S. Samuel
Rap stars Jay-Z, Nas, Lil Wayne, Kanye West, Nicki Minaj and more ignited a star-studded weekend of concerts from showcases at Power 106's annual Powerhouse and BBC Radio 1's Hackney Weekend festival.
In Los Angeles, rap stars ranging from Roc Nation’s J. Cole to regional veteran E-40 ignited Power 106’s jam-packed show.
This weekend was Power 106?s PowerHouse 2012 event. It was a mini music festival held at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. The event had a killer lineup with J.Cole, Young Jeezy, Kendrick Lamar, Kid Ink, Snoop Dogg, T.I., Tyga, Wale, and YG all performing. J. Cole killed it with a 30 minute set using material from The Warm Up, Friday Night Lights, and his debut album, Cole World: The Sideline Story. Young Jeezy added some more star power to the night by bringing out Too Short, E-40, and Ne-Yo. Not to be left out, T.I. brought out his labels first lady, Azalea, to perform “Murda Bizness.” (Stupid Dope)
Cole and Tyga helped cap off the night with an unexpected Lil Wayne cameo.
The show’s final third seemed to misplace its priorities a bit. Snoop Dogg, fresh off playing to 140,000 people over two Coachella weekends, has become the éminence grise of the Power 106 universe. He could quit releasing new music entirely for the rest of his Doggfather reign and still headline shows like this on the strength of his catalog and slithery cool alone. So it felt weird that Roc Nation’s J. Cole and the local newbie Tyga, each young MCs figuring out their aesthetic, could headline over him. The latter’s Lil Wayne cameo helped his bona fides, and Tyga’s clattering tune “Rack City” is a hit in any decade. (Los Angeles Times)
Across the waters, the Roc Nation protege’s mentor Jay-Z helped ignite Hackney Weekend.
The ubiquitous will.i.am poured high camp over his huge party tunes, and in the In New Music We Trust tent Jack White fired out visceral rock’n’roll as if his life depended on it. Saturday main stage headliner Jay-Z’s star wattage is so great he was able to drop cameos by Rihanna, MIA – who suffered the indignity of a non-functioning microphone – and regular sparring partner Kanye West into his set. (The Guardian)
Rappers like Young Money’s Nicki Minaj and Flo Rida also graced the weekend-long festival stage.
Multiple artists who had performed earlier at Hackney were spotted enjoying Riri’s 65-minute set during the closing of the festival taking place at London’s Olympic Park. Jessie J, Florence Welch and Tinie Tempah were among 50,000 fans who watched the Bajan singer’s performance. Beyonce Knowles was also seen showing up in the mosh pit during her husband’s appearance. The BBC Radio 1’s Hackney Weekend festival, which ran for two days as part of the London 2012 Festival, was supported by more than 100 artists who performed across six stages. Among the other notable performers at the event were Nicki Minaj, Flo Rida, Rita Ora and Lana Del Rey. (Ace Showbiz)
Check out performance footage from both events below:
