Outside of Los Angeles’ Hollywood Park Grounds on March 15, 2025, hordes of colorfully-dressed teenagers and young adults ran, walked and danced to pass under the hot pink gateway titled “Rolling Loud California 2025.” That weekend, the hip-hop festival boasted a lineup of fresh-faced musicians from the West Coast and across the country.
Smaller artists took center stage
JayDon was among the lineup that sunny Saturday. The “Simba” actor-turned musician told The Daily Aztec that he’s most looking forward to the energy onstage.
“Woo I’m feeling good, it’s my first Rolling Loud, my first festival. It’s way different being backstage. I’ve never even been to a festival before,” the 17-year-old said.
The festival featured a number of younger names and early career performers, from 21-year-old Osamason to 17-year-old Nettspend.
“It’s cool to be back. I love the energy here and I’m grateful to be playing new music, the Rolling Loud crowd don’t disappoint,” 25-year-old rapper DC the Don said.
The Wisconsin-born alternative rapper whipped the crowd into a frenzy on Sunday with his rock-rap lyricism and seemingly never-ending energy. As he leaped to unreleased music, the crowd soared with him.
The opportunity for the largely young and eager rap names was a refreshing move for the festival, bringing new favorites to fans flocking for headlining names.
LA native 310babii, who told the Daily Aztec last year that he hoped to return to the festival, was back on the main stage with a crowd twice the size. Comparing this year’s performance to last, 310babii possessed the same spirit with a stronger confidence and bigger stage presence.
“Last year, I was on a little stage, and this year, I’m on the big stage,” the 19-year-old said. “I need y’all to turn up!”
Returners made a statement
YG took “starting off with a bang” literally—opening with a shootout on stage, the iconic West Coast rapper immediately caught the attention of his audience on Saturday night. The crowd stood in dead silence as a woman leaned over her fallen partner onstage and YG emerged in a passionate slam-poem-like narration, preaching the dangers of gang violence.
“Eighteen, young and gunning like an old western,” the Compton rapper began. “Bridges being burned, women being burned by men… After all that, what? It’s a cycle.”
Having been raised around Compton’s gang life, YG’s words rang with authenticity. With decades of experience and an effortless flow, YG rapped every lyric to classics like “Twist Ma Fingaz” and “F-ck it Up.”
Political commentary was also at the forefront of his show, with actors dressed as police officers violently “arresting” him mid-set, and the cherry on top— a Trump impersonator.
“I gotta say, you know, I love Los Angeles. So many ‘illegals,’ you know who you are,” the impersonator said. “We’re gonna build a beautiful wall out of gold.”
It’s easy to guess what YG song came next: F-ck Donald Trump.
Florida rapper Ski Mask the Slump God took the GoPuff stage an hour late but made up for it with a high-energy performance. Known for his catchphrase “water,” he had the crowd chanting along throughout his set. With calls to “open it up” and guest appearances from Danny Towers, Ski Mask brought the rage to LA, kicking off the first mosh pits at the main stage.
Ski Mask also paid tribute to his late friends, XXXTentacion and Juice WRLD, performing their songs and getting the audience to sing along to “Jocelyn Flowers” and “SAD!” as he said he does in every performance. He ended the set with “Look at Me,” a bass-heavy Soundcloud era hit that got the crowd jumping on a massive scale.
In her second ever appearance at Rolling Loud, Sexyy Red’s show took a new turn with a unique setlist displaying her brash and explicit lyricism. The “hood’s hottest princess” rapped, danced and sang in an interactive show, her signature long red hair cut into a bob. While the show reveled in an 03Greedo appearance and her party-focused hits, the St. Louis rapper shared some genuine moments between songs.
“I’ll be real with y’all, this the song that got me out the trenches,” said Red before performing her breakout hit “Pound Town.”
With crowd interaction and a contagious energy, Sexyy Red’s performance reminded fans why she became a star in the first place: she’s unapologetic, funny, and not afraid to dance.
The headliners pulled out all the stops, from helicopters to The Weeknd
After the sun went down, fans geared up for the first ever Latin act to headline Rolling Loud.
“Peso, Peso, Peso,” the crowd chanted.
The lights went down to a Black Sabbath song, a hint at Pluma’s rockstar quality and genre bending performance. Among dramatic voiceover narrations about overcoming struggle and ‘emerging from the shadows,’ Peso Pluma tirelessly delivered one of the most thrilling shows of the evening.
Nothing short of a firecracker, the Jalisco born musician constantly yelled to his crowd, displaying his Mexican pride in flag imagery and moving his body in fast rhythm to the music. The regional style he’s known for was amplified with a live band, complete with trumpet players, guitarists, and a lively violin. While his music was rooted in Mexican tradition, his voice and movement dipped into reggaeton territory, which proved explosive. Effortlessly moving from corridos to reggaeton to hip hop to back again, genres did not hold Pluma back.
For his first Rolling Loud performance, Peso Pluma weaved political messages, national pride and a tribute to live instrumentals, setting a high standard for A$AP Rocky’s following act.
An hour passed and fans began to boo the empty stage. When he could not possibly be any later, the lights opened up for A$AP Rocky’s performance and the crowd began to thrash. A thundering noise echoed through the speakers, yet Rocky was nowhere onstage. It was only when fans looked up that they found him, soaring high above in a suspended helicopter.
Jaws dropped and fans screamed in disbelief as they craned their necks to watch him perform new song “All Black (Stole Ya Flow),” an unreleased track, and “A$AP Forever” dangling high above.
A$AP matched the hype of his upcoming new album “DON’T BE DUMB” and innocent ruling in his court case with the dramatic entrance. Below, on the stage itself, dancers in police riot gear filed onto a multilevel stage reminiscent of jail cells.
After the first couple of songs, fans watched in awe as Rocky descended down to the stage on a cable, the slow dramatic buildup leading immediately into a performance of “GRIM Freestyle”, a previously unreleased snippet set from “DON’T BE DUMB.”
He also took the time to express the elephant in the room and a major inspiration for many of his concert aesthetics, his recent trial.
“As a lot of us already might know, it was real hectic for me recently,” he said. “It got real sticky real quick, you know what I’m saying? I just can’t believe that I’m really in front of y’all right now doing what I love to do. I love y’all so much is what I wanna say.”
He premiered another never before performed song “STOP SNITCHING” and then some of his biggest hits including “Praise the Lord”. The performances were filled with riot and protest imagery, with American flags, cars, fires, and high energy from onstage dancers, as well as a tender dedication to immigrants and his late friend A$AP Yams.
Despite the wait, the performance didn’t disappoint and left fans buzzing with excitement for day two.
“No one was expecting that. I understand why he was late now,” said student and festival attendee Anaya Young.
Day two brought Opium founder and Atlanta trap superstar Playboi Carti. His highly anticipated performance was preluded by artists Destroy Lonely and Ken Carson, which got the audience hype for Carti’s performance.
Fresh off of a heavily delayed album drop and an announcement of him being the first rapper to have 30 songs on the Hot 100 at once, the elusive artist took the stage around an hour late before immediately jumping into a set of over 30 songs.
With over an hour and a half of performing, Carti proved his appearance and the album were worth the wait. Fans were treated to some first time performances of songs off his new album as well as unexpected Carti classics like “Location” and “Sky”. He matched the Opium fans desire to rage with nonstop calls for the crowd to open up pits and let him know they knew the music
The crowd’s energy surged, creating massive mosh pits and constant movement. At one point, the intensity forced a temporary halt while organizers and fire marshals worked to restore order. Streamer Kai Cenat and festival organizer Tariq Cherif stepped in to calm the crowd, assuring them the show wouldn’t be cut short from curfew laws.
The concert resumed with Carti performing more songs from I AM MUSIC. The show also had plenty of surprises, with R&B superstar The Weeknd making an appearance to perform “Rather Lie” off of the album and their hit “TIMELESS.”
Carti ended the concert with a performance of the song “Long Time”, the intro to his 2018 album “Die Lit”. “Die Lit” was the first album to bring Carti mainstream success. To perform it in front of a crowd of thousands clamoring to hear Carti while he has the number 1 album on the charts, it truly felt like a full circle moment
The artist started to get visually emotional as the crowd sang along to the lyrics “I ain’t felt like this in a long time. I ain’t had sh*t in a long time.”
The performance was impossible to look away from while watching, marking an unforgettable way to close out the weekend.
Babushkas to “Opium” attire: The festival fashion did not disappoint
One of the best parts of Rolling Loud is the community, with hip-hop fans coming together to celebrate their favorite artists, dance, and roll loud.
The festival partnered with brands like Zig Zag, Backwoods and Stiizy to create a 420-friendly vibe, combined with festival outfits and non-stop music that gave it a block party feel.
Saturday saw vibrant, eclectic styles, blending typical festival wear with Hip Hop street fashion—baggy jeans, fresh sneakers, bandanas, basketball jerseys, and caps, with fans mimicking their favorite artists. Flashy designer chains and grills added a personal touch.
Sunday, however, was dominated by black attire as Opium fans took over. The style was a modern mix of gothic, streetwear, and punk—metal spikes, chains, fishnets, platform boots and Rick Owens. Some extreme fans even painted their faces white, nodding to Playboi Carti’s iconic look.
Underneath the edgy fashion, the passion for the music was clear, with fans expressing deep love for their favorite artists.
“I came for my money’s worth and to support my Mexicans,” L.A. native and frequent festival attendee Anthony Cejas commented.
When asked if there was anything he would change, he said simply performer punctuality.
“Making sure artists come out on time,” Cejas said. “That is one problem even from last year.”
Overall, Rolling Loud was an unforgettable weekend that brought Hip Hop fans together to celebrate a unique period of explosive new music.
