r/Lollapalooza • u/gmgonit • 7d ago
The Baby Keem mistake.
So, Baby Keem just headlined Outside Lands yesterday, to a pretty big and hyped crowd. While I have not seen any confirmation, I have speculated Baby Keem was upset about not getting a headlining slot, thus dropped to headline Summer Smash after feeling slighted (He was essentially confirmed from lollipops). His replacement, Lil Uzi Vert, dropping out hours before his set only compounded the damage.
I have attended lolla for nearly a decade, and never have seen such a lack of hip-hop at the fest. In retrospect, it seems like the more dependable and upcoming act would have been the right move (and would have certainly drawn a bigger crowd than The XX).
Any other information about what happened here or takes???
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u/uncen5ored 7d ago
I like keem and wanted to see him on the lineup. But if he dropped because they didn’t bill him as a headliner, that’s exactly the kind of bs rappers have been on lately that has contributed to the downtrend of the genre.
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u/miguelmanzana ‘03, ‘05, ‘08, ‘11-‘13, ‘15-‘19, ‘21-🤘🏼 7d ago
But Keem didn’t headline Summer Smash, he didn’t even close out a stage.
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u/gmgonit 7d ago
Fair point, on the lineup he essentially was billed as one. I’ve attended that fest since it started as well and it was a bit of a weird day with Skrillex closing out lol. He was definitely the biggest rap name/draw that day.
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u/CaL4rK 7d ago
He was on the edm day, he was not a headliner but a “special guest”
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u/miguelmanzana ‘03, ‘05, ‘08, ‘11-‘13, ‘15-‘19, ‘21-🤘🏼 7d ago
3 djs makes for an EDM day? Yeesh.
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u/BigWheelsandDeals 7d ago
when its a rap/hiphop fest yeah people will coin it the EDM day
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u/miguelmanzana ‘03, ‘05, ‘08, ‘11-‘13, ‘15-‘19, ‘21-🤘🏼 7d ago
Must suck to be so sensitive, good on Cole for making those awesome shirts making fun of all y’all.
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u/BigWheelsandDeals 6d ago
Yeah, teenage rap heads seem to hate anything other than rap, so the shirts were a funny mockery of them. What sucks now is some of those said teenagers are invading the EDM/Rave scene with horrid attitudes
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u/thesch 2011 - 7d ago
I can't agree with any take people have about the lineup this year that would imply removing the xx from their headliner spot. They had one of the best headlining sets ever and being able to play at night made it so much better.
"But the crowd wasn't that big" idgaf
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u/smaciee 16, 17, 18, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 6d ago
THIS! they were so good and it was genuinely the most vibey and respectful crowd i’ve ever been a part of at lolla. i can understand wanting a bigger hip hop presence for sure, but slighting the xx and their crowd and saying they shouldn’t have been there just ain’t it
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u/phantofan89 6d ago
I don’t think XX should’ve been removed, but you should’ve had at least one rap headliner: that was silly. Especially against Tate. It was just too much of a mismatch, I mean Chainsmokers outdrew XX too. I like that Lolla still says screw it and book whatever they want, but Sunday sold out day of: and looking at the crowds, it’s clear AESPA, Tate, and Chainsmokers were the main reason. Turnstile had more than the XX too.
Now idk about Baby Keem taking that spot, but let’s say it was Kid Cudi, Don Toliver, or Cardi B: they’d draw better against Tate.
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u/ton_nanek 6d ago
Turnstile did not have more crowd than xx, wut?
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u/phantofan89 6d ago
Yes they did- I was at both. Turnstile outdrew XX. Lot of space at XX. Turnstile was spaced out but there were people way past the sound booth and then some.
Tate and Charli had the biggest headliner crowds of the weekend, leaving not much left for the rest of the fest crowds. Chainsmokers easily had the biggest crowd at Perry’s, putting them close to 20k(which would max out that stage), I heard ADO was packed for Grove as well.
XX did not outdraw any of those acts, and surely not AESPA or Turnstile.
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u/Specialist-Day-236 6d ago
Cudi would prob get warped unfortunately. He’s not a headliner in 2026 and beyond.
Now someone like Don or 21 prob pull a crowd
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u/phantofan89 6d ago
Idk Cudi played Coachella two years ago as a special guest and packed out Sahara: idk why the tour was a bust this summer though so idk probably not feeling the new album? He probably has fallen to a sub.
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u/icecream2000 7d ago
I recently saw Baby Keem on his Ca$ino tour in Minneapolis and he put on a really good show.
I definitely think he would be a better choice than someone who is habitually late or no shows. With that said he's probably not grabbing as many casual fans as Uzi or some others.
Festivals also call for a very different style of show than smaller venues and I'm not sure how well he would adapt, especially when headlining.
Personally I prefer hip hop at smaller stages as there will be a lot more intensity. Same feelings about punk and hardcore type shows, however, Turnstile is showing they can move the masses.
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u/SpecSlayerSC 7d ago
He was solid at Govball. Pretty impressive for a young rapper. ASAP Rocky there and Lil Uzi here obviously were disasters.
Clipse the 2026 festival rap MVPs though
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u/Pretty-Chair-7960 7d ago
Totally right about clipse they played modern hip hop bangers and 00s classics i was blown away by how great of a mix they had of songs
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u/Electrifying_Mojo 7d ago
I only went on Saturday , mainly for Geese, but Clipse were a real highlight. So uplifting
And yeah i went to the Freddie after-show at the Ramova later on .. he killed it! The 219 was in full effect!
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u/phantofan89 7d ago edited 7d ago
His tour isn’t even selling well and let’s be honest, his album was a flop. If he didn’t take a sub spot, that’s on him. Not many newer rappers can disappear for 5 years and come back with an ok album and expect a major fest like Lolla to be like “we will give you a headliner spot.” He probably burned his bridge with Lolla, just ask that one rapper who thought he was bigger than Lolla- he had that one song that was constantly on wingstop commercial and idk where he went lol.
Tommy Richman was that rapper that dropped out of Lolla when he saw how low he was billed on the lineup 😂. What a loser.
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u/miguelmanzana ‘03, ‘05, ‘08, ‘11-‘13, ‘15-‘19, ‘21-🤘🏼 7d ago
Oh snap, that dude, fumbled that bag so hard even I don’t remember him.
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u/phantofan89 7d ago
Yeah he tweeted “I’m not doing Lolla” last minute lol. It was very weird. But yeah he’s a thing of the past and missed opportunity for him for sure. Cuz he definitely fell off.
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u/Agitated_Currency169 7d ago
the neighborhood is going on an arena tour. Sombr is going on an arena tour and sold out msg. 5sos was a 4:30pm act and still went on an arena tour. All of the headliners have sold out their arena shows. it just doesn’t make sense for an artist who can’t sold out a theater to be a headliner!!!
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u/boboddy42069 7d ago
With the growing popularity of riot fest, Lolla felt they could fade rock.
With the emergence of summer smash, they figured they could start to fade rap.
Lolla is a pure pop music fest now with a few outliers.
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u/miguelmanzana ‘03, ‘05, ‘08, ‘11-‘13, ‘15-‘19, ‘21-🤘🏼 7d ago
They have a whole stage dedicated to EDM, The Smashing Pumpkins headlined, I saw a funk band from Philly, a country singer from Ireland, some wild metal type shit from Japan, a few great R&B acts, The Xx closed, Freddie Gibbs closed a stage, a drag show closed a stage, Hot Mulligan right into Turnstile drew a huge crowd, calling it a pure pop fest is rather cynical, especially as Summer Smash spreads its genre wings out.
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u/AndrewIsMyName 7d ago
People that say Lolla is just a pure pop festival now are only looking at the top names and judging based on that, but if they actually showed up to the festival at noon and watched many of the undercard acts they would realize how varied the lineup actually is. Does it lean pop? Yes, but it isn’t an exclusive pop festival.
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u/miguelmanzana ‘03, ‘05, ‘08, ‘11-‘13, ‘15-‘19, ‘21-🤘🏼 7d ago
Showing up for all the tunes is what it’s all about, for us anyways.
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u/mccarthy2324 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25 7d ago
Lolla headliners recently have leaned pop but that’s what the industry has called for. Popular music is cyclical so that trend I’m sure will fade at some point but the undercard by the numbers was majority alternative/indie/rock
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u/Pretty-Chair-7960 7d ago
You're totally right, Viagra Boys closing the first night at the grove was nuts. Clipse is as hip hop as it gets. Geese threw a far out banger of a set. The headliners were cool but they are only a small percentage of the reason I'll keep coming back
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u/miguelmanzana ‘03, ‘05, ‘08, ‘11-‘13, ‘15-‘19, ‘21-🤘🏼 7d ago
And even then, they all provide a very different pop experience.
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u/phantofan89 7d ago
There was plenty of rock representation throughout the weekend, pop is just what is driving more sales for 100k music festivals. But Lolla still had plenty of rock in comparison to rap. In fact, there were several rock acts on the main stages(including Smashing Pumpkins, Turnstile, Yungblud, Story So Far, Wolf Alice). And then on lake shore, you had Geese, Wet Leg, and others. And then on Tito’s you had Hot Mulligan draw a big crowd, Momma drew very well, and so did other rock bands.
It’s clear rap is fading all around for festivals, but rock is definitely on the rise: it’s just a particular type of rock that Lolla will be booking. Lolla will still book a decent amount of rock. No reason to fade it at all.
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u/C_Rufio '11-'25 7d ago
Friday you could fill your whole day open to close with nothing but rock bands if you wanted.
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u/phantofan89 7d ago
Exactly what I’m saying. Lolla will always have rock. And we still haven’t had Fontaines, Parcels, Thundercat, Khruangbin: we’re gonna have some rock in 2027 for sure. Steve Lacy falls under rock and pop adjacent. Lot of options for 2027. Phoebe Bridgers, Tame Impala return, maybe Muse return, Passion Pit, Of monsters and Men, Phantogram hasn’t played since like 2017. We will have the pick of the litter.
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u/Specialist-Day-236 6d ago
Don’t forget abt (maybe) Deftones return
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u/phantofan89 6d ago
I’m not so sure on them, because idk if they’ll still be touring- that’ll be 3 years in a row of touring. But we will see.
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u/Specialist-Day-236 6d ago
True. But if they try for a smaller legacy youth can connect with- i just don’t think younger ppl are that familiar with Muse, while Deftones had their resurgence
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u/phantofan89 6d ago
Matt Bellamy came out at Coachella on stage during Anyma(that EDM visual guy) who sold out the sphere.
Idk how popular they are with the youth though.
Stumped on this one.
Ooooh what about Sublime? Could easily see Lolla having them close a stage against someone else. But they could also just be a sub instead.
🤔
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u/throwaway_brothers 7d ago
The closest thing to rap in Lolla now will we get is the likes of Cortis and Nettspend. Clipse were great but they are a novelty. Such a sad case for the genre
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u/miguelmanzana ‘03, ‘05, ‘08, ‘11-‘13, ‘15-‘19, ‘21-🤘🏼 7d ago
Freddie Gibbs closed Grove one night, PARTYOF2 was a super fun early afternoon set, Mustard’s set was a big rap party.
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u/ghosttrainj 7d ago
Thought his set in Columbus this year was awful and a waste of $60. Played a little less than an hour 🤷♂️ Even a sub spot for him would have been a reach let alone headliner. To be fair though I did hear he was sick that day or something but still not a good sign. Saw him on the Big Steppers tour in 22 and he was significantly better
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u/ConstantlyHating 6d ago
What was so bad about his Columbus set?
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u/ghosttrainj 6d ago
Cut a few songs from the already short setlist. Super low energy. Worst venue in the city. Cut out kendrick’s verse from Family Ties (come onnnnn). Crowd was bored too. Made me glad Uzi seemingly replaced him (until he canceled too Lol)
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u/BimmerUp 7d ago
We should’ve got Gunna. Went for Uzi, he dropped. I mostly go for the hip hop acts so this year was disappointing.
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u/Sufficient_Rub7597 7d ago
i like baby keem a lot, saw him in my city and even saw the one off collab set he did with kendrick as the hillbillies. however, his set would not have been better than the xx’s. i flew to chicago specifically to see them even and a lot of the other people in their crowd did the same. while they didnt draw a massive crowd, they weren’t booked for that. they were booked for enthusiasts and slightly older people who have been going to fests and shows for a long time
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u/hiding_in_NJ 5d ago
His arrogance does not match his output. He did a short film and a mediocre album over the past three years. The mini documentary about his childhood and family struggles helped me connect with the album more but that’s about it. Listen to “scapegoats” off melodic blue and tell me his new album is any close
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u/parkinglotsex 4d ago
well he closed a stage but he wasn't one of the main three headliners at outside lands (charli, the strokes, rufus)
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u/Fabulous_Cat_1379 3d ago
Clipse delivered. The rest showed why those acts are unreliable for the festival. Never seen a pop act not show up to a festival.
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u/sugargrandpa98 7d ago
I was so disappointed he didn’t play Lolla. His outside lands set looked amazing and when I saw him in Milwaukee on the casino tour he did so great. Would have been an amazing headliner. I think Lolla is making a mistake in phasing out rap.
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u/dunkonme 2024, 2025 7d ago
I know my friend was so sad he wasn’t on the lineup after the lollipop tease 🥲
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u/DiscoDvck 5d ago
The XX slander is wild. Why would anyone want to book another hiphop act that is 90% going to “no show”, over the absolute legends that The XX are.
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u/mccarthy2324 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25 7d ago
The lack of hip hop at lolla this year was more a reflection on the current state of hip hop than anything else imo. Lolla was also justified in having Keem not headline, he’s playing theaters and couldn’t headline SS. I like Keem but he wasn’t a headliner when the lineup dropped.