Rolling Loud NY recap & pics: Kanye, Nicki Minaj, A$AP Rocky & GloRilla, Ice Spice & Fivio Foreign, more

Lis Sinatra

Rolling Loud NYC went down this weekend at Citi Field, and man, a lot happened. On Friday, Nicki Minaj headlined, bringing out Fivio Foreign for "We Go Up," BIA for "Whole Lotta Money," Lil Uzi Vert for "The Way Life Goes" (he also joined Chief Keef and played his own set), and G Herbo for "Chi-Raq." Meanwhile, Playboi Carti brought out Kanye West (aka Ye) to perform "Off The Grid." Fivio Foreign, G Herbo, and BIA also played their own sets, with Fivio bringing out Ice Spice. Ice was criticized on Twitter for her lack of stage experience, with reality TV star Masika Kalysha tweeting “I’m not a hater I want everyone to win I really do… soooooo can someone please get ice spice some stage presence coaching & breath control training please.” Ice responded coolly, "she [fries emoji]'d".

On Saturday, A$AP Rocky brought out GloRilla to play her viral hit "FNF (Let's Go)," as well as French Montana, during his headlining set, but apologized for how short the set was. He arrived late and only performed 9 songs, later posting on Instagram "Last night was supposed to be a turning point in my live shows... I was unfortunately not able to bring my vision to fruition." Shortly before performing, Rocky took to Instagram to announce that Rolling Loud would be his last live performance until his next album drops--and the anticipation is already building. Rocky's partner Rihanna was also in attendance for his set, just a day before she was announced as the headliner of the next Super Bowl halftime show. Also on Saturday, Don Toliver brought out Kali Uchis and GloRilla played a set of her own.

The festival ended abruptly on Sunday night, with severe thunderstorms shutting it down. The fest called for evacuation around 9:45 PM. The rain didn't kill all the performances, though--Offset was a surprise guest during Future's set and performed "Bad and Boujee" while it poured, to fans' delight. Fat Joe went out before the rain and paid tribute to Biggie, 2Pac, and Big Pun before bringing out Remy Ma as a special guest. Curren$y played with a backing band and paid tribute to Mac Miller and Young Dolph. 21 Savage was scheduled to perform on the main stage but, after arriving a half hour late, tweeted cryptically, "Rolling loud will never get a show out of me ever again."

Savage wasn't the only rapper frustrated by the fest: Rolling Loud pulled the sets of drill rappers Sha Ek, 22Gz, and Ron Suno, all of whom are New York natives. The decision was made only a couple days before the festival began, with no official statements given by the NYPD or mayor Eric Adams--who were responsible for the call. The mayor has taken issue with drill before, claiming the music can incite violence. 22Gz responded to his cancellation via Instagram, writing, “Rolling Loud police too. Pay attention. They part of the blackball.” The Brooklyn native was also scheduled and axed at Rolling Loud NY in 2019 alongside Pop Smoke and others, but did perform at the festival in 2021.

Other notable absences included Ski Mask The Slump God and Big Sean, while others who did play included Pusha T, Danny Brown, Benny the Butcher, Westside Gunn, Conway the Machine, Armani Caesar, Boldy James & The Alchemist, Shenseea, Lakeyah, KALI, Bktherula, City Morgue, Monaleo, BabyTron, Skillibeng, Symba, Yung Kayo, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, DeJ Loaf, and more. Check out pictures by Rolling Loud photographers Alyssa Pascucci, Amanda Belawski, Ashton Bosse, Chris Allmeid, Henry Hwu, Izzy Nuzzo, James Baxter, @jive, Kadeem Cobham, Leanne Leuterio, Marcus McDonald, Mickey Pierre-Louis, Oliver Covrett, Sebastian Rodriguez, and tons of videos below.

Up next for Rolling Loud is California from March 3-5, 2023 and Miami from July 21-23, 2023.