Every festival has its rain year. It’s inevitable, but how the inclement weather affects the day speaks volumes to how the powers that be can acclimate to the unforeseen conditions. Considering that, we’d say that the Trillectro Music Festival in Washington D.C. has a very promising future.
Hip-Hop Wired was present at the RFK Stadium Fair Grounds on Saturday (August 23), where Trillectro hosted a promising list of Hip-Hop, EDM, and Alternative acts for its third consecutive year. The weather sucked, plain and simple. Spirits, however, remained high and optimistic as the water beat onto the bobbing heads of attendees. Like any dampened festival, the rain can make certain experiences all the more greater.
That moment came during bubbling Atlanta rapper/producer ForteBowie’s set, during which he was assisted by his burly partner in rhyme, Money Makin’ Nique, and fellow newcomer OG Maco, the latter of whom turned a growing crowd on its ear with his new single, “U Guessed It.” Maco’s emphatic shouts of obscenities inspired as great a call and response from fans as any seen that day. Folks stomped in puddles, jumped for joy (mostly in the spirit of inebriation), and it was all a beautiful indication of where the event would go.
Performances by the likes of fellow ATLien Rome Fortune, a dope Washington D.C. band named Redline Graffiti, one of the District’s most talented lyricists and producers Oddissee, and others took place during the waterworks. But the piss-poor weather soon passed, and the day officially belonged to a crowd boasting all demographics.
Fans nearly ran suicides bouncing from stage to stage, each of which had an opposing function. While the main stage hosted sure-shot acts like Fat Trel, who came with a sizable crowd that the most crew-deep ’90s rappers would admire, the festival’s crowned jewels actually rocked the smaller stage. This includes local rapper GoldLink, who “took us back to the ’90s” with a set of tracks from his breakout project, The God Complex.
As nightfall approached, TDE songbird SZA was the last of more melodic adds to take the stage. With performances by “No Flex Zone” creators Rae Sremmurd, EDM DJs/producers Baauer and Lunice, and Migos in the pipeline, attendees knew that energy was promised. That may actually be an understatement, because yours truly still can’t decide whether the aforementioned Mike WiLL Made It-produced single or Migos’ “Fight Night” inspired a greater reaction from the crowd. And that includes media snapping photos in the photo pit, getting their jig on with poise.
But the greatest moment had yet to come. G.O.O.D. Music/Hustle Gang’s Travi$ Scott’s surprise performance, which segued into a closing set by headliner Big Sean was Trillectro’s crowning moment. Scott’s brief, but booming discography boasts cuts that fans were all too familiar with, inspiring a near riotous reaction. The Houston native even commanded the photographers to move aside, while simultaneously ordering fans to hop the fence to enter the photo pit.
Scott’s energy amplified each and everyone in the RFK Stadium to lose their damn minds. And we mean that in the best way possible. Sean Don came out to recite his verse on his G.O.O.D. Music label mate’s Days Before Rodeo single, “Don’t Play,” and closed the show with hits off his own.
In the end, still drenched in water, the 2014 Trillectro Music Festival was a crime scene of the best variety–one that yours truly will be attending for years to come.
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Photo: Hip-Hop Wired/D.L. Chandler
