Lucia Botfield

Rolling Loud Touches Down in Germany for the First Time - A Recap

Germany truly brought the vibes this weekend, with their first ever Rolling Loud taking place in Munich, the third largest city in the country. Rolling Loud has already established itself globally, with festivals taking place in Thailand, America, and The Netherlands. This years’ all-star line-up did not disappoint, with huge names and up and coming artists alike coming along to showcase their exceptional talents, with Central Cee, Tia Corine, Lola Brooke, Ayra Starr and Kendrick Lamar among fan favourites.

This spin on the festival with a vast selection of popular German artists to see worked particularly well. Rolling Loud typically displays primarily English-speaking artists, and many of the festivals across the globe attract tourists from England and America, however we scarcely heard an accent that was not German. The electric energy that was present when German rappers were brought on stage was unmatched, the crowd were so incredibly elated and proud of the talent that their country was displaying.

Speaking to New Wave Magazine, DJ Five Venoms, who is the official Rolling Loud DJ started with the festival back in Miami in 2015” "I could have never imagined that it would have gotten this big, we were happy getting through our first show in a warehouse in Miami, and now we're putting of festivals in Asia and Europe.

"Matt and Tariq came up with the idea, as there were lots of electronic music festivals, and there was nothing really representing hip-hop, but if there was it wasn't representing the underground hip-hop that we do shows with.

"They came up with the concept of booking all of these artists that we normally do shows with, and just putting on one big show in Miami, and call it Rolling Loud.

"The fanbases for hip-hop music has grown so much, and the perfect timing of the festival meant that it grew with the music.

"Future, Travis Scott, Young Thugs, and artists like that got bigger and bigger, and in turn their fanbases got bigger and bigger.

"The first ever festival had ASAP Ferg, Travis Scott, Currency, Action Bronson, Denzel Curry, Fat Nick and Post Malone was at the show, but not on the line-up, just enjoying the music."

DJ Five Venoms - Image via @gravis.visuals

This reflects the importance of the festival in the hip-hop, rap and R&B scenes, in a unique way that not many other festivals have been able to conquer; they present emerging and established names on a global scale, sharing up and coming artists with as much pride and grace as those who have already gained a large name for themselves.

The festival had so much more to offer than just music, with food, fashion and giveaways sprawled across the large grounds. On the final day, fans were seen running full speed towards merch stands and to get as close as possible to the impressive lineup of artists. The festival offers a range of activities; from fair ground rides to face glitter, and hair and make-up. The food stalls are mostly street food vendors, with traditional German bakery goods scattered around in food carts.

For an additional fee, festival goers could also enjoy the VIP section, which included its own merch stand, elevated standing and seating areas, different food selections, and more comfortable toilets. Most importantly, VIP ticket holders were able to stand in the front pit of the festival, closest to their favourite artists.

The festival was closed off by global sensation Travis Scott on its final day, with an unforgettable performance where he bought one young fan up on stage, who had travelled from Egypt for the festival. At the end of the song, Travis took the shoes off of his own feet to give to the lucky fan. The non-stop weekend of culture, music and laughter truly has earnt its title as one of the most proclaimed festivals groups of this generation.