Hip-Hop, in all shapes and forms, reigns supreme at Governors Ball 2014
For those that remember, Governors Ball 2013 was an absolute mess. The festival brought out its usual set of impeccable performers and talents, yes, not to mention a headlining set from a pre-Yeezus Kanye West, which is as captivating as headlining sets come, but the weather put a damper on many of the weekend’s events. (Shouts to those that braved the Honda Stage mud to see Kendrick perform on Saturday though, because this happened).
This year, with a much better weather forecast awaiting those making the trek to Randalls Island, the Governors Ball raised Mother Nature with an exciting line-up featuring leaders and game-changers from all genres, not to mention Outkast‘s NY reunion tour stop. There was a lot of fuss surrounding Andre 3000 and Big Boi‘s return to the stage at Coachella, which reportedly didn’t go too well during weekend 1, and all eyes have been on them since then. At Governor’s Ball, the ATL-ien duo appeared to be right on cue, bouncing off each other like kids in a playpen, seamlessly transitioning from classic to classic, throwback to throwback, keeping the crowd–a large percentage of whom were so far back they resorted to screaming the lyrics to their favorite cuts into the sky–engaged and partying for about an hour.
Outkast’s resilient performance was a microcosm of what we saw from some of the game’s best (and brightest) Hip-Hop performers all weekend. Childish Gambino threw his name into the pot with an intimate performance that featured Chance The Rapper rapping his never-before-heard “The Worst Guys” verse, and a validation of “3005” as his first real hit record. Chance The Rapper himself had a ball earlier Saturday afternoon, packing the Gotham Tent with Acid Rap disciples that swung their arms back and forth and shouted his lyrics back at him as if they were part of a cult.
They may in fact be just that.
J. Cole probably had the most to gain from Governor’s weekend. He’s a year removed from Born Sinner, which was a commercial success but didn’t vault him into the elite realm he knows he deserves to be in, not to mention a popular criticism on social media of the Fayetteville rapper is that his live show isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Those detractors must not have seen him waltz out at the Honda stage yesterday. The crowd’s energy was unmistakable, and when Cole went into “Power Trip,” the lead single off his last album, his persona evolved from anxious to triumphant, as throngs of festival goers sang the soulful hook at the top of their lungs.
Governors Ball is quickly becoming an extremely important voyage artists must conquer before they label themselves elite. We saw Yeezus tear it down last year, and Outkast brought the funk in 2014. 2015 will imaginably be bigger, and if you’re smart, you’ll make sure you’re a part of New York’s signature festival in 2015.
