Meek Mill, Maxwell, Rain Delays

Another Roots Picnic is in the books. For two days, thousands of music lovers descended upon Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park to check out a wide array of acts, from R&B and pop stars such as Maxwell, Miguel, and Tems to rappers like Meek Mill, GloRilla, Latto, and everything in between. Though the rain on May 31 threw a massive monkey wrench into the festivities, drawing an apology from Questlove to fans, things got better on June 1 (for the most part). Here are seven of the biggest takeaways from the weekend.

The Roots Picnic was characteristically diverse

It’s no surprise that a festival with a lineup at least partially based on Questlove’s taste reflects the wide spectrum of Black music. Lenny Kravitz, Kaytranada, and Meek Mill — three very different artists — were the three closing sets on Sunday, and it all made sense. There were in-demand rappers like GloRilla and Latto. Acts such as Cece Peniston and Crystal Waters (both hosted by Rich Medina) and Kaytranada demonstrated the long history of house music. Multi-instrumentalist Adam Blackstone was joined by Total and Jagged Edge, giving their early-’00s pop/R&B hits the live treatment. R&B was well accounted for throughout the weekend, with stellar sets from the likes of Maxwell, Tems, and Miguel. Concertgoers could even give praise at Kirk Franklin’s Sunday School. There are many festivals that offer a particular vibe for a particular audience, but increasingly, the Roots Picnic is becoming one of the music world’s better “something for everyone” events.

Maxwell headlined the Fairmount Park stage on Saturday night as a last-minute replacement for D’Angelo, who pulled out the week before the show because of health concerns. He wished his R&B brother a speedy recovery from the stage, but expressed gratitude for the opportunity to perform in front of thousands of concertgoers. Saturday’s rain cleared up right in time for him to give an unimpeded showcase of his extensive catalog, including “Ascension (Don’t Ever Wonder),” “This Woman’s Work,” and “Fortunate.” The fans who braved the unseasonable June chill got a reminder of Maxwell’s greatness, though one fan spoke for many when she lamented, “He didn’t play ‘Pretty Wings’!” Maxwell was joined onstage by comedian Dave Chappelle, who commended the singer and told the crowd that they first met years ago, when Maxwell was a bartender.

Hometown hero Meek Mill closed out the festival on night two, running through an almost hourlong set of his hits. He came to the stage in dramatic fashion, with a video montage of himself and friends seemingly pulling onto festival grounds on bikes as Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight” played. Once he took the stage, he delved into the Collins-sampling intro to his heralded Championships album, and other hits such as “Uptown Vibes” and “All Eyes On You.” He also brought out a couple of up-and-coming rappers from the Philly area, Skrilla and Fridayy. Meek performed  “Proud of Me” with the latter artist, though backing vocals unfortunately distorted Meek’s incredible verse. After almost every song, Meek offered motivational advice to the crowd, referencing his rags-to-riches come-up and imploring the crowd to remember that they’re capable of the same, despite the naysayers. It’s pretty well-known that Meek has a polarizing relationship with social media, and his annoyance with skeptics was apparent throughout the night, as the screen behind him showed several clips of adages such as “Don’t Believe Everything You See,” and an image of sheep with glowing eyes (a shot at the “internet sheep”) who spark his ire.

Toward the end of the set, Meek was about to go into his “Dreams And Nightmares” intro, but stopped twice when he felt the crowd wasn’t giving him the necessary energy. There were definitely moments where the crowd felt disconnected from Meek. Sensing the malaise, he then asked for someone to come onstage to give a “Philly speech.” Rapper Gillie and media personality Wallo (from podcast Million Dollaz Worth Of Game) walked centerstage to rouse the crowd. Wallo told Meek he should remind the crowd who he is by running through his early hits before closing out with the intro. The crowd rapped every word to early-2010s tracks such as “Rosé Red” and “Levels,” in a moment that matched his prior rendition of “I’m a Boss,” which also turned the crowd up. That run of Philly classics primed the crowd for his festival-closing “Intro.”

GloRilla’s set highlighted a disconnect

GloRilla was the first big star to grace the Fairmount Park stage on Saturday. Boasting long teal hair and bedazzled jeans, she looked every bit the star she’s become over the past several years. She went through her steadily growing catalog, with four dancers in tow augmenting renditions of “Yeah Glo,” “FNF,” and “Hollon.” GloRilla and DJ Digital Dynasty frequently addressed the crowd, dropping the music so concertgoers could finish her lines. But unfortunately, she wasn’t getting much reciprocation. Maybe the lack of call-and-response was about the number of older people in the crowd, or the dreary weather sapping everyone’s energy.  

But the moment reminded me of seeing Sexyy Red’s performance at last year’s Roots Picnic. Though Sexyy, like Glo, was an unconventional fit for a traditional bill at this festival, her set succeeded it part because it occurred in the park’s TD Pavilion amphitheater, a closed-off environment in the far corner of the grounds. For Sexyy, that venue-within-the-venue served as a space strictly for young fans who wanted to get ratchet. Instead of getting the same placement, Glo played the mainstage, which, with the Saturday schedule being a mystery, was stocked with attendees who didn’t seem to resonate with her high-octane sound. It’s cool that Roots Picnic is widening their selection of artists, but perhaps the more younger-skewing acts should play the amphitheater. The walk toward its stage is steep — you’d only take it if you know exactly who you’re coming to see. 

J.Period’s Live Mixtape was a cross-regional barfest

As someone who loves to hear MCs bar up, producer DJ J.Period’s annual Live Mixtape was my highlight of the weekend. Esteemed rap journalist Sway opened the set and introduced Black Thought, calling him “bar-for-bar the illest MC on the planet.” The Roots MC delved into a couple of freestyles before Pusha T took the stage. He played singles like “If You Know You Know” and “Games We Play,” before inviting his brother Malice out, marking the Clipse’s Roots Picnic debut. They performed hits like “What Happened to That Boy,” and “Cotdamn” (with their longtime Philly associate Ab-Liva), with Black Thought occasionally jumping in at the end of the beat to get off some bars. Clipse didn’t play their just-released “Ace Trumpets” single, but they gave the crowd a dose of nostalgia to prime them for their upcoming, long-awaited album Let God Sort Em Out.

Next, Black Thought had rappers D West and Lena L, a pair of students from his School of Thought master classes, spit some bars over “Grindin.” Then, things went to Atlanta as 2 Chainz came onstage and performed hits like “No Lie,” “Rich As Fuck,” and the eponymous track from his Life Is Beautiful album with Alchemist and Larry June. Black Thought, who stayed onstage the entire time (and had a full set with the Roots just an hour later), offered some bars to 2 Chainz’ classics as well. 2 Chainz spoke for many when he called Black Thought a “magician” and a “rappin’-ass nigga,” but he deserves props as well. Seeing Philly’s Thought and Atlanta’s 2 Chainz trade bars over the beat from Camp Lo’s quintessential uptown New York hit “Luchini” (right after Virginia’s Clipse tore down the stage) is the kind of thing that shatters any regional or aesthetic demarcations people place on rap. For J.Period, if you can spit, you can jump onstage for the Live Mixtape. 

Musiq and Jeezy celebrated a couple of milestones

In 2000, Philly musician Musiq Soulchild released his debut album, Aijuswanaseing, on Def Jam. The project made waves, so much so that 25 years later he filled the amphitheater with fans looking to celebrate its silver anniversary with him. He started the hometown set by letting his band play, getting the crowd ready to two-step before he jumped into a top-to-bottom rendition of his debut. He also took a beat to humbly thank the crowd for “supporting your own.”

Later that day, Jeezy celebrated the 20th anniversary of his own major-label debut, Let’s Get It: Thug Motivation 101 — the rap classic that elevated him from a mixtape maestro into a bonafide rap star. He tore through hits such as “Soul Survivor,” but he also gave a full reminder of the rest of his iconic catalog, performing his “Dey Know” remix before closing out with “Put On.”

Kendrick Lamar got a pair of shoutouts

Kendrick Lamar, currently on his Grand National tour, wasn’t at the Roots Picnic, but his presence was felt. Several DJs played GNX hits such as “Squabble Up,” “TV Off”  — and yes, “Not Like Us” — during their sets. The momentous Drake diss also garnered what may be a hip-hop first: Philly soul band SNACKTIME performed a cover of “Not Like Us,” with lead singer Nico Bryant belting Kendrick’s venomous first verse over their raucous live instrumentation. Aside from occasional bar and hook references, cover songs don’t often make it to rap, so their choice to cover a diss song might have made history. The day before, Musiq Soulchild went viral for transitioning out of his “Just Friends (Sunny)” hit into the chorus of Kendrick Lamar’s “TV Off.” An artist being covered by contemporaries is the true sign of an instant classic. 

The festival needs better communication

On Saturday, Philly had to contend with Mother Nature, and thousands of attendees dealt with the unknown. After on-and-off rain for the previous 24 hours, festival organizers had to mulch parts of the festival’s grassy area to make things more walkable. But they weren’t very communicative about the process with attendees, many of whom took to social media to share their dismay with their lengthy wait. The festival opened its gates at 2 p.m. (instead of the previously announced noon opening), leaving some people waiting in line for as many as four hours with no indication of what was going on. Commenters on the Roots Picnic’s IG recounted medics having to assist people who had been waiting for too long with no water (eventually the account closed its comments). All of the Saturday sets were pushed back, and no one knew when to expect which act.

The festival issued an apology on its Instagram page on Sunday morning, noting “today is a new day and we will do better”; Questlove later added a personal note of his own, thanking fans for their “understanding and patience through this adversity.” I spoke to multiple people who said they had a smoother entry Sunday, but there was still an hour delay at the Mann Stage, which left it unclear which acts were playing at what time. SNACKTIME were set to play at 2 p.m., but didn’t get into their set until after 3 p.m.; the Roots started near 7:30 instead of the scheduled 6:30. Going forward, the festival has to be more forthcoming with attendees, whether that’s relaying messages to between-set DJs, hiring hosts who can keep attendees abreast in between acts, or simply offering change-of-plan notices on their Instagram page.