{"id":266529,"date":"2026-05-11T12:56:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T12:56:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/266529\/"},"modified":"2026-05-11T12:56:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T12:56:08","slug":"young-thug-playboi-carti-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/266529\/","title":{"rendered":"Young Thug, Playboi Carti & More"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tWhen NBA YoungBoy<\/a> announced he was dropping out of his headlining slot at Rolling Loud Orlando on Thursday (May 7), festival organizers were left scrambling. Artists like Rod Wave and YEAT were speculated to be floated, but RL ultimately settled on Ken Carson<\/a> to close out Sunday night (May 10). <\/p>\n

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\n\tOn its face, the decision made sense with fellow Opium titans Destroy Lonely and Playboi Carti performing on Saturday (May 9), so much of the label\u2019s fanbase was already going to be on festival grounds for the weekend.<\/p>\n

\n\tCarson, whose More Chaos topped the Billboard 200<\/a> last year, continued his elevation by taking advantage of the real estate using his newfound headlining Rolling Loud set to kick-start The Xperiment era.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Atlanta native hit the smoky stage around 9 p.m. ET and premiered an unreleased track, which is expected to appear on his upcoming LP, that had the crowd going berserk and chanting along to the rage-filled production.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe 26-year-old kept the energy up, jumping around his catalog for the first 13 songs or so, which included the anticipated unreleased snippet \u201cGrow Apart,\u201d but understood the assignment as a headliner looking to make a statement to hip-hop and invite other fans who may not be as familiar with his discography.<\/p>\n

\n\tEnter some star-studded guests, the first being Lil Tecca.<\/a> The \u201cDark Thoughts\u201d rapper was a seamless fit and was more than worthy of having his own set at the main stage this year, coming off a major 2025. The duo joined forces for \u201cTic Tac Toe\u201d and \u201c500lbs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tFellow Opium runningmate Destroy Lonely<\/a> was next up in the lineup, as they connected for \u201cThe Acronym\u201d and \u201cSingapore,\u201d the latter of which was without their mentor Playboi Carti. \u201cThat\u2019s my song, too,\u201d he quipped from backstage<\/a> while watching his pupils. <\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of Rolling Loud\/Respective Collective<\/p>\n

\n\tYoung Thug<\/a> was all over Rolling Loud throughout the weekend and he didn\u2019t even have his own set. Billboard spotted Thug enjoying some Popeyes near the festival earlier in the weekend. He popped out once again for Ken Carson, while they performed his UY SCUTI standout \u201cYuck\u201d and then Thugger took the solo spotlight to revv up the crowd for his \u201cDigits\u201d classic. <\/p>\n

\n\tSome might say they save the best for last, and Playboi Carti <\/a>batted clean-up in the all-star guest line-up. He traded his YSL suit look for a 2Pac t-shirt, leather pants, and a pair of crispy white high-top Air Force Ones. <\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of Rolling Loud\/Respective Collective<\/p>\n

\n\tThe 00 connection premiered a pair of collaborations, including the bouncy \u201cARP,\u201d <\/a>which finds Carti utilizing his deep voice flow, while \u201cCover My Ears\u201d<\/a> leans into the Whole Lotta Red-esque production that\u2019s been a mainstay for the rock stars. <\/p>\n

\n\tCarson teased mere seconds-long snippets of unreleased grails \u201cBoil\u201d and \u201cStars\u201d before finishing off his potent set with another new song, which is heavily influenced by 2hollis\u2019 \u201cGirl.\u201d One poignant bar found KC getting vulnerable about critics boxing him into one genre. \u201cNo matter what I make, they gon\u2019 call it rage,\u201d he raps. <\/p>\n

\n\tAs the dust settled on another successful Rolling Loud weekend, one fan emerged from the moshpit warfare, lending his stamp of approval. \u201cThat was the greatest set of my life,\u201d he said to a friend while coming down from a euphoric high. <\/p>\n

Ken Carson performs an unreleased song that’s influenced by 2hollis’ “Girl” to close out his Rolling Loud set. pic.twitter.com\/7lQ6AEbf1R<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 billboard hip-hop\/r&b (@billboardhiphop) May 11, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tKen Carson notched his first No. 1 album<\/a> last year and his recent tour stops across the globe have looked bonkers. If he plays his cards right heading into The Xperiment, rap could have another niche superstar on its hands that the mainstream won\u2019t be able to ignore. <\/p>\n