Travis Scott’s headlining performance at this weekend’s Rolling Loud California music festival lasted 37 minutes on Saturday night when his voice cut off in the middle of his signature song “Sicko Mode”. People close to the main stage (and their monitors) can still hear it, as can those watching the festival’s popular live stream, so Scott ended “Sicko Mode” and performed his hit “Goosebumps”.
But for most of the tens of thousands of spectators at Rolling Loud in Hollywood Park near SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, the 31-year-old rapper, known for his raspy voice and rough performances, suddenly became a bouncing guy in near-silence.
“I wish I had done more, but they let me go,” Scott said as he left, a way of describing the strict 11 p.m. curfew, when he started his performance later than planned. Nearly half an hour later, he must have known that curfew was imminent.
After years of legal battles and the recent death of one of its members, the first six De La Soul records will soon be released on the streaming platform.
What was supposed to be Scott’s first full-scale concert in the US since the ill-fated Astroworld festival in Houston at the end of 2021 ended somewhat contrived when an overcrowded crowd killed 10 people and injured hundreds more. Scott, for whom inciting the public is an important part of his performances, insists he was unaware of the public’s problems at Astroworld and his name has featured in numerous death-related lawsuits that have drawn congressional criticism of the concert. country survey.
After being shunned by many in the music industry, including reportedly being fired from the 2022 Coachella line-up, Scott is slowly returning to the A-list status he once enjoyed, though he doesn’t make it easy for himself: only Last week, a sound engineer at a New York nightclub claimed that Scott attacked him during a DJ performance and destroyed $12,000 worth of equipment. (Scott’s attorney called the incident a “misunderstanding” and said he “believes Travis will be proven when the dust has settled.”)
However, at Rolling Loud, widely regarded as the world’s largest hip hop festival with events in more and more cities and countries, Scott found a partner who wanted to return. This year he is scheduled to play Rolling Loud in Portugal, Germany and Thailand; according to Variety, the company paid Scott between $1.6 million and $1.8 million for Saturday’s performance in Los Angeles.
The 23-year-old rapper has outlasted many of his peers by hitting the top five albums and taking first place at Inglewood’s Rolling Loud festival in March.
Held Friday through Sunday in the equivalent of a SoFi parking lot, Rolling Loud California also featured dozens of people including Playboi Carti, Kodak Black, Trippie Redd, Lil Baby and Tyga; On Saturday, Lil Wayne invited Nicki Minaj for an unannounced performance. , and Don Toliver surprised fans with a cameo on his show alongside Justin Bieber. Like all Rolling Loud events, the festival aims to bring the hip-hop experience to its youngest fans, for whom the genre’s catchphrases are “angry”, “crazy” and “on fire”.
In their eyes, Scott was something of a trailblazer, releasing his major-label debut eight years ago, Timeless in the Age of Rap. (MC’s latest LP “Astroworld” was released in 2018; most recently he teased an upcoming sequel called “Utopia”.) Here, he seems happy to reclaim his role as king of the universe in Pit, Even. if he does not call the crowd to the cruelty to which he called in the past.
Dressed in dark clothes and a baseball cap, his eyes hidden behind a futuristic mask, Scott growls to songs like “Highest in the Room”, “Stargazing” and “The Butterfly Effect” as he goes through a lot of sounds. blurry synthetic textures over shaky trap beats. The low stage lights and a running smoke machine gave the show a vaguely apocalyptic feel, aside from the occasional pyrotechnics that shot pillars of fire into the sky.
Despite the short timeline, the presentation is effective as it shows how a worthy brand can endure despite controversy. But it’s also a reminder that hip-hop has never been faster than it is now, and it has evolved during Scott’s absence.
On Friday night, Playboi Carti, 26, led the charge – his own show was reportedly put on hold by Rolling Loud organizers after fans jumped the barricade – highlighting Rolling Loud’s dominant rap-hate voice. gothic nu-metal electric guitarist screams almost incomprehensibly, performing frantic, but eerily graceful solos. Compared to Carty’s truly bizarre performance, Scott’s performance barely lives up to expectations.
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Post time: Mar-06-2023