Wilson, Scott and comic Matt Rife.

Probably the most profitable and acclaimed dwell performers in hip-hop historical past, Scott has a stage of lore, attract, expectation and surprise hooked up to his reveals that the majority artist spend their complete careers attempting to realize. For Travis, the great thing about his stage present is within the quantity of consideration he pays to each final element — from every blade of grass to the audio ranges of his walk-off track to the angles the drones seize for the massive screens. The best competition units check the boundaries and expectations of what may be executed at a competition, and that’s precisely what Travis’ did from a manufacturing, logistics, and stage design perspective.