Tay B is more than an up-and-coming rapper — he wants to be at the forefront of what he considers Detroit’s “rap resurgence.” Before he logged into the day’s Zoom meeting, B’s manager confirmed that he was exiting a charitable endeavor in his hometown. Ownership, giving back, and creative autonomy are recurring themes during his exclusive chat with The Knockturnal.
Last Week Quality Control Music/Motown Records artist Lil Yachty Celebrated the Release of his latest album Let’s Start Here with an exclusive listening party at Liberty Science Center in New Jersey. Lil Yachty posted on his Instagram earlier in the week announcing to his fans that he would be hosting three listenings in the New York/New Jersey area with “fine dining.” Within a matter of 5 minutes Yachty posted the listening experience was “sold out.”
LA3C successfully wraps up their first annual festival without a hitch. Penske Media Corporation’s (PMC) highly-anticipated LA3 music, food and art festival, which celebrates the rich culture and immense creativity of Los Angeles, wrapped the final day of the inaugural two-day festival at Los Angeles State Historic Park. Never have I attended a festival where close to nothing went wrong, much less a first ever festival. Staff were extremely kind and prepared with security guards constantly passing out waters and checking in with concert goers. In between set changes, LA3C also had a DJ keeping the crowd moving and excited. The stage production for each act was so unique and amazing and matched each artists unique charms. Many festivals that have been established for years, still can’t pull off what LA3C got right the first time.
Lil Baby at the LA3C Stage during the LA3C festival held at Los Angeles State Historic Park on December 10, 2022 in Los Angeles, California.
Alongside diverse music, festival-goers were wowed with curated best-in-class experiences including a range of multicultural food at Dining Discovery presented by Facebook; one-of-a-kind artwork and installations representing the city; fun and interactive brand activations by Homedics, NYX Professional Makeup, Maker’s Mark, Redken, ViX+; and SHE Media’s Meaningful Marketplace Sponsored by U.S. Bank that showcased LA-based entrepreneurs.
Maluma performs on the LA3C Stage during the LA3C festival held at Los Angeles State Historic Park on December 11, 2022 in Los Angeles, California.
LA3C’s genre-spanning lineup celebrated the sounds and spirit of Los Angeles with big-name headliners and homegrown favorites. Saturday was marked by amazing performances from beloved music icons and today’s biggest hit makers from hip-hop to K-pop including Lil Baby, Snoop Dogg, Seventeen, Mustard, Free Nationals, and KYLE as well as a special pop-up from legendary ethologist, activist and conservationist Dr. Jane Goodall. Sunday kept the energy just as exhilarating with a celebration of Latin music, featuring high octane performances from Colombian superstar Maluma, Snow Tha Product, Gerardo Ortiz, Fonseca, Chesca, and so many more.
K-pop group Seventeen (Back Row L-R) Jun, Jeonghan, Woonwoo, DK, Dino, Hoshi, The 8 and S.Coups (Front Row L-R) Seungkwan, Joshua, Mingyu Woozi and Vernon arrives at LA3C held at Los Angeles State Historic Park on December 10, 2022 in Los Angeles, California.
Day 1 of LA3C kicked off with electronic performances from Lil Baby, Snoop Dogg, and Seventeen among a huge lineup of amazing and diverse acts. Day 2 of LA3C wrapped up the amazing weekend with exciting performances from Latin legend Maluma as well as Snow Tha Product, Gerardo Ortiz, Fonseca TOKiMONSTA, and so much more.
Snoop Dogg at the LA3C Stage during the LA3C festival held at Los Angeles State Historic Park on December 10, 2022 in Los Angeles, California.
On the first day of LA3C viral artist Shawn Wasabi kicked off the day of mainstage performances with an energetic set featuring an appearance by LA local pop singer Sophia Black. Following an amazing opening to the festival, KYLE hyped up the crowd with an unforgettable performance at one point even surfing through the crowd on an actual surfboard. LA natives Free Nationals performed their hits and brought out singer India Shawn as she joined them to perform their songs including “Time” as a special tribute to Mac Miller. One of the most anticipated acts of the night, K-pop legends Seventeen, delivered a show-stopping hour-long performance to an electric crowd of fans. The “carats,” some of whom camped-out overnight, were out in full force during their set, lighting up Los Angeles State Historic Park as they proudly waved their lightsticks. Following Seventeen’s set, members Mingyu and Vernon came back to help introduce surprise guest Dr. Jane Goodall to the stage for a speech bringing attention to the importance of conserving the environment and imploring younger generations to take action against climate change. Goodall stated, “I want to tell you what you can do to make the world a better place. There are three reasons to have hope for our future – human intellect, nature, and the power of young people,” said Goodall, sharing an inspiring message of hope to attendees. Jane then led the crowd in an empowering chant saying, “We can, we will, we must!” LA music icon Snoop Dogg treated fans to performances of crowd-pleasers “Gin & Juice” and “Drop it like it’s Hot,” and did a tribute to The Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac singing “Hypnotize” and “2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted.” Snoop Dogg ended his set with a crowd sing-along to his self-proclaimed national anthem for the youth, “Young, Wild & Free.” Closing out the amazing Day 1 Saturday LA3C Headliner Lil Baby heated up the stage on a cold LA night performing hit after hit including “Drip Too Hard,” “Wants and Needs,” “Freestyle,” and more.
Snow Tha Product performs on the LA3C Stage during the LA3C festival held at Los Angeles State Historic Park on December 11, 2022 in Los Angeles, California.
In partnership with Hot Import Nights®, the world’s largest and most unique indoor/outdoor automotive lifestyle event producer, HIN Events hosted a second festival stage with its headliner Mustard. Other featured HIN Stage performers included AJ Hernz, CUCO, Freya Fox, Kill Bambi, Kim Lee, Paper Idol, Rosegold, and Vice. The Hot Import Nights® stage also featured a special DJ set by Linafornia in celebration of VIBE’s 30th Anniversary. In addition to epic performances, Hot Import Nights® presented vehicles featured in the Fast and Furious movies, celebrity-owned vehicles and more.
Gerardo Ortiz performs on the LA3C Stage during the LA3C festival held at Los Angeles State Historic Park on December 11, 2022 in Los Angeles, California.
On the same night, Seventeen and Dr. Jane Goodall were honored at LA3C’s inaugural CREATIVITY AND CULTURE AWARDS, recognizing those enriching Los Angeles and who position the city as an international capital of creativity, culture, and innovation. Amongst the awardees was Chairman of HYBE Group and pioneer of the K-pop culture, Bang Si-Hyuk; President & Chief Operating Officer of Destination Crenshaw, Jason Foster; and former Publisher of La Opinion and President & CEO of College Futures Foundation, Monica Lozano.
Jane Goodall at the LA3C Stage during the LA3C festival held at Los Angeles State Historic Park on December 10, 2022 in Los Angeles, California.
Along with the festival, on Saturday, Deadline partnered with LA3C to host the ‘Contenders Film LA3C: Conversations with Contenders’ event in downtown Los Angeles. Films highlighted included Sony Pictures’ “A Man Called Otto” and “The Woman King,” Searchlight Pictures’ “The Banshees of Inisherin,” Apple Original Films’ “Emancipation” and Netflix’s “The Pale Blue Eye.”
KYLE performs onstage
Day 2 of LA3C began with Chicocurlyhead stage with lively performances of “Dame Mas De Ti” and “How It Goes.” Monogem took to the stage to perform “Tangerine Sky,” “Get You High” and more. Marc Segui surprised attendees by bringing out Latin rap and hip hop performer, Xavibo. Chesca charmed the crowd with dance moves to “Te Quiero Baby” and “TuTuRu” and closed the set with her hit song “ACTIVA” with Villano Antillano joining her onstage. Fonseca had the crowd dancing to his style of Latin pop/traditional folkloric rhythms with spirited performances of his hits “Eres mi sueño,” “Arroyito,” and more. The fans were jumping to Gerardo Ortiz’senergetic performance of his crowd-pleaser “Tranquilito” and more. Snow Tha Product hyped up the crowd with dance contests, toasted to her final show of the year while also performing hits such as “La Vida,” “Not Today” and also invited her mom to the stage to join her for a song. Performing with the skyline of downtown Los Angeles lighting up the horizon, Sunday LA3C headliner Maluma began his set getting the crowd to sing along to his chart-topping hit “Hawái.” The Colombian superstar also known as Papi Juancho closed the weekend performing fan favorites including “Felices los 4,” “11 PM,” and more.
Monogem performs on the LA3C Stage during the LA3C festival held at Los Angeles State Historic Park on December 11, 2022 in Los Angeles, California.
Sunday’s Hot Import Nights® stage featured ToKiMONSTA who ended the night by treating fans to performances of “Loved By U” and more. Other featured HIN Stage performers included performance sets from Accia, Arius, Cam Girl, LOLO, Lucky Light, Madds, MEIRLIN and Peach.
Shawn Wasabi at the LA3C Stage during the LA3C festival held at Los Angeles State Historic Park on December 10, 2022 in Los Angeles, California.
On Sunday The Hollywood Reporter partnered with LA3C to host a live Q&A with Robert Downey Jr. titled “An Afternoon With Robert Downey Jr.,” which included an exclusive screening event for the emotional Sr., the Netflix documentary about Robert Downey Sr., followed by a live Q&A with Downey Jr. and his wife/Team Downey producing partner, Susan Downey, moderated by The Hollywood Reporter’s Scott Feinberg.
Fonseca performs on the LA3C Stage during the LA3C festival held at Los Angeles State Historic Park on December 11, 2022 in Los Angeles, California.
Penske Media’s LA3C is a first-time annual festival celebrating the rich culture and creativity of Los Angeles. Over two days, LA3C promises to cultivate the best of Los Angeles with headlining musical talent, bold art installations, and food that represents the diverse palette of the city. Festival Goers will leave feeling proud to live in LA and energized by new experiences and surprise & delight moments. LA3C brings our community together in the heart of the city to celebrate everything that makes Los Angeles unique. LA3C will leverage the expertise and access of Penske Media properties including Variety, Billboard, VIBE, The Hollywood Reporter, Rolling Stone, Deadline, WWD, Sportico, SHE Media, ARTnews, Robb Report, IndieWire, TVLine and Sourcing Journal.
Penske Media Corporation (PMC) is a leading global media and information services company whose award-winning content attracts a passionate audience. Since 2004, PMC has been a pioneer in digital media and a platform innovator, reaching viewers on all screens across its ever-growing constellation of iconic brands, which includes Variety, Rolling Stone, VIBE, SXSW, Life is Beautiful, The Hollywood Reporter, Billboard, WWD, SHE Media, Robb Report, Deadline, Sportico, BGR, ARTnews, Fairchild Media, IndieWire, Dirt, Gold Derby, Spy.com, TVLine, Sourcing Journal, among many others. PMC’s journalists and content creators deliver daily the most comprehensive news and information in their industries and areas of coverage, unequaled in ambition, depth, and courage. In addition, PMC owns several vital cultural events such as SXSW, LA3C, and Life is Beautiful. Headquartered in New York and Los Angeles with additional offices in 14 countries worldwide, PMC believes companies should not only be profitable but also forces for good.
Marc Seguí performs on the LA3C Stage during the LA3C festival held at Los Angeles State Historic Park on December 11, 2022 in Los Angeles, California.
The Knockturnal had the opportunity to speak with KYLE ahead of his set! We got to chat about how amazing this past year has been for him, as well as what’s in store for Kyle in 2023! Check out the interview below!
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On Saturday, June 11th Tribeca Film Festival hosted the world premiere of Lil Baby’s documentary Untrapped: The Story of Lil Baby at the Beacon Theatre in New York City following a star-studded red carpet. The cast graced the carpet including Lil Baby and his sons, producers P & Coach K from Quality Control, director/producer Karam Gill, and industry tastemakers and artists alike came out to show their support including MTV’s Jamila Mustafa and superstar Shensea.
We briefly spoke with Forbes 30 under 30 director Karam about his favorite part of the documentary, “The documentary captures Lil Baby and where he’s at right now, but my favorite part of the documentary was going to the West End and really just spending time with him and really organically being with him in his community, it’s not contrived, it’s real, that was just an incredible highlight.” After wrapping the carpet guests headed inside to view the screening followed by a Q+A and intimate performance by Baby who performed unreleased music.
Untrapped: The Story of Lil Baby, directed by Karam Gil, centers on Baby’s journey and rise to fame, but it also paints a larger picture of circumstance, environment, oppression and opportunity. Before we as an audience learn about the Lil Baby we know today, we’re first introduced to Dominique Armani Jones, his family, his hometown of West Atlanta and the history that contributed to the environment in which Dominique/Baby grew up in. Baby was raised by a single mother in poverty in an area faced with decades of racial injustice, but even in the face of adversity, Baby was making millions before ever entering the booth. Baby came to prominence in West Atlanta originally as a drug dealer and was well-known and well-respected in the streets. While hustling he befriended Young Thug and P who believed in his greatness early on. Young Thug speaks on his intentions to protect Lil Baby at all costs, “if he asked for a million dollars I’d give him a million dollars, I told him you don’t have to go to the studio, just take this money and go home and spend time with your kids” says Young Thug in the documentary.
After being released from Jail, Baby officially inked a deal with Quality Control and his artist development began. Over time Baby improved, but it was never a childhood dream nor something he sought, he was fortunate enough to have people like P who saw his potential and push him towards greatness. The documentary shows both lows and highs in Baby’s career, but he is virtually unfazed and keeps an optimistic outlook even when the industry fails to recognize his achievements. Stars like Drake also make an appearance to speak on Baby’s success, “He had the biggest rap project of the year” says Drake about Baby’s My Turn. Gunna and Charlamagne Tha God also spoke on Baby’s talents and his impact on the music industry.
The documentary sees a turning point both in America as whole and Lil Baby as an artist after the tragic killing of George Floyd. This becomes the catalyst for Lil Baby shifting focus and using his voice as a platform against social injustice. He even pays for and makes a special appearance during Gianna Floyd’s birthday. Lil Baby says, “ I feel like I have a responsibility to leave the Earth a better place for the next generation,” when speaking on his current mindset. Baby gets another sad wake-up call when his close friend and fellow rapper Marlo is killed. Baby is more focused now more than ever and hopes to uplift his community through his music. Chairman/CEO of Motown Ethiopia Habtemariam says “Lil Baby represents the American dream” and it becomes apparent throughout the documentary that Lil Baby’s success is not only his family’s success, but all of Atlanta’s as well.
Drake highlights that, “Baby has already cemented himself as an important figure from this generation.” Baby’s Grammy snub and the subsequent performance reflect where Baby is at today and how even at the height of his career he still continues to face systemic oppression within the industry even though he had the largest-selling album of all genres of music in 2020. Ironically, the Grammy snub hits his team harder than him and Baby sees the Grammy performance as an opportunity to reach larger audiences and is still grateful for the opportunity. Overall this documentary tells the triumphant tale of Lil Baby in his prime and celebrates the talented artist at the beginning and height of his career, Baby ends the documentary on a poignant note stating “I’m just getting started and I’ll never be trapped again.”
Following the world premiere, Lil Baby, P, Coach K and Karam Gill took the stage to answer questions about the documentary, moderated by Pitchfork’s Alphonse Pierre. Highlights from the conversation include P saying that capturing content was a priority while developing Baby because he wanted to be able to showcase his legacy and the work that went into his career. Baby revealed during the Q+A that he still isn’t fully comfortable today with the role of an artist as it wasn’t something he aspired to since childhood, “a lot of people been waiting for this moment their whole life, so when that moment arrived it was bigger than I was ready for.” Karam Gill also highlights that the documentary depicts what a great father Baby is and how present he is in his children’s lives which you seldom see when reflecting on artist’s legacies. Coach K explained that transitioning to music was all about budding confidence in Baby because he was already well-respected, he just needed time to hone in on his craft and focus himself on the music. After the Q+A Baby gave the audience an exclusive performance with fan favorites as well as unreleased tracks.
Powerhouse 2021 was definitely an exciting show this weekend! Hosted by Power 105.1 at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ; the show featured artists B-Lovee, Capella Grey, Fivio Foreign, Bobby Shmurda, Rowdy Rebel, Moneybagg Yo, DJ Spinking, Polo G, Roddy Ricch, Saweetie, Migos, and headliner Lil Baby. Each set was filled with surprises that the audience did not expect.
Bronx rapper B-Lovee opened the show with his TikTok smash, “My Everything” getting the audience warmed up for an exciting night. Capella Grey performed his mega hit “Gyalis” as the audience danced and sang to his music. To the pleasant surprise of the crowd, he brought out upcoming Bronx artist Swave HMG to perform his rising single “Blue Faces.” The crowd of over 60,000 people became excited as Polo G entered the stage, many fans held their phone flashlights as they prepared for him to enter the stage. He performed hits such as “Rapstar” and “Martin and Gina.” Fivio Foreign brought an exhilarating energy as he performed drill hits such as “Big Drip” and “Wetty.” He brought out rapper DreamDoll to perform their hit single “Ah Ah Ah.” The crowd went crazy watching them perform together!
The self proclaimed ‘Icy Girl’ Saweetie performed and had the audience jumping out of their seats. She went around the crowd complimenting the “icy girls” in the audience as fans screamed and danced. She performed hits such as “My Type” and “Best Friend.” DJ Spinking had audience members speculating who he would bring out to perform on stage. The surprise performers included Sleepy Hallow, Fetty Wap and A Boogie. The audience members jumped out of their seats as Sleepy Hallow entered the stage, the crowd started to utter “Free Sheff G” as he performed hit single “2055.” It was a pleasant surprise seeing Fetty Wap perform. This performance was Fetty’s first performance since his release from his arrest at Rolling Loud in 2021. He brought nostalgia to the arena performing classic hits such as “RGF Island” and “Trap Queen.” A Boogie performed hits such as “Timeless” and “Look Back at It.”
Moneybagg Yo brought his southern charm to the stage, performing hits such as “Time Today” “Said Sum” and “Wockesha.” Bobby Shmurda ignited the stage with fellow GS9 members Rowdy Rebel and Fetty Luciano. They performed “Computers,” “Hot Boy,” and “Beam Jawn.” Bobby got the crowd excited by jumping into the crowd, crowd surfing, and doing his infamous dances. The performance was one of the most exciting of the night, the entire crowd could be heard singing the songs with Rowdy and Bobby.
Roddy Ricch performed hit singles “The Box” and “Late at Night.” The catchy melodies of his music could be heard echoing through the entire arena. Migos had an electrifying performance, performing classic songs such as “Hannah Montana,” “Motorsport,” “Fight Night” and newer singles “Need It” and “Straightenin.” Lil Baby brought the show home at the end of the night. He had a thrilling performance, performing singles like “We Paid” “Drip Too Hard” and “Errbody.” His energy was invigorating and fans were excited to see him. The cheers and screams from the audience could be heard as he performed throughout the remainder of the night.
Overall, Powerhouse 2021 was a great experience. The fans seemed to enjoy it and the lineup of artists put on an entertaining show that will be remembered for years to come!
Check out our exclusive with 42 Dugg.
Last week Epic Records hosted the premiere of Flipp Dinero’s newest music video.
Lil Baby brought The New Generation Tour to Terminal 5 and New York went crazy.
June 2018 was a month of new #1’s on the charts. Yet the new releases were overshadowed by the murder of rapper XXXTentaction, which occurred on June 18th.
AutoGang is coming out of Florida and skyrocketing to the top of the music business with the label’s popular recording artist, AG Brizzle making a huge wave with a new collaboration featuring Lil Baby, titled, “Whole Lot”.