A Complete Recap of Rolling Loud LA

Rolling Loud kicked off its final celebration of the year at the NOS stadium in San Bernardino, California. The three-day festival featured performances by J Cole, Playboi Carti, and Chris Brown, with a closing performance by Future Hendrix who brought out special guest Kanye West.

It was the first Rolling Loud since the Omicron variant hit the streets, as well as the newly-instated 18+ policy following the tragic deaths at Travis Scott’s Astroworld. There were also new security protocols that required artists to leave the premises directly following their performances. 

On each day of the festival, there were numerous special attractions to check out on site. Throughout the festival, Rolling Loud and Black Music Action Coalition hosted panels with industry thought leaders, activists, and musicians who have used their platforms to advocate for change. Curated art installations with messages promoting social change were shown, with profits going to charity. 

Other attractions throughout the days included a Bunny’s Bae Bar, Barber Shop, Loud Factory, Manny’s Bodega,  Lyrical Lemonade, Liquid Death Recycling Station, and the Power 106 Booth. 

On Friday, December 10th, the festival kicked off with the likes of French Montana, Chief Keef, and Ty Dolla $ign captivating each of the three stages. 

Kid Cudi closed out the inaugural day as the headliner, and dedicated his set to the late great Virgil Abloh, who tragically passed away from cancer last month. Cudi also suggested that he will drop two albums in 2022. 

On day two, J Cole headlined, albeit suggesting that it would be his last performance for a while. Cole brought out his artists Bas and Lute to assist on some tracks, and performed some hits from his latest album The Off-Season.

One of the highlights on day 2 was Key Glock’s performance, which paid homage to his cousin Young Dolph who was tragically gunned down last month in his hometown of Memphis. O.T. Genass, Paper Route Woo, and Shupe Bandz also took the stage to perform some of their collaborations with the late, great rapper. You can pay your respects to Young Dolph by donating to Young Dolph’s family’s community-based non-profit — the Ida Mae Family Foundation — here. 

Playboi Carti was one of the many artists to headline Sunday night, and performed a bevy of hits with live instrumentation. King Vamp even took control of the camera at one point and directed his own footage, before exiting the stage in smoke.

Closing out the festival was Future Hendrix, who could have probably done another hour long set if he wanted to to get through his variety of hits. At one point, Roddy Ricch, who is gearing up for his album Live Life Fast next year, came out to perform as a guest. Future also brought out Florida’s own Hotboii and former presidential candidate Kanye West, who came out to 2007’s “Can’t Tell Me Nothing.” Ye, who appeared to be wearing the same exact outfit as hsi Free Larry Hoover concert with Drake on Thursday, even tried freestyling to F–k Up Some Commas” at one point, screaming “Jesus Gang” at the top of his lungs.