Rolling Loud festival features local artists Johnny Billionz and Chief Oyabun

By Joshua K.K. Nichols
Columnist/Too Bold to Gamble

It appears EDM has held onto the Miami spotlight long enough. We have become all too familiar with EDM, and now it’s time for hip-hop to seize the moment and dazzle everyone with its brilliance in the Rolling Loud festival.

Ultra was only the gateway for music enthusiasts that crave for a grander, over the top music celebration.

To understand the level of greatness the Rolling Loud Festival aspires to be, think of it as Ultra’s hip-hop fraternal twin, especially with the announcement of a performance lineup including Schoolboy Q, Juicy J, A$AP Ferg and Travis Scott. These are household names that have been dismantling the rap game, bar by bar, for years.

However, the leaders of Dope Entertainment are not satisfied just with mainstream names. They take pride in creating a magical experience that highlights the undeniable, yet-to-be-recognized talent.

This hip-hop festival is a chance for local rappers to be seen and blow up their fan base. Tariq Cheriff, co-founder and CEO of Dope Entertainment intends to use this hip-hop festival as a way to put the 305 on the global stage.

The Rolling Loud Festival sounds like a hip-hop music buffet. Over 100 acts have been announced, so there should be no shortage of that underground Miami sound, especially with notable local artists such as Johnny Billionz and Chief Oyabun.

These are two spectacular upcoming Miami artists who could be the potential future of hip-hop. Johnny Billionz is known for his latest album “Dreams Made True” which dropped last Oct., while Chief Oyabun, who opened for the Nipsey Hussle Concert, has an upcoming tour in Calif. performing alongside artists like Denzel Curry and Quest.

Despite not having the same presence in the music business as other artists, the creative minds at Dope Entertainment recognize these artists’ impending fame and gave them their chance on stage. Both artists are taking advantage of Tariq Cheriff’s vision, and plan to capitalize on it by giving the public a memorable performance that will rival all the big names performing in this year’s festival.

Chief Oyabun views the festival as a competition for fans.

“As an artist fighting for the same thing, we are all competing for the crowd even though we’re all friends,” Oyabun said.

In my interview with Johnny Billionz, he said that he feels that he doesn’t have the same name notoriety as Schoolboy Q and that he has to be working harder than him, which will be hard to do but he plans to really stand out and make people remember him.

Each artist has high expectations for Rolling Loud and aims to outperform the other, which brings even more excitement for this hip-hop extravaganza.

Don’t miss out on Chief Oyabun who has prepared a peculiar surprise for the audience. He is expecting to create a “dope experience” and told his fans to expect him to be “Malcolm X going ape on stage.”

And don’t dare forget about Johnny Billionz who also prepared a memorable gift for the crowd by performing a brand new track called “No More,” which he teased about dropping this Friday.

Each artist plans to deliver a must-see performance that will catch Miami by surprise. Those who care about hip-hop and music culture will applaud Dope Entertainment and their efforts to book great local talents like Johnny Billionz and Chief Oyabun.

Too Bold to Gamble is a column by Joshua Kawainqui Kasanova Nichols, a finance and informational technology major. He follows local performances around South Florida and is a DJ at WRGP known as Y2K. His show, Las Vegas Sinners, is known to play alternative hip-hop. Make sure to tune in to his show every Monday from 4 to 5 p.m.