Entrance selfie wearing MAC’s Ruby Woo lipstick
For Labor Day Weekend, I returned to Philly for my second dose of Budweiser’s Made In America music festival. The musical guests are curated by Jay-Z and the result is a diverse roster with something fitting for every taste. My favorite part about this particular festival is that it is still young so it is not as crowded and overwhelming as the larger and more established festivals like Coachella and Ultra.
Chromeo
I love discovering new music at festivals. I get the opportunity to listen to artists I normally wouldn’t hear or would stumble upon in my normal day to day life. This was the case with Chromeo. Their sound was very ’80s and their set was so fun and energetic.
Folks were hanging from the light post during their performance (turn down for what?!).
J. Cole
Checking out the Hip-Hop acts is a must for me. J. Cole was on the list and he played many of his hits, including my personal favorite “Nobody’s Perfect.” Also I am pretty sure we locked eyes more than once, which made getting to the front of the crowd and surviving worthwhile. It also made me give him a pass for his matching Polo socks lol.
Steve Aoki
I was not interested in testing the waters with the EDM crowd and chose a different vantage point for the Steve Aoki set. I was so glad I did because apparently throwing cake at the audience is one of his calling cards, which is something I definitely don’t have time for. Besides that, he was amazing and I thoroughly enjoyed his run whilst not getting frosting in my hair.
The man, the myth, the legend (and my fave) Kanye West
Kanye’s set was very entertaining. We were treated to several rants (more than the usual one) and a thorough reading of a staff member who used the wrong Instagram filter on the accompanying visual for one of his songs. Blood On The Leaves was performed 3x and although it is my favorite track from Yeezus, I could have done with just one time. I love his catalogue so I just want more tracks. Glad I went to his Yeezus tour stop in Brooklyn, which had just the right amount of Blood On The Leaves and rants. It was perfection.
YG
Danny Brown
Day 2 of the festival was a test. It started out unbearably hot but I still managed to get my Shmoney Dance on with my crew during YG. Next was Danny Brown where the best discovery was his DJ. Quiet as it’s kept, I would have rather had him play the entire set. I didn’t understand a word Danny Brown said during his performance. I wonder if they have any lyrics available for his tracks on Rap Genius? If so, their title is very fitting.
Later that afternoon a thunderstorm approaching the area forced an evacuation of the festival site. Some folks thought it would be prudent to wait for the storm to pass by jumping into a local fountain…
Pharrell
We braved the rain for Pharrell, who was just flawless and dripping in Chanel jewelry. I can’t believe he performed “Lapdance,” which I was probably way too young to be into when it first came out but I loved it nonetheless. I despise the word “bae,” but I may just make an exception for him.
Kings of Leon
Finally, we ended the weekend with Kings of Leon under the rain. How romantic.
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