Lil Uzi Vert Burned Off Plenty of Energy on the Final Day of Rolling Loud 2023

On Sunday, the performances at Rolling Loud continued to match the temperature readings on the grounds at Hard Rock Stadium. They were sizzling hot, with sets by emerging acts like TiaCorine, Tobi Lou, and Bktherula. Hardcore band Turnstile delivered one of the few nonhip-hop sets of the day, not that festivalgoers seemed to care.

It came to a head with Sunday's headliner, A$AP Rocky, closing out the festival. Unfortunately for him, his set overlapped with Lil Uzi Vert's, so it seemed everyone had run out of energy by the time Rocky took the stage.

Here are all the highlights from the third and final day of Rolling Loud 2023.

Tobi Lou

Tobi Lou is in his own world. During his performance at the Sprite stage, he often chose to rap through the noticeable pops from the vocal track to showcase his technical skills. His eyes betrayed an intensity — a glance in your general direction, and it felt like he was speaking to you. Unfortunately, any act scheduled to perform before sundown had to work against the heat of the day. Fans dipped behind poles, food trucks, anything solid, to avoid the sun's rays. None of it mattered to Tobi, who could rouse corpses from the dead with his sheer intensity and energy. Stevenson Altidor

TiaCorine

Sporting pink-hued hair and adorned with a Sanrio bikini top, TiaCorine took the goPuff stage for a short but sweet set. Garnering viral fame when her 2018 song "Lotto" took over TikTok during the pandemic, TiaCorine has figured out how to fit in, and rightfully so, with some of the buzziest names in hip-hop. Weaving together bubbly beats with clever rhymes, her lyrics go so hard that she gives even the lighthearted bangers a bit of a temper. Sunday's crowd seemed unappreciative initially, but the opening notes of "FreakyT" brought them around. Valerie Magan

Turnstile

During what might have been the weekend's most unexpected set, hardcore punk band Turnstile proved why it was worthy of a lineup spot — however incongruent — taking over the goPuff stage for a charged rock set. Was the band out of place at a rap festival? The jury might still be out on that one. But the audience, full of fans of all ages, seemed to enjoy the breakneck punk melodies of the only rock band on the Rolling Loud lineup. The band ran through many of their popular favorites — "Blackout," "Mystery," "Holiday," "Underwater Boi" — and in the hands of razor-sharp bassist Franz Lyons and stellar drummer Daniel Fang, the songs were delivered tirelessly, with unmatched vigor. How this particular addition to the festival undercard came to be, I still don't know, but I'd love it if this streak continued. It was remarkably refreshing to break the monotony — even if for only 35 minutes. Valerie Magan

Bktherula

"Walk up in this bitch on some money shit," Atlanta emcee Bktherula rapped — and it's that breed of confidence with which she took over the Culture Kings stage. She'd come to Rolling Loud to push all her chips in. Fusing R&B, punk, and alternative into her raps, the young rhymer already has a signature sound that translates perfectly to the big stage and had the crowd losing their minds. Valerie Magan

03 Greedo

The Demesmin and Dover stage was for the diehards. Tucked away in the corner, far from the other stages, there's no VIP entrance, barricades, or shade to escape the blazing sun. If you're there, it's because you want to be there, and at 6:15 p.m., everyone wanted to see 03 Greedo. After a five-year stint in a Texas county jail, Greedo was greeted with some of the loudest cheers of the weekend. In return, he gave those assembled an effortless performance, hardly sweating as his shoulder bopped across the stage and his crew tossed merch to the crowd. It felt like a block party; every song felt like a hit. At one point, Greedo put his mic down, taking in the scene of fans shouting back every word in unison. Stevenson Altidor

Lil Uzi Vert

On Sunday, I witnessed firsthand the chaos that only a Lil Uzi Vert set can unleash. The sheer number of fan favorites only helped to whip the masses into a frenzy. Sweaty bodies encircled the viewing area, bashing into one another. Slowly, I was pushed back as the mosh pit grew, and fans behind me attempted to toss me aside with surreptitious chop blocks to gain access. Their ruler wasn't any calmer, inciting madness as he turned the goPuff stage into the Loud Club. Congo lines of women twerking, holding up signs as Uzi's crew flung money at the dancers. Even when he performed what's arguably the worst song of 2023, "CS," the crowd didn't lose their fever. Everyone came to lose their minds and senses. As the fans begged him to continue despite running into A$AP Rocky's scheduled set time, Uzi proved to be the true headliner of day three. Stevenson Altidor

Lucki

As a rapper, Lucki is as stoic as they come. With cadence and slick wordplay, the Chicago artist is in the midst of a transition from the underground to the mainstream. As a performer, Lucki is more of a finisher than a scorer. He retreated to the corner of the stage, waiting for the perfect moment to rise. Once the stars aligned, he emerged as fans expressed their excitement. It never failed, not for "Super Urus" or "New Drunk." Stevenson Altidor

A$AP Rocky

"Step One: Grab a shirt. Step Two: Put it around your face. Step Three: Grab the sleeves and tie them behind your head. Step Four: Adjust it to your head. Last step: Turn the Fuck up!" repeated a Siri-like voice over the loudspeakers. Suddenly, hundreds of A$AP Rocky's hypemen poured onstage wearing exactly that getup and trailing an upside-down American flag behind them. The crowd energy was at its peak during the first two songs, but despite the theatrics, performing after Lil Uzi Vert's banger set meant entertaining a lot of exhausted fans. Couple that with the fact that A$AP Rocky's music is better suited to smaller venues and that he took the stage 90 minutes late and you get a comparatively muted crowd. His guests— $not, who had performed earlier, and Thotwatt — carried much of the hype, performing their own songs, "Doja" and "Shirt," to a slightly improved crowd. And what's a rap show without controversy? Rocky debuted a new lyric that seemed to take aim at rapper Travis Scott. "First you stole my flow, so I stole your bitch," he rapped, and the lyric spread across the internet immediately, with fans speculating whether they were meant as a diss to the "Sicko Mode" rapper, to whom Rocky has endured unwanted comparisons since Scott came on the scene eight years ago. In stark contrast, there were moments of tenderness, including one for longtime collaborator A$AP Yamz, member of A$AP Mob, who died suddenly in 2015 and received a midset tribute. But, whether he was talking to the audience or rapping a deep cut from his debut album Long. Live. ASAP, it was hard to look away from the moment he appeared — sporting a vest that looked like he was ready to walk out onto a battleground — to the last song, "Shittin Me." While A$AP Rocky's visuals did not disappoint, the set was plagued with low vocals, misplaced pauses, and technical difficulties. Valerie Magan