The cooler weather meant everyone could enjoy the performances more comfortably, with the first day bringing sets by Tyga, Babytron, Trippie Redd, and Lil Yachty. There were also hometown heroes like Rick Ross and JT, formerly of City Girls, as well as Tallahassee-bred rapper Bossman Dlow. Metro Boomin also delivered a rare DJ set at the festival. Finally, Future closed the night with a set focused mainly on his recently released mixtape, Mixtape Pluto, which left fans a bit hungry for his catalogue of hits.
Check out all the highlights from the first day of Rolling Loud 2024 below.
Bossman Dlow kept the energy high during his set at Rolling Loud 2024.
Photo by Kenneth Dapaah for Rolling Loud
Bossman Dlow
Hitting the stage around 5 p.m., Bossman Dlow started the party early, rocking a black T-shirt and jeans. While he was modest in fashion, he delivered a pretty hype show. I was taken aback by the number of songs people in the crowd knew. People were dancing and spitting bars right back at him. Even tracks off his recently released album, Dlow Curry, had people buzzing. Of course, the highlight came when he played his big hit, "Get in With Me," which he started by having the crowd sing the chorus a cappella before actually playing the song. It was a set that delivered more than what I expected.
JT
Two words to describe JT's homecoming set: ass shaking. JT took command from the second she hopped on stage and brought Miami back to its bass roots with a sound like 2 Live Crew but with a female flair. The City Cinderella brought out a steel staircase and some big-booty dancers who moved and twerked up and down the stage. JT wore an outfit that left little to the imagination, giving the performance overall a sexy vibe that she has long perfected as part of City Girls. JT let everyone know she was coming, playing bangers from her solo era such as "Okay," but not being afraid to pull classics from the City Girl catalogue like "Twerkulator" and "Act Up." It was a good time, and it was beautiful watching JT have her moment, proclaiming, "I'm sorry! I'm a crybaby!" as tears of joy poured tears from her eyes at the end of the set.Rick Ross
Rozayyyy! Coming out in a green University of Miami windbreaker, "The Biggest" repped 305 to the max. With a set that only lasted around 30 minutes, Rick Ross wasted no time getting the crowd hyped, starting with the Meek Mill-assisted "Ima Boss" and going into what felt like a medley of hits. He wasn't afraid to pull out of his collab bag, giving the crowd bangers like "I'm On One" and "Pop That." Knowing Rozay, throughout the show, he made references to being a baller and a hustler, asking the crowd, "If you were born to be a fucking millionaire, put your hands to the sky!" Going through a set that also included tracks like "Hustlin'" and "All I Do is Win," it was honestly fun and nostalgic, with Bawse even bringing out up-and-comer Nino Breeze halfway through the set.
Metro Boomin
A DJ set at Rolling Loud doesn't seem like the most hype thing in the world, but with Metro on the decks, it's actually better than you'd think. Starting the show off with a nice orange tint from the lights and hearing the choir from "Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 1," and once "If Young Metro Don't Trust You" played, it was a party. Metro pulled out banger after banger of his huge catalogue, including hits from Future, the Weeknd, 21 Savage, and others. While those on the main stage patiently waited for Future, Metro kept the party boomin' with flames, pyrotechnics, and banger songs.
Future's headlining set mostly focused on his recent mixtape, Mixtape Pluto.
Photo by John Cotter for Rolling Loud
Future
Originally scheduled to start at 10:45 p.m., Future made the crowd wait until 11:20 before finally showing up to the stage designed to look like the cover of his 2024 mixtape, Mixtape Pluto. That should have been the first sign to anyone expecting Future to run through his catalogue of bangers that this set would focus mainly on the mixtape. Even when he would play a classic like "Thought It Was a Drought," it was only like the intro or some of the chorus. Tracks from his album with Metro Boom, We Don't Trust You, which was released earlier this year, were also ignored, with Future simply singing his part in songs like "Like That" and "Type Shit." Even on social media, people noticed a lack of excitement in the crowd during Future's set. It seems weird that in a festival, of all places, he would have ignored his catalogue of hits or fan-favorite deep cuts such as "Codeine Crazy" or "Throw Away."The one saving grace was the set design, which saw a house similar to the one on the cover of Mixtape Pluto go up in flames now and then and the fireworks that served to accentuate the set's peak moments. Overall, when Future is playing the banger tracks that everyone knows and loves him for, he can have a crowd eating out of his hand. I love you, Future, but c'mon — give me "Relationship" or "Monster," at least.
