ASAP Rocky’s Return To Rolling Loud Elevated His Game

There was a lot riding on ASAP Rocky’s return to Rolling Loud in Inglewood, California on Saturday night. He’s had a rough couple of years. He’s been pushing a new album, Don’t Be Dumb, since late 2022, but has dealt with delay after delay, to the point he recently acknowledged that “people are tired of hearing about updates about the album.”

He was also recently acquitted in court, allowing him to address the situation in a new song, which he appropriately debuted during his headlining performance at Rolling Loud California Saturday night.

With expectations so high, it’s fitting that Rocky sought to rise above them all — both figuratively and literally — as he closed the festival where he’s always seemed most at home.

Say what you want about his last album — 2018’s Testing, which was less well-received than he’d have liked — or the seemingly interminable wait for his new one, but Rocky has always delivered when it comes to performances, and Rolling Loud 2025 was no exception.

In addition to performing a handful of new songs (presumably from the upcoming album), Rocky offered the sort of spectacle fans have come to expect from his ambitious sets. From storming stages with an army of crash dummies to bluntly referencing his encounter with the Swedish prison system, Rocky has always used his live show to keep his name buzzing near the upper echelons of rap. That’s despite a much lower pace of new releases than some of his contemporaries, which include Big Sean, Drake, J. Cole, Kendrick Lamar, and Wale, among others.

And with his return to Rolling Loud — and the public stage, writ large, after spending so much time avoiding the spotlight and making babies with Rihanna — he had to elevate his game. So, performing the first three songs of his set from a helicopter suspended over the stage makes for a great way of doing just that (and maybe even subtly referencing his partner’s Super Bowl performance, which also saw her defying gravity like a certain green witch of the west).

But there’s no way Rocky would have ever been satisfied with so much distance between him and the crowd. After rappelling down to the stage, he pulled out all the stops, inviting a massive crew of backup dancers to bring the energy — not that he needed the help. It was just the sort of performance that helped boost newcomers like Doechii into the spotlight, and launch peers like Kendrick Lamar into the pop culture stratosphere over the last year.

Such a performance sets the table for Rocky to relaunch his campaign for Don’t Be Dumb. Whether or not anticipation for the album waned as Rocky feared, his headlining set at the premiere hip-hop festival puts him squarely back in the limelight, while the new songs he previewed suggest a return to form on the music side of things, too. Thanks to his Rolling Loud set, the only thing that could stop ASAP Rocky now is ASAP Rocky.

Elsewhere on the first day, performers like Sexyy Red, Peso Pluma, and Larry June gave fans what they wanted, while a redesigned festival ground opened up some interesting possibilities with scheduling. Having the Zig-Zag and D’usse stages side-by-side allowed fans who wanted to take in more underground artists the ability to do so without having to traverse the festival grounds, while swapping the VIP section to the east side of the GoPuff main stage opened the section up with more space and allowed GA fans better views of the stage (getting INTO the VIP was kind of a pain though, thanks to its entrance at the opposite end from the stage).

And speaking of high expectations… Gelo impressed as much as anyone. A late addition to the festival lineup propelled by the viral reception of his unexpectedly good debut single “Tweaker,” Gelo proved he had more where “Tweaker” came from, debuting a new song that prompted an enthused reaction from the crowd with a similar, throwback sound to his breakout hit. The hooper turned rapper really might be the dark horse pick for breakout of the year.

Meanwhile, other, like the food truck lane off to the side of the main avenue and the smokers’ pavilion, provided a comforting continuity with prior editions of the festival. Rolling Loud continues to make effective use of the Hollywood Park venue, and while I would have personally preferred the entrances retain the setup from 2023, these are minor quibbles for a fest that has proven its ability to go above and beyond, delivering a unique festival experience that combines the top names in rap with a glimpse at all of its potential futures.