Miami, Toronto, Munich, to Vienna— Rolling Loud has taken the rap and hip-hop communities by storm over the past ten years. Born in Miami, the festival has expanded to be a worldwide event, attracting the famous and flashy to see their favorite artists.
This year, Miami’s annual Rolling Loud at the Hard Rock Stadium featured some big-name headliners, including Future, Travis Scott and Playboi Carti.
With no age restrictions set for general entry, the rocking affair brings in teens from various ages. The series reeled in some of Miami Palmetto Senior High’s very own concert connoisseurs.
The fun began on Dec. 13. Starting in the afternoon, the numerous sets stretched late into the evening, ending at midnight.
The kickoff headliners for the weekend were Metro Boomin and Future, but every artist still gave a must-watch performance.
“On Friday, my favorite set was Yeat, because it was the first time I ever saw him. And he was really good with the crowd,” senior and two-time Rolling Loud attendee Ethan Epelbaum said.
Senior Alexis Cohen, a first-timer at the event, realized early on Friday that timeliness is not among these rappers’ fortes.
“There were 3 stages across the land in front of the stadium with artists performing at different times … it was hard to pick which ones we wanted to see since they overlapped a bit,” Cohen said. “But it got really annoying because lots of artists were over 30 minutes late to their sets.”
Persevering through tardiness, Cohen still managed to see her favorites of the night: Trippie Redd, Lil Yachty, Metro Boomin and Future.
Throughout each night, there were long lines for food options, theme park-esque rides and merchandise stands. Each stage had two sections: general admission and VIP.
“You need to go with people and to bring water inside the actual concert because it gets really squished in there, and you get really tired, so you need water and to be with your friends to be safe,” Epelbaum said.
General admission is often where the notorious mosh pits take place, but both provide positive experiences nonetheless.
“Well, the first time I went, I was younger, so I was a little more scared and stuff … what I like to do is the mosh pit. So, I’ve been going to concerts for a few years, so I kind of knew how it was gonna be. When you’re in there, it’s very, very uncomfortable, but you know, it’s fun at the end of the day,” Epelbaum said.
Saturday brought in even more concert crazies, including artists Lil Tjay, YG Marley, Sexyy Red, Don Toliver, NLE Choppa and Travis Scott.
Special guests of the night included YG Marley’s mom Lauryn Hill and Owen Wilson for Travis Scott’s set — where they made sure to play “FE!N” five times.
“Out of the two nights I went, either Don Toliver or Travis Scott had the best set for sure … Don Toliver played some of my favorite songs, like New Drop, and his set had motorcyclists doing tricks in a cage” Cohen said. “Travis was just on a whole other level, he recreated the Utopia set and it started raining while ‘Goosebumps’ played so the crowd just got really hyped up.”
Travis Scott’s entrance was certainly one to remember.
“He literally landed in a helicopter and we saw him get to the stage in some sort of army truck in real-time, it was insane,” Cohen said.
The popular singer continued to play popular hits. Opening with “Hyaena” to “Nightcrawler,” “HIGHEST IN THE ROOM,” “I KNOW?” and ending the night with “Telekinesis.”
While Saturday’s lineup may seem unbeatable, the school night nerves were set aside for Sunday’s ultimate experience.
“Playboi Carti is my favorite artist, and I have not seen him, so, yeah, it was my first time seeing him get a really cool set. He played a lot of his new songs and new music,” Epelbaum said. “It was chaotic, for sure. He was screaming a lot, there was a lot of new songs, which is really exciting.”
At the end of the day, it’s not the artists seen, but the people one is with.
“The coolest aspect was probably that I was able to experience seeing my favorite artists with all my friends, which made it a lot more fun,” Epelbaum said.
