Rolling Loud Los Angeles

If Rolling Loud LA could be summarized in a sentence, it would undoubtedly be: “Open up the fucking pit!” The country’s premier festival came through Los Angeles to end 2019 with a bang, bringing along headliners Chance the Rapper, Lil Uzi Vert, Future and A$AP Rocky to a hungry crowd of 60,000 people. As many of the artists reflected on the past year, things took a somber turn as performers took time to remember late rapper Juice WRLD, who tragically passed away earlier this month at the age of 21. The entire festival was bittersweet, as tributes to lost artists like Juice, Mac Miller, Lil Peep, and LA’s own hometown hero Nipsey Hussle could be seen across Exposition Park.

Saturday saw early standout performances from the criminally underrated Oakland rapper Kamaiyah—one of the few female acts of the day, West Coast hyphy group SOB X RBE, and Machine Gun Kelly, who scaled the set and hung upside down at the close of his performance. The evening brought on brutal mosh pits from NOLA duo $uicideboy$, who expected no less than carnage.

The end of the first day came with some mishaps, as Lil Uzi Vert’s plane delay forced Chance the Rapper to go on ahead of schedule. Chance’s headlining set was a departure from many of his predecessors early in the day, but in the best possible way. The Mr. Rogers of rap brought a funky, wholesome, upbeat set, performing hits from Coloring Book and Acid Rap—all with an unwavering smile. Young Thug closed out the Verizon stage on Saturday, bringing an especially noteworthy performance of “Hot.”

Flaunt alum Doja Cat brought the heat to the High Hemp Sunday afternoon, opening with her viral banger “Mooo!” Doja’s impeccable stage presence, impressive vocals and hit-filled set list (featuring a guest performance by Smino) was deserving of far more than just a 20-minute set. The women continued to dominate as Megan Thee Stallion lit up the stage with her trademark female empowerment, enlivening the crowd with tracks like “Pimpin,” “Hot Girl Summer” and “Cash Shit.” Other highly anticipated performances came from top-billed performers YG, who dedicated part of his set to Nipsey Hussle, as well as Atlanta rapper Future.

In place of Juice WRLD’s set, the festival held a tribute to the late rapper, hosted by his touring band. The memorial also featured respects from G Herbo, YBN Cordae, Benny Blanco, Cole Bennett, and included remarks by Juice WRLD’s girlfriend, Ally.

Headliner A$AP Rocky did not disappoint with his high-energy closeout set. The rapper, who flew in from London earlier in the day, took time to pay tribute not only to Juice WRLD, but to fellow A$AP Mob member, A$AP Yams as well. Pretty Flacko also took the time to thank his fans for getting him to where he is today, and also admonished male crowd members for trampling women in the mosh pit. “Get the girls up! Get off your fucking phone you fucking asshole,” he yelled to cheers of support from the crowd. Rocky collected an impressive number of bras (and a pair of boxers) by the end of his set, assuring fans that at his shows they were guaranteed “to see some titties.”

Rolling Loud is by no means a perfect festival. It lacked organization, leading fans to resort to jumping over barricades or trying to knock down fences (much to the chagrin of security). However, the festival, as always, featured the best in the game and those who are expected to continue on the upward trajectory. Though Rolling Loud may be signing off for 2019, 2020 holds big things in store as the festival plans to expand to Europe.

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Photographed by Ana Martins Eiriksson.