Noise

Despite some growing pains, Day N Vegas delivers quality hip-hop to the Strip

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Young Thug performs during his set on day three of the Day N Vegas 2019 music festival at the Las Vegas Festival Grounds Sunday, Nov. 3, 2019. YASMINA CHAVEZ
Photo: Yasmina Chavez
Zoneil Maharaj

Day N Vegas’ surprise June reveal seemed too good to be true, and in some ways it turned out it was.

The three-day Las Vegas Strip hip-hop fest featured many of the genre’s biggest names—from headliners J. Cole, Future, and Kendrick Lamar to sizzling hot acts like Tyler the Creator, Megan Thee Stallion and DaBaby. Event producer Goldenvoice, which most famously produces Coachella, spared no expense securing the ridiculously stacked lineup. It seemed like they didn’t save enough dollars for everything else involved, however.

Day N Vegas 2019 Music Festival

The simplicity of Day N Vegas' Las Vegas Festival Grounds layout was admirable: three stages a short walk apart—one with a platform and revolving wall for seamless transitions—and a lot of open space for the 60,000 who attended over the weekend. It kept the focus on what we were all there for, the music. But a few issues were hard to ignore.

Cardboard trash bins overflowed. A general lack of lighting made it too easy to trip over rigging, people laying down and poorly laid turf as the day turned to night. A pair of giant, silver-and-gold-colored dice in the middle of the festival grounds looked more like poorly spray-painted utility boxes than installations. And the generic food offerings (corn dogs, curly fries, funnel cakes and turkey legs) felt more parking lot carnival than 2019 Las Vegas strip festival.

To be fair, Goldenvoice never promised a Coachella-sized production, and mostly young, sold-out crowd seemed largely unbothered. What Day N Vegas lacked in amenities it made up for in star power.

Despite last-minute cancellations—original Saturday headliner Travis Scott pulled out a day before the fest, and “Old Town Road” singer Lil Nas X, self-proclaimed “King of R&B” YK Osiris and Chicano singer-songwriter Cuco also didn’t perform—Day N Vegas delivered what it promised: a barrage of hip-hop and R&B talent crammed into three stacked, 12-hour days.

A majority of the sets were brief, ranging from 10 to 30 minutes, with hour-long sets for headliners and other top-tier acts. At times it felt like speed-dating, giving the crowd just enough to get a feel for an artist and discern which had the most potential for their playlists.

Saturday was the biggest day for discovery. Dozens of buzzing young acts were on the bill, a majority of whom rapped over their own vocals in what’s become a growing (and disappointing) trend among newer acts.

Rico Nasty, a 22-year-old firestarter from the DMV, was one of the standouts. Her brash bangers boomed as she playfully jumped around on the Roll the Dice stage in a bucket hat, bikini top and arm warmers. Like most of the performers, she commanded the crowd to “open up the moshpit” before launching into “Counting Up,” a modern flip of Noreaga’s 1998 hit “Superthug.” She later told the crowd, “If you’re standing next to a bad bitch, put her on your shoulders,” before delivering “Poppin’” and ending with aggressive anthem “Smack a Bitch.”

Day 2 also doubled as an Atlanta showcase. On the smaller, stripped-down Hunnid stage, Young Nudy spit a capella verses of his gritty East Atlanta street tales before disappearing in a cloud of smoke. Later in the evening, Nudy’s popular cousin, 21 Savage, performed a sinister set, kicking off his performance on the massive Jackpot stage with a documentary-style video of news clips of his infamous ICE arrest spliced with scenes from his Atlanta neighborhood. One of the few artists with a custom stage design, he performed street hits “Red Opps” and “Break Da Law” on an elevated platform as skulls and crosses flashed on the screen.

The ATL’s flashiest trio, Migos, would later lighten the mood and turn the night into an all-out party, cramming as many hits as possible—from “Hannah Montana” to “Narcos”—into a 40-minute set, as fans shouted back the group’s infamous ad-libs of “skrrt!” and “Mama!”

The final day was a West Coast party. Top Dog Entertainment rolled deep with Kendrick Lamar, Schoolboy Q, Jay Rock, Ab Soul, Isaiah Rashad, Reason and Zacari all scheduled for what might have been Day N Vegas’ most anticipated lineup. Though the seasoned crew each delivered solid performances, there wasn’t anything particularly special about their sets—except for Reason’s.

One of the newer artists on the tight TDE roster, the Carson emcee showed immense hunger and heart during his afternoon slot, pushing through sound issues (of which there were several throughout the weekend) so he could perform introspective cut “The Soul” and bring out Dreamvile’s Cozz to perform their “Lambo Truck.” He also premiered a new song that features Schoolboy Q.

Though Q would perform a few hours later, he didn’t make an appearance with Reason. In fact, much to fans’ dismay, none of the TDE artists on the lineup made surprise appearances for their peers’ sets, which felt like a missed opportunity. Why let Kendrick’s verse play while Schoolboy performed “Collard Greens” when Kendrick was presumably somewhere on the festival grounds? Or have Kendrick, who sported a cowboy hat and sunglasses, perform “Money Trees” solo, despite Jay Rock having rocked the same stage a couple hours prior? Kendrick, however, did bring out Inglewood crooner Sir to perform his latest single, “Hair Down,” which was a welcome surprise.

Though Sunday was dominated by TDE, it turned out to be Kali Uchis and Tyler the Creator’s day, with both delivering arena-worthy performances. The former put on a Madonna-esque show, escorted by four male dancers in baggy pants, blazers and bras who covered the Colombian American pop singer in feathers like a Vegas showgirl. They carried her to a giant clam shell prop for the big reveal. The ponytailed singer was pure seduction on the Jackpot stage, delivering hits from her stellar debut Isolation like “Dead to Me,” “Just a Stranger” and a Tyler-less “After the Storm,” along with a cover of Radiohead’s “Creep.” She told the audience that it was her first time performing with dancers. We couldn’t tell.

Tyler was flawless. Dressed as his Igor persona in a blonde bob and blue suit, he appeared in front of blue curtains to deliver songs from his recently-released Igor. It seemed like he might do the entire album, but 30 minutes in, he jumped on a piano leading into his most recent smash, “Earfquake.” It marked the end of his new material and the beginning of a medley of hits from the 28-year-old’s decade-long career, stretching back from 2011’s “Yonkers” to 2017’s “See You Again.”

There were other highlights, of course. St. Louis’ Smino was an incredible showman. New York’s Flatbush Zombies and “boy band” Brockhampton were pure energy. Megan Thee Stallion put on a twerk-fest. There was just so much going on that it was hard to take it all in.

A couple days later, we’re still reeling. Despite the snags, we’d gladly do it again. Just bring some more lights next time.

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