Made In America Fest 2015: 16 Acts Who Gave Us Life
The high notes of MIA Fest in review.
Budweiser's Made In America Festival was one big blur. Between the #BeyHive and #FutureHive swarming Philadelphia's Benjamin Franklin Parkway and the dust storms clogging up concertgoers' nostrils, the Jay Z-curated lineup catered to ear cravings of all flavors. Besides the obvious turn-ups that were Bey and Fewtch's sets, there were acts who served the bass like DJ gawds Bassnectar; hip-hop Stan favorites, J. Cole and Big Sean; and rock stars, Lolawolf and Mayaeni.
Cheers to the performers who kept the weekend lit. Here were the high notes at MIA Fest below.
DAY 1 - Saturday, Sept. 5
1. Mayaeni is a black girl who rocks. Word to Beverly Bond. The D-town native made her presence known on the Skate Stage with her head-thrashing sound and a special rendition of A$AP Rocky's "L$D." The Roc Nation signee was also accompanied by her sleek guitar and electrifying band.
2. Vic Mensa is a modern-day Roc star. The Chicago spitter who received Jay Z's blessing (Vic signed to the Roc Nation roster in April) probably made Hov proud by crowdsurfing his way through his biggest hits in 45 minutes. From covering Chance The Rapper's "Coca Butter Kisses" and Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit," Vic also lit up the Rocky stage with "Down On My Luck," "Holy, Holy" and "U Mad."
3. Nick Jonas isn't the teenybopper thirst trap that the JoBros were before. He's actually grown, and can be sexy if ex-boy bandees are your thing. Between swigs of D'Usse (salute Jay) and H2O, Nick serenaded to the predominantly female crowd with his self-titled sophomore effort. Sprinkling in covers of The Weeknd's "Can't Feel My Face," Bell Biv DeVoe's "Poison" and Outkast's "Roses" (he described the Andre 3000 and Big Boi cut as "a tasteful way of saying 'F*ck you' to someone you don't really like"), the leather jacket-clad Jonas sang his heart out for opener "Chains," the Sage Gemini-assisted "Good Thing" and "Jealous."
4. Earl Sweatshirt sweated through his early afternoon set at the Liberty Stage. While the crowd was lukewarm despite the blazing 90-degree weather, Earl urged the crowd to scream during his finale "DNA": "B*tch n*gga, we the train/ If you see 'em wave, ain't no b*tch in my DNA." Good times.
5. Bassnectar closed out Day 1 with a special performance of "Bigger Than Hip Hop" with Dead Prez, which made for a very welcome rap and EDM concoction.
6. Beyoncé restructured past sets into a girl power party. Her salute to Ronda Rousey's #DNB speech and ratchet interpolations of Lil Ronny's "Circle," and Future's "F*ck Up Some Commas" and "Where Ya At," were infinite flame emojis.
Hit replay with VIBE's Day 2 highlights by clicking the gallery above.
DAY 2 - Sunday, Sept. 6
7. Singer/scribe Halsey's cool demeanor brought the chill once she appeared on the Rocky stage. Performing cuts from her debut album Badlands, the Newark native breezed through her set list with highlight "New Americana."
8. As a member of the six-man rap crew World's Fair, Remy Banks held the Skater Stage down solo. Cooking up his standout tracks, the Queens native kicked off Day 2 on a high note, literally after someone in the crowd threw a blunt on stage.
9. If you have yet to see this Wondaland artist perform live, then you're missing out on the magic. From "Classic Man" to "Yoga," Jidenna had the crowd in a trance with quirky dance moves and his flirtatious gaze at the ladies in the audience. But one single that had the crowd hype was "Long Live The Chief." From the thumping bass to lyrics like "I don't want my best dressed day in a casket," the crowd was here for every word Jidenna uttered.
10. Action Bronson brought the LOLs to the serious heat in Philly. Debuting shiny four bars ("I learned to f*ck dancing reggae, I'm like the white Ray J"), Bronsolino also performed crowd favorites "Baby Blue" and "Beautiful Life."
11. Fabolous brought New York to Philly with a decade's worth of hits, including cameos from Freeway and Young Gunz. The Young OG is a seasoned performance pro so the results were nothing short of lit.
12. When your name is Zoe Kravitz, you can do what you want. Even at a festival where the performance schedule ran like clockwork, Lolawolf did what they wanted. Unfortunately for Post Malone, this meant running overtime and into his time slot. With her groovy vibes and flowy dance moves, Zoe lead the band into a captivating set that pleased her core fans and won over random passersby.
13. Future Hendrix nearly incited a riot when he hit the Liberty stage at Made In America. 2015. With DJ Esco providing the beats, the ATL duo brought the strip club to the streets of Philly—minus the naked chicks. Who ever thought it was not okay to put Future on the main stage was sadly mistaken. His energy and fanbase alone put the Rocky Stage rappers to shame. When the "Commas" beat drop, there wasn't a still body in sight.
14. Sean Don blessed the no-f*cks-giving crowd with his catalog of celebratory jams. Middle fingers and Budweiser cans were raised high when he closed with the anti-fuccboi anthem "IDFWU."
15. J. Cole has been on the run in honor of his 2014 Forest Hills Drive tour. While we sampled the show in full a month ago, the condensed MIA version was still la flame. Consider his incessant work ethic a reminder that it's Cole's world, we're just living in it.
16. Day 2 headliner The Weeknd bared his soul on-stage despite rocking all-black-everything. If you've been sleep on the XO crooner's live show, his Beauty Behind The Madness LP is best enjoyed in-person.
