Rolling Loud California
The biggest hip-hop festival in California returned for another year following its successful 2023 run, which headlined some of Los Angeles’s top artists. The weekend festival in Inglewood began March 15 at SoFi Stadium. This year's Rolling Loud headliners were Nicki Minaj, Post Malone, and Future x Metro Boomin. Not all was good, however, as two of the three Latino artists, Junior H and Natanael Cano, were canceled by Rolling Loud just four days before the festival began.
Rolling Loud released a statement on their Instagram in response to the outrage that read, “Natanael Cano did not obtain the necessary work permits or visas to enable him to perform at the festival. Junior H will not be performing due to several breaches of contract, including the festival’s radius terms.”
Jimmy Humilde, owner and CEO of the record label for Junior and Cano, claimed in an Instagram post that Rolling Loud was “racist” and believed his artists were used as a ploy to sell tickets.
Rolling Loud organizers allowed fans who desired to see the remaining Mexican American artist, Fuerza Regida, switch their Friday and Sunday single-day passes to Saturday. Unfortunately, on the day of their performance, Fuerza Regida canceled their slot and was then replaced by rapper OhGeesy.
Fuerza Regida posted on an Instagram story on the Saturday they were to perform, March 16, saying, “Angelino, we apologize for not being able to present today at Rolling Loud. We had a personal emergency come up that doesn’t allow us to do the show.” Fuerza Regida also expressed that the cancellation was on them and not Rolling Loud, who left open arms for them in the future.
Minaj, who is currently on her Pink Friday 2 World Tour, headlined the first day, calling it her “#GagCITY show on steroids” on X, formerly known as Twitter.
People with a three-day festival pass were able to attend the newly added fourth day performed by TY Dolla $ign and Kanye West as “¥$” on Thursday. TY Dolla $ign was originally scheduled to perform in a slot during Saturday’s event.
Rolling Loud also included various events around the lot, including arcade rides, basketball pick-up games, 3-on-3 basketball pick-up games, and a skate show.
Many first-time goers called Rolling Loud “lit” and “wild.” When asked about their favorite part of the festival, Andrew Gonzalez and Leoncio Gonzalez responded that the crowd's “vibe” was one of the biggest factors in their enjoyment.
Rolling Loud will return to Southern California in 2025, beginning on March 14 and concluding on March 16. The lineup has yet to be announced.
