By: Nikki Nelsen, Nelson Rodriguez and Michael Torres
Saturday, August 10
2:48 p.m. Less than a mile from the festival sitting in a Starbucks parking lot by Century Stadium and you can hear music erupting from the Honda Center with the sounds of KYLE’s ”iSpy”. (Nikki Nelsen)
2:55pm Just arrived and looks like the attire today is ratchet. (Michael Torres)
3pm Made my entrance into day 1 of Real Street Festival and the layout already looks very promising. But before I can stop and take it all in I make a beeline to the South stage to catch a set from Atlanta Rapper Rich The Kid. (Nelson Rodriguez)
3:20pm Rich The Kid wastes no time and gets things started right away with “Splashin” where he raps about drippin’ so hard to a crowd that’s drippin’ puddles of sweat standing on this hot AF parking lot asphalt. (NR)
3:25pm “if I was tripping it would’ve kicked by now right?” Got to love the crowd. (MT)
REAL STREET FESTIVAL FANS, RAPPERS AND VENDORS BOND OVER CANNABIS
3:27 p.m. The first thing I noticed was all the art and murals littered throughout near the front entrance and vendor area. A giant pink ice cream truck with a big white fluffy RipnDip white cat on top can also be noticed and the cat lady inside me is mesmerized. (NN)
3:30 p.m. Walking up to the first stage that is as big as the stages you’d see at an Insomniac festival you can hear Rich The Kid screaming. (NN)
3:35pm With a huge flying saucer on a giant green screen behind him Rich The Kid pulls out another banger with the crowd favorite “Plug Walk” (NR)
3:40 p.m. Smells of cannabis wafts across the hundreds of people in the crowd that gathered at the front of the stage, security doesn’t seem to care and it seems like everyone is taking part. (NN)
3:50pm After Rich The Kid’s short but lit 30 minute set it was time to get the lay of the land and see how Street this Real Street festival truly is. (NR)
3:55pm Didn’t take long to run into some next level IG worthy festival props after coming across the California Love Thunderdome Bar inspired by the iconic 2pac music video. With Mad Max-esque servers and the roof of the dome shooting pyro into the sky the streets in Real Street Fest are legit as can be. (NR)
4:30pm The Artist Alley near the Festival entrance is yet another place festival goers are posting up for IG photos with the squad next to large murals, billboards, and graffiti walls made by various street and graphic artists. The fan favorite is the large Nipsey Hussle mural beautifully made by Danny Mateo (R.I.P. Nipsey) (NR)
4:35pm Artist Alley where boyfriends become professional photographers. (MT)
4:40pm In the vendor village a dancer from the Spearmint Rhino Gentlemen’s Club makes eye contact with me and hands me a card for a free entry to their highly esteemed establishment…or so I’ve heard. (NR)
4:45pm Time to cool off and cruise into the Honda Center to enjoy some AC and see what’s going on in “Big Boy’s Neighborhood” (NR)
[SLIDESHOW:] REAL STREET FESTIVAL 2019 AT THE HONDA CENTER
4:50pm Living up to the Real Street name Big Boy’s neighborhood is jam packed with many offerings such as a car show curated by West Coast Customs which features Post Malone’s pimped out 1992 explorer with Lamborghini styled scissor doors. (NR)
4:51pm People are letting loose as females around the festival start twerking and shaking their asses hoping to have a booty like Megan Thee Stallion. (NN)
4:52pm It ain’t Big Boy’s neighborhood without the legend himself who has a line of people waiting to greet him and pose for a selfie. (NR)
4:53pm The other highlights of Big Boy’s neighborhood include a Braid & Nail bar by RichGirlCandy for the ladies, LA’s Brotherhood Barbershop for the fellas, and on-site tattoos from Carlos Macias’ Cryptic Tattoo (This big guy getting a chest tattoo had some watery eyes and was looking at me like I ain’t crying foo YOU CRYING) (NR)
5:05pm I noticed a lot of people’s head look up to the JumboTron and that’s because Megan Thee Stallion is on the South Stage sporting pink assless cowgirl chaps and twerking like the fate of humanity depended on it. (If the fate of humanity strangely did depend on the ability of an individuals act of twerking rest assured Megan has got our back) (NR)
5:10pm. Before Jay Rock, Zicari, Reason and Sir the four man act went on one of the power 92.3 DJ’s dedicate part of his set to Nipsey Hussle along with spinning a Nipsey Hussle song. R.I.P. Nipsey Hussle. (NN)
5:20pm I Peaced out of Big Boy’s neighborhood and made my way to the North Stage to catch a set featuring Jay Rock who brought along his TDE (Top Dawg Entertainment) crew Zacari, Reason, and SiR. (NR)
5:24 p.m. Zicari slows it down with some love songs but the crowd feels mixed about them… some people even shout to get him off the stage. (NN)
5:30pm Zacari, Reason, and SiR each performed a few of their tracks but the real highlight of this set was Jay Rock performing “WIN” which brought the crowds energy way up! This was much needed after Zacari’s mellow vibes cradled everyone to sleep. (NR)
6:15pm Trippie Redd hit the south stage and sang the shit out of his lungs. The crowd was also singing the words so loudly that most songs broke into A cappella versions. Trippie Redd’s Sound is described as trap, cloud rap, emo rap, SoundCloud rap….but after this performance I’m personally creating the genre of Trap Sinatra. You can never have enough genres for SoundCloud rappers. (NR)
6:28 Can we get Trippie Red in an acapella group? He kills it. (MT)
7:40pm Gotta give it up to 2 Chainz for being the first act to bring out a live band which included a drummer, guitarist, and 2 synth/keyboard players. It’s A Vibe! (NR)
7:45pm 2 Chainz kindly reminds the crowd that Atlanta in his home state of Georgia is home to the best strip clubs in the world. And just like that ladies in the front row start challenging that fact by displaying some #chichischrist of their own. (NR)
7:50pm Holy shit I knew 2 Chainz was going to be good but NOT this good. People around me agree and we all start singing along “I’m different, yeah I’m different” (NR)
7:52 p.m. Paramedics at the festival took out their cell phones to remember 2 chainz performance. (NN)
8:25 p.m. Thousands of people are excited to hear Rae Sremmurd play their set as they crowd around the north stage of the festival like a pack of stampeding wildebeest. (NN)
8:28 Suddenly everyone is out now that the sun is down. (MT)
8:40pm Rae Sremmurd hit the North Stage which is jam packed with fans. This doesn’t stop them from telling the crowd to “Open it up!” and get a circle pit going. SremmLife! (NR)
9:10pm Before their set comes to a close Rae Sremmurd keep the momentum going with “Black Beatles” which bring back people who were about to step away to head to the South stage. (NR)
10:35pm Future walks out to “Bugatti” which is the greatest walk out song ever! (NR)
10:50pm The best sing-along of the day/night is to Future’s “Thought It Was a Drought” There’s a lot of Gucci flip flop owners in the audience. (NR)
11:10pm Future tells the crowd he’s going to run out of time before he runs out of hits and then goes into another hit “Stick Talk” (NR)
Sunday, August 11
4:09 p.m. It is obvious that there are more people than yesterday. The crowds overflow to the general admission along with the VIP area. (NN)
5:20 pm The North Stage is already getting a dedicated crowd that isn’t moving the rest of the night in order to guarantee a primo view of A$AP Rocky. “I hope I don’t have to pee in an hour” says a guy next to me who is holding a large smart water bottle that might come into play if need be. (NR)
5:35pm LA rapper and producer Kid Ink comes out and starts making the North Stage the place to be for the remainder of the night. (NR)
5:50pm Kid Ink can tell the crowd needs a boost so he gets into some of his more EDM type songs and that day 2 second wind starts kicking in for many in the audience. (NR)
6:30pm While Lil Baby entertains the South stage crowd the North stage crowd start lighting up blunts as big as the next 3 performers. It’s about to get Lit. (NR)
6:55pm Detroit rapper Big Sean shows off how good he flows with a flawless performance of “Paradise” (NR)
7:00pm Big Sean announces him and ASAP Rocky are working on new tracks (NN)
7:20pm Nothing beats a Southern California sunset soundtracked by a live performance of “Mercy” from Big Sean. (NR)
7:25pm Someone near the front of the stage went a little too hard and bangs the shit out of their head which causes Big Sean to pause his set so that a medic can make their way through the crowd. A few more people start passing out which prompts security to start passing out water.(NR)
7:31pm Hydrate before you die-drate should’ve been advertised. (MT)
7:38 p.m. Big Sean calls for more backup from medics as his set is still delayed going into Miguels set at the South Stage. (NN)
7:48 p.m. Miguel’s voice and sounds of his electric guitar erupts from the South stage but as soon as Big Sean is given the greenlight to perform his last 2 songs Big Sean’s music almost overpowers all of Miguel’s set. (NN)
7:51 p.m. Miguel tries to sing over Big Sean’s “I don’t fuck with you” but isn’t having any luck. (NN)
8:35pm Cardi B and her female dance crew hit the stage sporting some revealing Evel Knievel inspired costumes with some pink glitter coated boots that scream Boss Bitch! (NR)
8:45pm I look over to stage left and I see a sign language interpreter that is in front of a fan who is having as much fun, if not more, as Cardi B as she signs all of Cardi B’s rhymes. (NR)
9:03pm After performing “MotorSport” on a motorcycle on stage Cardi B laughs and tells the audience that she actually doesn’t know how to drive. What she lacks in driving ability she makes up for with her twerking skills. At one point she did a twerking move that looked like the spider walk scene in the exorcist. Okurrr! (NR)
9:16 p.m. Four of of Cardi’s background dancers pour water bottles on Cardi B as she twerks and raps. (NN)
10:31 The guy next to me is taking advantage of the 2 for $5 pre rolls from the homie in front of me while we wait for A$AP Rocky to come out. (MT)
10:35pm A$AP Rocky is back and with a white sheet covering the entire stage and smoke building up behind it you can tell he’s about to give a performance of a lifetime. (NR)
10:35pm A$AP Rocky’s first song “A$AP Forever” has the crowd wildin’ “Gang! Gang!” (NR)
10:40pm The White sheet uncovers the stage and a masked A$AP stands on a 10 foot platform with a mob of masked individuals below him on stage. The crowd starts chanting “Fuck Sweden! Fuck Sweden!” (NR)
10:42pm A$AP wastes no time and demands a mosh pit. His masked mob leaves the stage and jump into the crowd as they start forming multiple circle pits. (NR)
10:44pm A$AP Rocky shows a tutorial video that is hilarious but deadass showing some hardcore examples of mosh pits from music festivals in Russia that look like straight up war battles. Girls who just got their nails done and “lil bitches” were given a warning by Rocky. (NR)
10:45pm 7 different mosh pits are in effect and I now know how Jon Snow felt when he was being crushed with a pile of bodies during the Battle of the Bastards. Thanks A$AP! (NR)
10:56pm A$AP Rocky’s first guest Tyler, The Creator jumps on stage and goes straight into “Who Dat Boy” and the crowd instantly lose their shit. (NR)
11pm A$AP tells Tyler he wants to hear something from IGOR and the crowd gets treated to “EARFQUAKE” which definitely got the ground shaking. (NR)
11:08pm A$AP Rocky tells the crowd that when he was locked up in Sweden they would play the radio and that he heard some A$AP Ferg….that’s when Ferg came out and they performed “Work” which was the loudest song of the weekend. (NR)
11:20pm Epic guest spots during Rocky’s set included Tyler, Ferg, and YG but A$AP Trump was nowhere to be found. (NR)
11:30 Rocky’s performance was a festival in its own. (MT)
11:35pm And just like that Real Street Fest has become one of the best music festivals in LA/OC and in their inaugural year no less.
Cynthia Rebolledo covers anything and everything food, culture and spirits.