Lloyd Lee

When San Francisco-based Lil Kayla was inexplicably replaced — only to arrive an hour or so later for a brief set — by a half-baked performance from Cleveland-based rapper Chxpo, people quickly took notice, and they were not happy.

On his most recent album, WWW., Japanese-Mexican rapper Towkio jumped back and forth among different genres: soul-infused hip-hop to pop, R&B to trap. Given the blend of genres the rapper so fearlessly explored, it was disappointing to hear the rapper relegate his setlist to a series of repetitive, trap-inspired songs.

On the Pinclout Stage of the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, the lights went dark and the outro speech to YG’s “Handgun” played over the speaker. “Now you’re ready for the world, yadidamean?” the anonymous man says, as if to initiate the entire audience. “Stay dangerous.”

Hayward, California native Saweetie was one of the newer and more diverse faces of hip-hop who performed at Rolling Loud this weekend. She’s among the handful of female rappers who are on a relatively quick trajectory to success.

With lime-green hair, a pink latex outfit and the ammo of her sexual and boastful lyrics, 20-year-old Dallas-based rapper Cuban Doll was yet another invasion of vibrant, borderline obnoxious color to the Dryp Stage of Rolling Loud.

As of 2018, trap star Gucci Mane, aka Trap God, aka Big Guwap, aka La Flare, aka Mr. Zone 6 and so on, has amassed 12 studio albums, one soundtrack, seven EPs, 72 mixtapes and 33 singles. With that sort of discography, one can only wonder how the Trap God decided on his setlist for Saturday’s performance.

Self-described as playing “futuristic funk” and “soulful rap,” the 26-year-old St. Louis-based rapper’s sound and voice is reminiscent of his contemporary, Chance the Rapper, but with an overall emphasis that it’s for the bedroom.

No other artist at the Rolling Loud festival was as seasoned or experienced a performer as Pusha T. With more than two decades under his belt, the rapper’s moniker is no longer just in reference to his alleged days as a drug dealer.

“The Nun,” a spin-off of the demon Valak that made its iconic and terrifying debut in “The Conjuring 2,” serves as the prequel to the entire franchise. “The Nun” fails to deliver the same injection of unalloyed thrill that the previous “The Conjuring” films provided.

URBAN x INDIGENOUS IV: Unite the Tribes, or UxI, is a two-day community festival presented by the Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center of San Francisco.