History of Rolling Loud in Timeline

Rolling Loud is a major international hip hop music festival, founded in 2015. It has expanded to multiple continents, including Asia, North America, South America, Europe and Australia. It has been described by Complex as "one of the biggest festivals in the world" and by Billboard as "the be-all of hip-hop festivals." The Miami event drew approximately 210,000 attendees in 2019.

2010: First Professional Live Music Event

In 2010, Matt Zingler and Tariq Cherif began hosting professional live music events, starting with an after-party headlined by Rick Ross.

2013: Monthly Events in Miami

By the summer of 2013, Matt Zingler and Tariq Cherif were hosting monthly events in Miami featuring up-and-coming artists like Travis Scott and Kendrick Lamar.

February 2015: First Rolling Loud Festival

In February 2015, the first Rolling Loud festival took place in Miami, featuring artists such as Schoolboy Q, Juicy J, Currensy, and Action Bronson. The one-day event was held at Soho Studios in Wynwood, which temporarily flooded due to rain.

2015: Founding of Rolling Loud

In 2015, Matt Zingler and Tariq Cherif founded the Rolling Loud festival after noticing the need for a genre-specific music festival.

2015: Rolling Loud Established

In 2015, Rolling Loud was established as an international hip hop music festival.

2016: Rolling Loud 2016

In 2016, Rolling Loud was held at the larger Mana Wynwood convention center and featured Ty Dolla $ign, Young Thug, and Future as the headlining acts.

2017: Lil Uzi Vert Stage Dive

In 2017, Lil Uzi Vert stage-dived into the crowd from a two-story scaffolding at Rolling Loud Miami.

2017: Rolling Loud Venue Move and Expansion

In 2017, Rolling Loud moved to Bayfront Park in Downtown Miami and expanded to other cities with the inaugural editions of Rolling Loud Bay Area and Rolling Loud Southern California.

2017: Lil B Allegedly Assaulted

In 2017, at Rolling Loud in Mountain View, California, rapper Lil B was allegedly assaulted by rapper A Boogie wit da Hoodie and his crew. B's performance was cancelled, allegedly due to his equipment having been stolen by the assailants.

2017: Archived Festival Streams

In 2021, archived performances from the Miami and Bay Area festivals from 2017 were streamed on the festival's official YouTube channel. Each festival is annually livestreamed. Revolt broadcast it in 2017.

2018: LiveXLive Broadcast

Each Rolling Loud festival is annually livestreamed. Usually simulcast on YouTube and Twitch channels, LiveXLive broadcast it in 2018.

2018: Offset Apologizes to Cardi B

In 2018, Offset publicly apologized to Cardi B on Stage during her headlining set at Rolling Loud Los Angeles.

2018: Young Dolph's Generous Act

In 2018, Young Dolph flew out Duke University Baristas who were fired for playing his music and gifted them $20,000 on stage at Rolling Loud Miami.

2018: Meek Mill's Surprise Set

In 2018, at Rolling Loud in Miami, Meek Mill made his second live performance after being released from prison with a surprise set at the festival.

2018: Rolling Loud Moves to Hard Rock Stadium

Since 2018, Rolling Loud has been hosted at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens.

2019: Be At TV Broadcast

Each Rolling Loud festival is annually livestreamed. Usually simulcast on YouTube and Twitch channels, Be At TV broadcast it in 2019.

2019: Rolling Loud Expands to Australia and NYC

In 2019, Rolling Loud added Rolling Loud Australia in Sydney, Australia and Rolling Loud NYC to their list of host cities.

2019: Rolling Loud Miami Attendance

In 2019, an estimated 210,000 people attended Rolling Loud in Miami.

2019: Attendee Death at Rolling Loud Los Angeles

In 2019, at Rolling Loud in Los Angeles, a 23-year-old attendee named Kalvin Sanchez was assaulted and rushed to the hospital after suffering serious head injuries. He died four days later; his death was deemed a homicide.

2019: Travis Scott Stampede Lawsuit

In 2022, Travis Scott was sued for allegedly causing a stampede during his performance at Rolling Loud in Miami three years prior, in 2019.

2019: Rolling Loud Described as Chaotic

The 2019 edition of the Miami festival has been described as "plagued by chaos".

2020: First European Festival Announced

In 2019, Rolling Loud announced that Rolling Loud’s first European festival would take place in Portugal and would be held in July 2020.

2020: Rolling Loud Rescheduled

In 2020, the festival originally scheduled to take place from May 8 to May 10 in the US was rescheduled for July 23 to July 25, 2021, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

2020: Loud Streams Virtual Performances

In 2020, virtual live performances called “Loud Streams” were streamed on Twitch. The first event was held on September 12–13, and the second on October 30–31.

July 25, 2021: Rolling Loud Rescheduled Again

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 festival was rescheduled and took place on July 23 to July 25, 2021.

2021: Post-Pandemic Festival and WWE Collaboration

In 2021, Rolling Loud hosted a post-pandemic festival in Miami, with more than 200,000 attendees. The festival included a collaboration with WWE, which broadcast portions of SmackDown from the main stage.

2021: Partnership with WOO HAH!

In 2021, Rolling Loud's first partnership with a European festival was announced as a collaboration with the 2022 edition of WOO HAH!

2021: Archived Festival Streams

In 2021, archived performances from the Miami and Bay Area festivals from 2017 were streamed on the festival's official YouTube channel.

2021: Fetty Wap Arrested on Drug Charges

In 2021, before entering the festival grounds of Rolling Loud New York, rapper Fetty Wap was arrested on federal drug charges at New York’s Citi Field for conspiracy to distribute hard drugs such as heroin, cocaine and fentanyl.

2021: Relief Efforts in Haiti

In 2021, rapper Zoey Dollaz and Rolling Loud Co-Founder, Tariq Cherif, chartered several jets to Haiti to provide supplies to people in the wake of a massive earthquake.

2021: Partnership for Social Justice Initiatives

In 2021, the Black Music Action Coalition and Rolling Loud partnered for Social Justice Initiatives. The collaboration highlighted activism and community through panel discussions and fundraising efforts throughout the three-days of Rolling Loud California.

2021: Rolling Loud Postponed

Rolling Loud Portugal was postponed in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

July 2022: Kid Cudi's Performance Cut Short

In July 2022, during the first day of Rolling Loud in Miami, multiple objects were thrown at rapper and singer Kid Cudi from the crowd during his set, including a water bottle thrown at his face. Cudi gave the crowd an ultimatum, but after another object was thrown, he cut off his performance and left the stage.

October 25, 2022: First Edition in Thailand Announced

On October 25, 2022, Rolling Loud announced its first edition in Thailand, which took place from April 13–15, 2023.

December 9, 2022: First Single Released

On December 9, 2022, Rolling Loud released its first single titled "Finger Food" featuring Rae Sremmurd and Duke Deuce.

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2022: Lil Tjay Returns to the Stage

In 2022, Lil Tjay returned to the stage for Rolling Loud NY after being shot In June. The Rolling Loud appearance was the rapper's first gig since being shot seven times.

2022: Nicki Minaj Headlines Rolling Loud

In 2022, Nicki Minaj became the first solo female rapper to headline Rolling Loud at Rolling Loud New York.

2022: Partnership Success

In 2022, Rolling Loud had a successful partnership for the production of Woo Hah! in the Netherlands.

2022: Rolling Loud Expands to Netherlands

In 2022, Rolling Loud partnered with the European festival, WOO HAH! in Hilvarenbeek, Netherlands from July 1–3, 2022.

2022: Basketball Clinic Hosted

In 2022, The Miami Jr. HEAT teamed up with Rolling Loud to host 50 local children from After-School All-Stars for a basketball clinic at the festival.

2022: Travis Scott Appearance

In 2022, rapper Travis Scott made an appearance during Future's headlining set at Rolling Loud Miami.

2022: South by Southwest Showcase

Rolling Loud presented a two night showcase at the Stubb's Bar-B-Q venue during South by Southwest in Austin, Texas in 2022.

July 1, 2023: Launch of Rolling Loud Rotterdam

In 2023, after a successful partnership for the production of Woo Hah! 2022 in the Netherlands, Rolling Loud Rotterdam was launched on June 30–July 1, 2023.

2023: Don Toliver's Surprise Guests

In 2023, Don Toliver brought out surprise guests Kali Uchis, James Blake, and Justin Bieber during his set at Rolling Loud California. This was Justin Bieber’s first performance since the cancellation of his Justice World Tour.

2023: Panel Discussion on RAP Act

In 2023, Rolling Loud hosted a panel discussion with the Black Music Action Coalition (BMAC) in support of their Restoring Artistic Protections (RAP) Act initiative on the first day of Rolling Loud Miami. The panel included Rolling Loud co-Founder Tariq Cherif, BMAC co-founder and chair Willie “Prophet” Stiggers, Congressman Hank Johnson, and Congressman Jamaal Bowman.

2023: Skateboard Giveback

In 2023, Rolling Loud partnered with DGK to host a skateboard giveback on the grounds of SoFi Stadium. Rolling Loud Co-Founder, Tariq Cherif, Inglewood city officials, and professional skateboarder Don Cooley, gifted 40 students from Kelso Elementary with DGK skateboards and helmets.

2023: Scholarship Gifts

In 2023, Rolling Loud teamed up with the City of Miami Gardens and Rick Ross to gift eight graduating high school seniors from Miami Norland and Miami Carol City Senior High Schools with scholarships.

2023: Rolling Loud California at SoFi Stadium

In 2023, the festival's California edition took place at Inglewood's SoFi Stadium for the first time on March 3–5.

2024: Silver ANA SeeHer REGGIE GEM Award

In 2024, Rolling Loud won the Silver ANA SeeHer REGGIE GEM Award for their Forever 21 x Bunny's Bae Bar collaboration.

2024: Silver Influencer Marketing Award

In 2024, Rolling Loud won the Silver Influencer Marketing Award for their work with the Forever21 x Bunny Bae’s Bar collaboration.

June 2025: Inaugural Edition in India Announced

In June 2025, Rolling Loud announced its inaugural edition in India, to be staged as a two-day festival in Mumbai produced in partnership with District by Zomato.