ROLLING LOUD BRINGS THE THUNDER—AND A FEW SURPRISES

Rolling Loud California descended on Hollywood Park Grounds in Inglewood over the weekend with headliners Playboi Carti, Future, Travis Scott and special guest Lil Wayne. Founded by Tariq Cherif and Matt Zingler, the annual festival is in its eighth year and has been growing steadily.

Day One of the 2023 iteration saw the likes of Kodak Black, Tyga, Trippie Redd and Saweetie warm up the crowd ahead of Carti's explosive set. Three songs in, the show was stopped for 30 minutes after an overzealous fan hopped the barricade. Once it resumed, the remainder of Carti's performance went smoothly.

Day Two was peppered with surprise guests, including Nicki Minaj, who joined fellow Young Money act Lil Wayne for their 2015 collaborative single "Truffle Butter" and their song "High School." 2 Chainz popped up to join Weezy for a performance of the Playaz Circle record "Duffle Bag Boy." Don Toliver, meanwhile, wowed the audience by welcoming Kali Uchis, Justin Bieber and James Blake, who joined him to perform songs off his latest album, Love Sick.

By the time Scott took the stage, the clock was ticking toward the 11pm curfew; the sound was cut off in the middle of "Sicko Mode" and he was forced to end his set early. He wrapped up the song and did a few bars from "Goosebumps" before making his exit.

Rolling Loud California's third and final day boasted performances by such artists as Lil Uzi Vert, Polo G, 10K Projects' Ice Spice and Freebandz/Epic’s Future, who closed with a career-spanning set.

Since Rolling Loud's humble Miami beginnings, Cherif and Zingler have turned it into a truly international play, with multiday events in Australia, Portugal, Canada, Thailand, The Netherlands and Germany.

The traveling show resumes 7/21 at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. By the way, does anyone know what a "Munch" is?