Rolling Loud NYC boasts surprise cameos, delayed sets, and torrential downpours

New York, New York - The Rolling Loud music festival hit the Big Apple over the weekend for a three-night event that brought the biggest names in hip-hop together.

Don Toliver performs at Citi Field during Rolling Loud New York 2022 on Sunday.
Don Toliver performs at Citi Field during Rolling Loud New York 2022 on Sunday.  © Arturo Holmes / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

Rolling Loud has easily become the best annual music experience for hip-hop fans over the last few years, successfully bringing together the biggest names in the game alongside rising and arguably underrated talent.

The festival hit Citi Field in Queens over the weekend, and as it manages to do every year, it delivered an experience like no other. The event was full of surprises, guest appearances, and even a bit of controversy.

If you weren't able to make it this year, TAG24 has you covered with a roundup of some of the best highlights from the weekend.

Day 1: Nicki Minaj goes viral after making it a night to remember

Rolling Loud music festival started off with an amazing lineup, and a headlining set from Nicki Minaj.
Rolling Loud music festival started off with an amazing lineup, and a headlining set from Nicki Minaj.  © Arturo Holmes / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

Friday's lineup perfectly kicked off the event with excellent sets from Moneybagg Yo, Chief Keef, Yung Lean, and many others.

In a wild turn of events, notable New York drill rappers Sha EK, 22Gz, and Ron Suno were axed from the lineup at the request of the city's mayor Eric Adams and the NYPD, who believed there was a potential for violence.

But the show carried on, even having the return of DaBaby who came under fire last year for making homophobic statements on stage during his Rolling Loud Miami set.

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The incident caused him to miss out on other shows and festivals. But it seems things are good with RL again as the rapper performed some tracks from his new record BOB2.

Playboi Carti, who was a late addition to the lineup, performed and brought out Kanye West, which surprised everyone.

But the night was stolen by headliner Nicki Minaj who put on a set like no other, bringing a handful of friends to the stage including Lil Uzi Vert and Fivio Foreign, who also performed earlier that day.

A clip of a fan trying to get a handful of Nicki's wig while she was performing also went viral.

Day 2: A$AP Rocky shows up late to the party

A$AP Rocky put on an energetic, albeit short, set as Saturday night's headliner.
A$AP Rocky put on an energetic, albeit short, set as Saturday night's headliner.  © Arturo Holmes / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

Saturday featured performances from many heavy hitters such as Lil Baby, Busta Rhymes, Don Toliver, Joyner Lucas, and others.

The night was headlined by none other than A$AP Rocky, who unfortunately had some trouble making it to the stage.

He reportedly started his set almost an hour late, and only managed to play two songs, bringing out GloRilla and French Montana, before the set was cut short.

The rapper also jumped into the audience to do some crowd-surfing, which seemed to go horribly wrong. A viral clip of the incident has been shared all over social media, with A$AP looking distressed as fans claw at him relentlessly.

A$AP Rocky later apologized to all of his fans, taking "full responsibility for the circumstances of what led to last night's show being everything it was and everything it wasn't."


Day 3: Future perfectly closes Rolling Loud with the help of Offset and heavy rain

Future perfectly closed out the three-day festival with his headlining spot on Sunday.
Future perfectly closed out the three-day festival with his headlining spot on Sunday.  © Arturo Holmes / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

Sunday was the festival's closing day, which turned out to be well worth the wait. Even heavy rain couldn't stop the energy at the world's biggest hip-hop music fest.

The night was headlined by performers like 21 Savage, Big Sean, Pusha T, Fat Joe, and a ton more.

To no surprise, Future handled his headlining spot flawlessly – just as he has done in years past. The rapper even brought Offset out, whose time on stage was met with a torrential downpour.

Yet, the rapper carried on with the performance. Rolling Loud even shared a clip of Offset jumping around and having the time of his life on stage as he and the audience raged amid the heavy rainfall.

At one point, the weather got so bad that the festival issued a safety alert on social media, instructing attendees to evacuate the venue.

Next, Rolling Loud will head to Los Angeles for three days of hip hop glory in March 2023.

Cover photo: Collage: Arturo Holmes / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

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