Photo: Getty Images/@HenryHWu & @Nickjustchill for Rolling Loud
Rolling Loud Miami 2022 was the largest event in the Hip-Hop festival's history. With over five stages featuring 40+ artists for three days, fans were bound to be surprised by what some of the artists did during their performances.
Throughout the weekend, July 22 - July 24, there were numerous moments that blew concert goers minds. The first night alone was full of action-packed sets with both dramatic and comical moments. No one is going to forget how Kid Cudi replaced Kanye West as a headliner and bailed midway through his set after fans hurled garbage at him. Nor will they forget how Ye actually did come through to the festival and closed out with Lil Durk.
Despite the calamity of the first night, the rest of the weekend were full of more lighthearted surprises on stage. After rocking a unique style at Rolling Loud Portugal, Lil Uzi Vert stepped it up a notch by debuting a full head of spikes while prominently wearing his newly declared pronouns. He also shocked the crowd by performing songs from his Red & White EP like "Space Cadet" for the first time.
There were plenty other eye-popping moments from Saweetie, City Girls, Moneybagg Yo, Three 6 Mafia and others that shocked fans. Scroll down to catch all of the most shocking moments at Rolling Loud Miami.
Saweetie
During her set on Day 1, Saweetie debuted an unreleased song that will most likely appear on her long-awaited debut album. The "Icy" rapper began by teaching both sides of the unsuspecting crowd at the Ciroc Stage the lyrics from her new song's chorus following testimony about men she's been with who "talk too much." Once they got it down, she went in and performed the track, which she calls "Don't Say Nothin'."
Playboi Carti
Playboi Carti's ominous set on Friday night was one for the ages. The Atlanta rapper brought a row of white vans covered in red graffiti that had phrases like "666" all over it to the Ciroc Stage. Carti rocked black and white paint on his face as he delivered several songs off his latest album Whole Lotta Red while raging on the roofs of the vans. His energetic performance, which was backed by a live band, and the intense mosh pits that formed during each song left first-timers in shock.
Three 6 Mafia
Three 6 Mafia had the GoPuff turnt all the way up on Friday night. The iconic rap group from Memphis shocked real Hip-Hop heads when they brought the entire crew including Crunchy Black, La Chat, Gangsta Boo, Project Pat, and even UGK's Bun B.
Kid Cudi
Kid Cudi was meant to fill in for Kanye West, who pulled out as a headliner days before the festival began. However, once he got on the Ciroc Stage on Friday night, some people in the crowd let him know that they weren't feeling his set. After multiple objects were thrown at him, Cudi issued a warning to fans to stop throwing things or he'd leave. As soon as one fan didn't listen, the Cleveland rapper left the stage and wrapped his set up early. Rolling Loud issued a statement about the disrespect Cudi experienced following his set. What followed after Kid Cudi's set truly shocked the world.
Kanye West
Ye ended up closing out the first night of Rolling Loud Miami after all. During his headlining set at the GoPuff Stage, Lil Durk shocked the masses by bringing out Kanye West to perform their verses off Cardi B's "Hot Sh!t." The Donda rapper hung out for a bit as he performed songs like "Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 1," which ironically features Cudi. That part of the set truly had fans flabbergasted and left them thinking that he may have performed it intentionally.
City Girls
It's the City Girls so fans knew real bad that they were going to put on a show. Their setup at the Ciroc Stage came complete with stripper poles for their dancers to slide down as they performed some of their biggest hits including their new song "Good Love." Towards the end of their set on Saturday, Yung Miami brought out Quavo to perform their song "Strub The Ground" and twerked on him real quick. Her moves had the crowd going wild.
Gucci Mane
Gucci Mane is known for his smooth performances but he definitely spiced things up a bit on Saturday when he surprised the crowd at the Ciroc Stage with 2/3 of the Migos. Quavo and Takeoff pulled up to Gucci's set to performance their joint effort "I Get The Bag." Despite their unscheduled appearance, Gucci's set was reportedly cut short, which caused Quavo to chuck his mic in the air. Nobody saw that one coming.
Ski Mask The Slump God
Ski Mask The Slump God was all in for the ragers to do their thing in the mosh pits. However, he surprisingly took the time to make sure each of his fans were staying safe throughout his set by making the festival staff throw out pouches of water. That's not the only shocking moment of his performance. Midway through, Ski and DJ Scheme brought out Gekyume, the son of the late XXXTentacion, during his tribute to his good friend and the late Juice WRLD. As if that didn't pull at your heartstrings, he also shocked the crowd by bringing out two kids from the Make-A-Wish foundation and performed with them on stage. Ski Mask truly made their dreams come true.
Lil Uzi Vert
The Philly native made their grand entrance at the Ciroc Stage on Saturday and debuted their extended hair spikes with red tips. The shocking hairdo was just one of the surprise moments that happened during their set. After arriving in a heavy jacket and a back bag, they eventually shed both of them off and revealed a t-shirt that said "they/them" not long after they randomly updated their pronouns on Instagram. "You already know, I am them," Lil Uzi Vert declared during their set. They also performed songs from his newly released Red & White EP for the first time.
Future
By Day 2, fans knew that Future was guaranteed to put on an unforgettable show full of his extensive catalog of hits and songs off his new album I NEVER LIKED YOU. Pluto hit the crowd with his first surprises, Lil Durk and Real Boston Richey. Yet, fans weren't prepared for the headliner's next surprise act, Travis Scott. The Atlanta rapper stunned the entire festival by bringing out the Cactus Jack founder to perform their song with Southside "Hold That Heat." Scott even stuck around to perform his other hits "goosebumps," "Antidote" and more.
Kodak Black
Kodak Black served up plenty of his hits during his set on the final day of Rolling Loud. After performing bangers like "No Flocking," "Roll In Peace" and "Super Gremlin," 'Yak took some time out to bring his artist Lil Crix out to perform and closed with a real surprise. Kodak brought out King Combs to perform their new song "Can't Stop Won't Stop" produced by Rippa On The Beat. In an offstage moment, he also stunned the masses by shooting his shot at Brittany Renner during an interview on Rolling Loud's livestream. It wouldn't be his last surprise of the night though.
Lil Baby
Lil Baby followed up right after Kodak with an amazing set of his own. Fans couldn't get enough of his live renditions of "We Paid," "Wants & Needs," "Yes Indeed" and his recent banger "In a Minute." He shocked the crowd by bringing out Rob49, but it was what happened before he got on stage that had people and Baby himself in awe. As he was approaching the stage, NBA player James Harden was right there waiting for him to go on.
Moneybagg Yo
Moneybagg Yo is no stranger to Rolling Loud Miami so fans knew to expect nothing but the best from the Memphis rapper. After performing bangers like "Say Sum'n" and "Time Today," the CMG rapper shocked the crowd by bringing out his newest label mate GloRilla to perform her viral hit "FNF (Let's Go)." It was her first time performing at Rolling Loud and the fans couldn't get enough of her.
Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick Lamar closed out Rolling Loud Miami by giving fans the festival version of his Big Steppers Tour. After performing a mixture of his classics and new songs off Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, K Dot gave the crowd a major surprise by bringing out Kodak Black to perform their song "Silent Hill" together for the first time. It was a major moment for both artists, who clearly have great chemistry in the studio since Kodak narrated some of Lamar's new album. Later on, the Compton native brought out his cousin Baby Keem as the final surprise of the weekend to perform "family ties."