The day has finally come, Lollapalooza officially kicked off its four-day festival in Grant Park yesterday. And while the weather might’ve given the crowds a rainy and muggy start, the festival itself held back nothing and no one in celebration of their 25th anniversary. By the first day the crowd could tell this was different, the festival is not only larger in size but larger in performances, as set after set, each artist upping the one before them. It’s a hectic festival, crowds of the thousands shuffling from stage to stage, but it’s never a hectic Lollapalooza can’t handle. For what started as a much smaller contained alternative rock festival in 1991, Lollapalooza has grown in not only capacity, but has yearly increased its top tier performances in every genre. But Thursday night belonged to hip-hop.
J. Cole
If I had a nickel for every artist that threw on a Jordan jersey before a performance in Chicago, I’d be Scrooge McDuck. Nonetheless J. Cole delivered in the number 23 jersey last night. Drawing the Thursday night to a satisfying close, the rapper ran through every hit single of his to keep the crowd awake as long as he could. From ‘Wet Dreamz’ to ‘Apparently’, J. Cole had the crowd jumping up and down and all over, in one of the most well sounding stage performances of the night. He made Grant Park his campus.
Danny Brown
Danny Brown has easily earned the title to be one of the most interesting rappers I’ve ever listened to—and now seen in concert. For what was seeming to be a gloomy day, Brown brought some sun to the crowd with his unleveled energetic performance. From the DJ announcing Brown’s name over the mic, the Detroit rapper had already gained control of the crowd’s attention. In his black leather pants and sweatshirt, Brown marched out pointing a red solo cup to the crowd, cheering to the festival as he kicked off the afternoon with his ‘Side B (Dope Song)’, his favorite festival opener. Brown’s performance is one of the festival’s that was luckily placed at the right time, because without the rapper’s energy the crowd would still feel that gloomy rain over their day. And you don’t get better than Brown’s wicked fast raps to ‘When It Rain’ to get the crowd pumped during the rain.
Towkio
Unlike Danny Brown, the rain came down a little heavier during Towkio’s set, though that didn’t keep many away from the stage. The Chicago rapper stood strongly on stage, shouting to the crowd how he snuck in the festival years ago. The relativeness to the remarks were funny for many, but it was clear the rapper had now proudly made it to the big stage. The crowd might’ve been the biggest he had seen, the biggest many on stage had seen—as he brought out fellow Chicago artists from Joey Purp, to members of the Social Experiment. The staged danced, and the crowd followed. The best part though, was when Saturday headliner, Vic Mensa stepped on stage for the song, ‘Gang With Me’, effectively bringing Towkio’s set to a satisfying close.
G.Eazy
Not only drawing far bigger crowds than both Towkio and Danny Brown, G-Eazy’s performance was far more self-contained. The Oakland rapper’s confident presence on stage was more noticeable than most others before him, his song recognition ringed to the crowd’s ears as he went through ‘You Got Me’, and the hilarious ‘Me, Myself and I’. G-Eazy’s stage had style, he danced, sometimes swayed in rhythm with the beats of his songs. For those that knew the rappers’ the work, the set had little to complain about, and for those that didn’t, the set was not only funny, it was strongly executed.
1975
Taking a step back from the hip-hop genre for an hour, the 1975 delivered a far different atmosphere than those artists that they followed. The English alternative rock band brought possibly the most danceable set for all ages at the Lollapalooza yesterday. While the band has been known for their strange antics (what rock band isn’t), their talent is undeniable as their hit songs ‘Chocolate’ and ‘The Sound’ had everyone on their feet swaying to the smooth upbeat rhythm of their songs. The 1975 delivered easily one of the most enjoyable sets for most festival goers.
