);

Broccoli City Festival Performances Are Dedicated To Nipsey Hussle

The event also had two different stages to compensate for all the performances that would be happening throughout the day. Photo By Tiffany Hunt

By Tiffany Hunt, Howard University News Service

The Broccoli City Festival was held at the FedExField in Maryland this past Friday and Saturday noted for its special performance and dedication to the late Nipsey Hussle who was murdered earlier this year.

The festival started on Friday with their Party Pavilion Stage. Friday’s activities consisted of three performers, Tobe Nwigwe and upcoming hip-hop and rap artists from Alief, Texas, OG Chase B, Travis Scott’s DJ, and Trippie Redd who launched his career after moving to Atlanta . There was also a karaoke type activity on Friday called Trap Karaoke where frestival goers could rap their favorite songs. Saturday, which is the main event day consisted of performances by Childish Gambino, 6lack, Lil Wayne, Teyana Taylor, Elle Mai, Gunna, Lil Baby, City Girls, Wiz Kid, ADE, YBN Cordae, and New Imperessionz. The event also had two different stages to compensate for all the performances that would be happening throughout the day.

Performances by Teyana Taylor and Lil Wayne both had tributes to Nipsey Hussle who was killed outside his clothing store in Los Angeles. Their performances along with Childish Gambino’s also touched on ways to develop the black community. Teyana Taylor’s performed songs off of her “K.T.S.E” that came out last summer. She dedicated her rendition “Gonna Love Me,” the first track on the album, to Hussle. As she performed, pictures of Hussle streamed on a screen on stage. Taylor took a moment to honor him and thank him for the contributions to both her career, as well as, the Los Angeles community.

Lil Wayne’s performance didn’t exactly start on time. To kill time his DJ T. Lewis began discussing how “black people need to come together as a community” and develop and lift up one another. He also used Hussle as an example that the black community needs to follow in terms of activism. “It felt like we were all one — which I feel is good for the black community because we don’t get a lot of time to be surrounded mostly by people who look like us in public places where we feel it’s okay to be relaxed,” said Bernadette Nwoye a Howard University student. Lil Wayne performed “Lolipop,” “Uproar,” along with others.

The final performance of the night was Childish Gambino. Gambino came out on an elevated platform. Gambino started out hyping up the crowd with his song “Summertime Magic” off his Summer Pack album. Gambino asked the crowd if he could take them to church, and that he wanted everyone to put in their heart and soul into his performance with him? The most inclusive question he asked was “where is the young black crowd?” Gambino then went on to discuss the importance of the black church and how it has inspired his performance for Broccoli City. Gambino’s even brought out a choir to sing his backup vocals. Gambino’s performance on “This is America” also touched upon the issues going on in the black community just based off the lyrics.  “I honestly feel that his show in general was meant more for POC (people of color) and black people; that can be seen in the beginning when he only greets the young black people in the crowd,” said Ayana Gordon a VCU student.