It should be stated upfront that this list will intentionally avoid headliners and special guests. Yes, you would be stupid to miss whatever Travis Scott has cooking ahead of his Utopia album drop or Lil Uzi Vert's first big performance post-Pink Tape (Will he bring out surprise album guests Babymetal?!). But with such a massive lineup, we'd be doing you a disservice by spotlighting all the biggest of the big names. Check out our picks below.
Barely Legal
They're not exactly locals, but we've gotta give some attention to fellow Floridians here, and Tampa-based collective Barely Legal is the most exciting act at Rolling Loud from the state. Hailing from the same scene as They Hate Change and Big Baby Scumbag, the group features four musicians – Kid Dre, Miguel Morales, Chowder Band$, and JØ – with digital media and management providing support. Rapping over gritty trap production with Morales singing in Spanish, Barely Legal has adopted a style and vibe reminiscent of groups such as Brockhampton. Get ready to experience their intense energy when they take the stage on Saturday. Central Cee
America has long had a hard time taking UK rap seriously for no better reason than we can't deal with their funny accents. But with grime stars like Skepta and Stormzy making inroads into the U.S. in the last decade, and New York rappers like Pop Smoke appropriating the UK drill style, there's room for a new generation of artists from across the pond. Central Cee is the latest talent to break out of Britain thanks to a collab with hip-hop tastemakers Lyrical Lemonade (the brand's first with a UK artist) and a lighter take on the frequently-grim drill sound. His lyrics are...not exactly enlightened (his hit song "Doja" opens with the line, "How can I be homophobic?/My bitch is gay"), but he's still an artist to watch, with a mixed-race background and a childhood in the heart of West London spent absorbing reggae and dancehall culture at Notting Hill Carnival. He plays on Sunday. Duke Deuce
Southern rap is a spectrum. The screwed-up sound of Houston, the hyped-up crunk and world-conquering trap of Atlanta, and the raw, mechanical Memphis sound — all of these have had an enormous influence on the genre. Plenty of rappers hark back to the early-2000s heyday of acts like Three 6 Mafia, but Memphis-bred Duke Deuce may be one of the most adept at synthesizing these disparate sounds. Signed to influential Atlanta label Quality Control, he burst onto the scene with the absolutely heroic banger "Crunk Ain't Dead" in 2019, earning a remix with crunk legend Lil Jon and Juicy J and Project Pat of Three 6. His recent projects, such as Memphis Massacre III, have seen him lean into his hometown sound, with intense, skeletal beats on songs like "Buck The System." If you like your rap Southern fried — and you do — this is the set to see. Duke plays Rolling Loud on Sunday. Fivio Foreign
Raised in the Black and Caribbean enclave of East Flatbush, Brooklyn, Fivio Foreign is something of a survivor. The rapper lived on the streets after his mother died, and several of his compatriots in the New York drill scene, including Pop Smoke and King Von, died due to gang activity. With an aggressive sound on tracks like "Drillin" and "One Night," he can be seen as the inheritor of a tradition of gritty New York street rap that includes Nas, Mobb Deep, and Bobby Schmurda, and he's been rewarded for it, with a spot in the 2020 XXL Freshman Class, and collaborations with Drake, Lil Tjay, and Kanye West. His Rolling Loud set takes place on Sunday. Freddie Gibbs
By staying away from trends and forging his unique voice, Gary, Indiana, native Freddie Gibbs has earned a reputation as an elder statesman of alternative hip-hop rivaled by the likes of Danny Brown and the late MF Doom. It was his collab with Madlib, the producer behind Doom's most famous project, Madvillainy, that really put him on the map back in 2014. Today the MadGibbs project Piñata and its 2019 follow-up Bandana are considered among the best producer-rapper collaborations in hip-hop, full of creative samples and impressive beats that match Gibbs' distinctive deep voice and gritty raps. He's gained further success with other collabs, earning an unlikely Grammy nomination with the Alchemist for their record Alfredo. His set is on Sunday. GloRilla
She's a 2023 XXL Freshman and a major figure in the current wave of female-driven hip-hop, but GloRilla's most important contribution to the culture thus far may be the hook on her Grammy-nominated hit with HitKidd, "F.N.F. (Let's Go)." The Memphis-raised rapper exuberantly celebrates romantic solitude by declaring, "I'm F-R-E-E fuck nigga free/That mean I ain't gotta worry 'bout no fuck nigga cheatin'/And I'm S-I-N-G-L-E again/Outside hanging out the window with my ratchet-ass friends." It may be the most powerful statement of feminine power and independence since Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion's "W.A.P.," which Cardi all but confirmed by featuring on GloRilla's follow-up single "Tomorrow." GloRilla takes the stage at Rolling Loud on Saturday. Ice Spice
When Elvis Costello wrote "This Year's Girl," he probably didn't imagine it might apply to someone like Ice Spice. The Bronx native has been everywhere lately. She rocketed to stardom thanks to a populist image and an approachable sound blending New York Drill with a husky voice reminiscent of Young M.A and slang-infused raps on songs like "Munch" and "Smoochy." Fans have dubbed her "The People's Princess," and she ran with it by releasing a song called "Princess Diana." She's the rap sensation of the moment and a crucial glimmer of femininity and fun in a very macho genre. Don't miss this set — you need to Spice up your life. Her set is on Friday. Lil Yachty
Yachty has had one of the most unlikely career resurgences of 2023. Nobody would have guessed the teen rap sensation behind "One Night" and "Minnesota" would have re-emerged after a string of mediocre projects, but never say never. With his viral hit "Poland" last year, he returned to form with a new psychedelic rock sound on Let's Start Here (which also has bad AI-generated cover art, but let's ignore that for now). It was just the refresh the Atlanta rapper needed, and footage from festival sets has seen him energized and hyped up. Expect much the same as he hits Rolling Loud on Saturday. Turnstile
Turnstile made our list of the most unexpected act at Rolling Loud for one big reason: It's the only band on the lineup, let alone the only hardcore band. We're including them here because, aside from this being the only time they'll be in South Florida this year outside of a Blink-182 opening set, they're one of the most exciting, crucial acts in heavy music right now, and regardless of whether you're a hardcore head or have even heard their hit album Glow On, they're bound to tear down the house at Rolling Loud. If you missed the punk veterans at one of the half-dozen shows they've played over the years at venues like Gramps and Churchill's Pub (RIP), there's never been a better time or place to learn what they're all about. Their set's on Sunday. Young Nudy
Atlanta's rap scene may be in crisis due to the YSL RICO case that has left Young Thug behind bars and Gunna ostracized for taking a plea deal. Thanks to rappers like Young Nudy, however, there's still some interesting stuff to be heard from the ATL. His 2023 album, Gumbo, is his best-performing project since the 2019 Pi'erre Bourne collab tape, Sli'merre, featuring the unreleased "Pissy Pamper" featuring Playboi Carti, which became a viral hit after it leaked under the name "Kid Cudi." While that now-legendary track remains hard to follow, "Peaches & Eggplants" featuring Nudy's cousin 21 Savage comes close with its minimal production, energetic rapping, and constantly switching flows. Nudy performs at Rolling Loud on Saturday. Rolling Loud. 4 p.m. Friday, July 21, through Sunday, July 23, at Hard Rock Stadium, 347 Don Shula Dr., Miami Gardens; rollingloud.com. Tickets cost $199 to $1,049 via rollingloud.frontgatetickets.com.
