The second day of Camp Flog Gnaw’s 10-year anniversary got here roaring again into Dodger Stadium for followers of Tyler, the Creator’s universe of energized and eclectic hip-hop and R&B — with a touch of jazz flute. As followers swarmed the pageant to see Mustard, Erykah Badu and Playboi Carti, the mindset of letting all of it hang around on a Sunday night was sturdy all through the three-stage slate of acts that saved the group captivated from starting to finish. Right here’s the very best of what we noticed on Day 2.
André 3000I’m unsure how many individuals I anticipated to observe André 3000 play the flute along with his instrumental jazz combo Sunday night time, but it surely was undoubtedly fewer than really confirmed up. Carrying a Mitch Marner hockey jersey and a purple knit cap, the beloved Outkast MC carried out for an viewers of many hundreds at Flog Gnaw one 12 months to the day after the discharge of “New Blue Sun,” which this month earned a shock nomination for album of the 12 months at February’s Grammy Awards. (It’s his third time within the ceremony’s flagship class after Outkast was nominated in 2002 with “Stankonia” and received the prize in 2004 with “Speakerboxxx/The Love Below.”)
As on the LP, André didn’t rap right here, as an alternative blowing lengthy, looking notes on a collection of flutes as his collaborators supported him with sympathetic grooves; he additionally crouched down at one level to faucet a number of small gongs. Having acknowledged maybe that this wasn’t precisely a jazz crowd, André helpfully defined that he and the band have been improvising in actual time: “Everything we play every night, we make it up,” he mentioned. However he additionally took the chance to have some enjoyable at his followers’ expense. Close to the tip of his set, he squared up behind a mic and began throwing out lengthy, passionate vocal traces in a language I can’t say I acknowledged. The vitality within the viewers shifted barely however perceptibly: Wait, is he rapping? Then he laughed. “I just completely made all that s— up,” he mentioned. “Y’all should have seen your faces. Y’all like, ‘Man, he saying some deep-ass s— right now.’ ” — Mikael Wooden
Erykah BaduErykah Badu started her set almost half an hour after its scheduled begin time — a severe no-no at a pageant with a tightly programmed reside stream — and consequently discovered her sound minimize after solely about 20 minutes of music. (Like a handful of acts Sunday, Badu didn’t conform to stream her efficiency, so perhaps she thought her time was her personal? Flog Gnaw disagreed.) The veteran R&B seeker used her temporary time onstage to do a jazzy rendition of “On & On,” her breakout single from 1996, and a trippy tackle “Window Seat,” from her most up-to-date studio album, 2010’s “New Amerykah Part Two (Return of the Ankh).” She additionally provided the group some mystical phrases of knowledge, declaring that “we have just entered the fourth world war — the war between the people and the mind.” — M.W.
Tommy Richman It was a shock when aspiring opera singer-turned-TikTok sensation Tommy Richman, didn’t obtain any nominations for the upcoming Grammys. After the 24 12 months outdated’s “Million Dollar Baby,” which debuted at No. 2 on Billboard’s Sizzling 100 chart (a rarity for an artist with no prior historical past on the chart), went viral on TikTok, it appeared like an apparent alternative.
However the current snub didn’t appear to section Richman, who introduced a number of of his pals and collaborators together with Trevor Spitta and mynameisntjmack onto the desert stage — which resembled his “Coyote” album cowl. Richman, a genre-bending artist whose catalog delves into hip-hop, R&B, funk and different, confirmed off his spectacular vocal coaching as he sang information like “Whitney,” “Thought You Were the One,” “Devil is a Lie” and “Last Night” from his 2023 EP, “The Rush” which was my introduction to him. — Kailyn Brown
Sexyy Crimson performs at Camp Flog Gnaw on Nov. 17, 2024 in Los Angeles.
(Michael Blackshire/Los Angeles Instances)
Sexyy RedAfter placing in a cameo with Tyler, the Creator on Saturday night time, St. Louis’ Sexyy Crimson gave a rowdy efficiency of her personal on Sunday, twerking exuberantly in a pair of sparkly purple yoga pants as she ran by means of thumping club-rap jams like “SkeeYee,” “Sexyy Love Money” and her half from Drake’s “Rich Baby Daddy.” “Shake that ass, b—,” she commanded in her appealingly shrill, Midwestern honk. “Make them hoes mad.” — M.W.
The MaríasL.A. rock quartet the Marías have been certainly one of few acts at Flog Gnaw to acknowledge the, let’s say, tense ambiance within the U.S. proper now. “Let all out all your frustrations from the past couple weeks,” singer María Zardoya informed the group because the band kicked off “Run Your Mouth,” a lithe disco quantity that served as pure and welcome escapism.
The Marías are an emblematic L.A. band proper now — bilingual, effortlessly cosmopolitan and capable of traverse international Latin superstardom (they guested on Dangerous Bunny’s “Otro Atardecer” from his gargantuan LP “Un Verano Sin Ti”), whereas preserving the R&B, indie and old-soul thrives that imbue SoCal. Between them and Omar Apollo on Saturday, Flog Gnaw is aware of precisely the place to fit a vibey, Latin-indie act. “Submarine,” the band’s 2024 LP, documented an intra-band breakup with poise and panache, and featured a few of the group’s most exact writing and bold manufacturing but.
Zardoya has turn out to be certainly one of L.A.’s most compelling rock stars in a very long time — she knew precisely easy methods to body her angles in opposition to a wall of washed blue lights, and walked by means of the group shaking arms like an aspiring president. Songs like “Ruthless” and “Vicious Sensitive Robot” confirmed the complete band firing on all cylinders, veering from yacht-rock trumpets to meditative jazz grooves, whereas “Paranoia” had a hypermodern atmosphere. “Cariño” hit the bilingual Flog Gnaw crowd with a wave of heat, vacation-nostalgia vibes. Zardoya playfully alluded to the topicality of “Submarine” on “No One Noticed,” the place she gently taunted the group, “If you want your ex back, sing it.” However it was simple to think about that there have been different current missed alternatives for brighter days in America on her thoughts as effectively. — August Brown
Mustard and FriendsNo producer has had a 12 months fairly like DJ Mustard. Nonetheless using excessive on the success of what’s arguably the tune of the 12 months, “Not Like Us” by Kendrick Lamar, Mustard introduced an identical vitality and acquainted faces to the Camp Flog stage as he did at “The Pop Out — Ken & Friends” present on Juneteenth. Amongst his particular visitors have been Roddy Ricch, Shoreline Mafia, Tyga, Ty Dolla $ign, Huge Sean and his most frequent and earliest collaborator, YG. At one level throughout his set, Mustard even performed Drake’s “Crew Love” that includes the Weeknd, however simply earlier than Drake’s verse was about to begin, Mustard shouted “Sike!” then minimize into his subsequent observe.
Photographs of varied L.A. landmarks such because the Slauson Tremendous Mall, Randy’s Donuts and Dodger Stadium have been projected onto the display as Mustard carried out on a tall stage that rose greater because the night time went on. In honor of his hip-hop friends, he gave brief tributes to Grammy-winning DJ and hypeman FatMan Scoop, who died in August, and treasured L.A. rapper and entrepreneur, Nipsey Hussle.
Earlier than enjoying “Not Like Us” — he performed it twice — the stage went black, a inexperienced smoke appeared and the memorable “I See Dead People” scene from M. Night time Shyamalan’s “The Sixth Sense” performed over the audio system. For a second, it felt like Kendrick Lamar was going to make an look. Though he didn’t, the vitality within the crowd by no means wavered. — Okay.B.
Faye Webster performs at Camp Flog Gnaw on Nov. 17, 2024 in Los Angeles.
(Michael Blackshire/Los Angeles Instances)
Faye WebsterAlmost actually the weekend’s quietest act, singer-songwriter Faye Webster was a mesmerizing presence on the pageant’s Gnaw stage between Sexyy Crimson’s throwdown and an elaborate tribute to the late MF Doom. Webster’s laid-back sound, which prominently options pedal metal and saxophone, lives someplace between Southern soul and West Coast yacht rock; right here, she and her band stayed completely dialed-in whilst Webster directed crew members to a number of individuals within the viewers in obvious want of medical consideration. — M.W.
Blood Orange performs at Camp Flog Gnaw on Nov. 17, 2024 in Los Angeles.
(Michael Blackshire/Los Angeles Instances)
MF Doom tribute by FM MOODOne of essentially the most stunning moments throughout Camp Flog Gnaw was a tribute to beloved rapper-producer MF Doom, who died instantly in 2020 at 49 years outdated. As conductor Miguel Atwood-Ferguson — who was rocking a Fernando Valenzuela jersey and a steel face masks — led the Metalface Orchestra and Madlib (the opposite half of superduo, Madvillain) by means of varied favorites like “Rhymes like Dimes” and “One Beer,” MF Doom’s vocals projected over the audio system, bringing his spirit to life.
On condition that their efficiency was the final set of the night time on the Gnaw stage, if you happen to have been current, you needed to be there — followers have been locked in, rapping alongside to each phrase and bobbing their heads to the music.
Towards the tip of the almost one-hour set, producer Daedelus got here out to play his accordion on the rapper’s 2004 crowd favourite “Accordion,” and Erykah Badu — who carried out on the primary stage earlier within the night time — sang an exquisite rendition of Sade’s “Kiss of Life,” which is a pattern on MF Doom’s “Doomsday.” Earlier than leaving the stage, Badu put her arms in a prayer place and informed the group, “Thank you so much for loving my brother.” — Okay.B.
Playboi CartiPlayboi Carti was the one headline-tier act who didn’t broadcast his present on the Flog Gnaw livestream, leaving reams of Opium document label superfans caterwauling within the feedback. It is sensible although — Carti’s entire factor is thriller, with the head-to-toe Rick Owens goth drip, the punk and steel window dressing on his lure productions, a high-ramped stage set solely lit with strobe lights and no close-ups.
The Atlanta rapper has completed one thing corresponding to what Tyler, the Creator has carried out in L.A. over time — construct a self-contained universe across the intersection of uncompromising hip-hop, “Hesher” dirtbag aesthetics and avant-garde trend. Albums like “Die Lit” and “Whole Lotta Red” have turn out to be foundational paperwork for Gen Z rap, topping album charts and pageant payments whilst his vicious noise and shredded supply refuse bend to the wants of a success single (although he does usually pop up on others’ extra mainstream tracks, like Tyler’s “Earfquake,” and Camila Cabello’s crazy “I Luv It”). His private life is unstable, however one can’t argue with the dimensions of his ambition, or how his gnarled aesthetics have reached an unlikely mass crowd.
Whereas followers are nonetheless rabidly awaiting the followup to 2021’s “Whole Lotta Red,” the screens of his Flog Gnaw set flashed a picture — “I Am Music,” the presumed title of his forthcoming LP — to guarantee followers it’s actually coming after lengthy delays. The very brief headline set was fairly typical Carti–ripping reside steel guitars, frantic redlined vocals and a scrum of latest cuts like “Ketamine” that seethed with rigidity and circle-pit chaos. He introduced out the Weeknd on the very finish to do “Timeless,” their synth-pricked new collaborative single, and left with barely a break or a breather. He promised a brand new single Friday. Give him this — Carti by no means offers followers something however what he needs to. — A.B.
