So it shouldn't come as a surprise that the organizers are looking to diversify things a bit, looking beyond hip-hop to a massive hardcore band, a UK pop starlet, and a few acts that haven't been in the mix for a while. Below, New Times looks at some of the most unexpected acts on Rolling Loud's 2023 lineup.
BabyTron
As hip-hop continues to search for new creative vitality, plenty of rappers have tried to attract attention in a crowded field by employing what might be called gimmicks. Future famously employed Auto-Tune to set himself apart, and more recently, 645AR burst onto the scene with a squeaky falsetto while Teejayx6 took on a hacker persona and a rap style that relied on individually recorded bars. BabyTron is the latest rap sensation to resort to gimmickry, and his is a real doozy: rapping over dozens of different beats on the same song. For instance, his track "Emperor of the Universe" features stitched-in production from songs by OutKast, Usher, Playboi Carti, and Waka Flocka Flame. And aside from that, he's just, well, kind of a frickin' weirdo. He's certainly got the following worthy of a Rolling Loud artist with millions of YouTube views, but Babytron is definitely one of the more unique artists playing this year's fest.
PinkPantheress
She may have a massive hit with Ice Spice in "Boy's a Liar Pt. 2," but PinkPantheress is a huge outlier to the rest of the lineup. Her debut EP To Hell With It, caused a sensation in her home country of the UK with its pop-informed takes on jungle and UK garage, inspiring covers from the likes of Coldplay, and since then, she's catapulted to international stardom and collabbed with Skrillex, Central Cee, and Goldlink. She's even got a track on the Barbie movie soundtrack. So while her music doesn't exactly fit Rolling Loud's hard rap image, her star factor alone will make her set unmissable.
Sheck Wes
After delivering one of the most explosive debut albums of the last five years on Mudboy, achieving a hit single in "Mo Bamba," modeling for Yeezy Season 3 at Madison Square Garden, and opening for Travis Scott on the epochal Astroworld Tour, Sheck Wes basically disappeared. Beginning in 2019, the rapper was accused by multiple women of alleged abuse, stalking, and other hostile behaviors, and despite a promising start, his rap career stalled due to public scrutiny. Perhaps inspired by Bamba, the NBA player and childhood friend who inspired his hit single, Wes decided to take a break from music and embark on a basketball career of his own. He entered the 2020 NBA Draft, and after going undrafted, he signed for the French team Paris Basketball, helping them to win promotion to the national league's first division during the 2020-21 season. He's recently teased new music and remains signed to both G.O.O.D. Music and Scott's Cactus Jack label, so Rolling Loud could be a chance for him to get things going again despite a checkered past.
Travis Scott
Travis Scott is one of the biggest rappers in the known universe. His most recent stadium tour was an enormous success, and he's preparing to release a new album soon. By all accounts, it makes perfect sense for him to be headlining hip-hop's biggest festival. The only thing standing in his way is that the last festival he headlined did not go well at all. Ten people died, 25 were hospitalized, and more than 300 were injured due to a crowd crush during Scott's performance at his own Astroworld festival. As of last week, Scott was cleared of criminal responsibility for the tragedy, but lawsuits against him and promoter Live Nation, which owns and operates Ticketmaster, are still in progress. Rolling Loud itself has made changes to its safety and security policies in the wake of Astroworld, and while Scott is entitled to make a living through live performance, being at the center of Gen-Z's Altamont is likely to follow him for the rest of his career.
Turnstile
How the hell did a hardcore band end up on Rolling Loud's lineup? When you think about it, however, it actually makes a lot of sense: Rap has been trending towards harder and heavier sounds for years, in part thanks to South Florida artists like XXXTentacion and Ski Mask the Slump God and punk practices such as moshing have become common at rap concerts. Turnstile has earned fans in high places within hip-hop, playing $uicideboy$' Grey Day tour in 2021 alongside Chief Keef and Slowthai, and its inclusion as the only band on the festival's lineup represents Rolling Loud's acknowledgment of a cultural shift. With Gen Z looking beyond hip-hop and back to the nu-metal era of the late '90s and early 2000s, it makes sense that promoters would want to book the biggest rock band of the moment. And that's precisely what Turnstile is. Songs from its album Glow On have gotten Grammy nominations and Taco Bell commercial placements, and the band recently toured with Blink-182.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.
