In today’s crowded festival market (especially since there are enough rappers to go around thrice over), it can be tough to figure where to turn for your outdoor entertainment.
It is why events with tenure and history — such as Columbus, Ohio’s very own Breakaway Fest — has seemingly mastered the art of a seamless festival. There were amenities galore. Water stations. Beer. Smoke shop setups. Overly cautious weather procedures. Donatos Pizza!
Since debuting in 2013, the Prime Social Group product has expanded its reach across North America into Michigan, Nashville and Charlotte.
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2018 was no different as the gaudy three-night lineup of the Columbus leg consisted of heavy hitters such as Migos, Jaden Smith, Khalid, Rich The Kid and a smattering of boss EDM acts.
On the opening night, Khalid’s smoothed-out vocals rounded out some of the more aggressive dives, paving the way for the bang-out rest of the schedule.
I witnessed a CD-quality sounding G4SHI immediately attract new fans with a performance that left him drenched in sweat, hoarse and a triumphant performer in onlooker’s eyes. Yung Pinch brought “Piña Colada” to the party, allowing Midwesterners inside the mind of a beach boy. And even the mentality diverse Shorline Mafia ensured their equally Cali vibes translated into something memorable for ticketholders.
Although the final day of the event did see rain and thunderstorms threaten to kill the vibes, the last remnants of Summer 2018 would prevail in the end, allowing for lights out performances from the closing acts. Such determination to give the fans a spectacle appeared to be constant among performers, including Flatbush Zombies who spoke with HipHopDX ahead of their blistering set on Day 2.
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“[Our music] made to be live. Most of the time when we’re recording the songs, we think about how they would be live and performing them,” Zombie Juice told DX. “I think a lot of people forget to think of that. They just compose records the other way, which I guess would be how good they sound in the fucking headphones or whatever. Then they actually perform it, they just play the fucking song in the background. It’s not really performing, just jumping. I don’t know.”
Erick Arc Elliott made note of MCing specifics in live arenas saying, “I feel like because we are performers who actually rap, which is not as common as you would think, I think that if people didn’t get maybe a punchline or something about the delivery on the record, I feel like even our performance live is even more convincing.
“So those lines that are hot to me or to whomever on the MP3, the actual performance, it translates even more. Now you are actually witnessing … I don’t know. It’s almost like seeing a music video.”
And there were mini music videos to be witnessed during the festival’s final stretch following a lengthy weather delay. Jaden Smith continued to defy nepotism digs by livening up to his generally spaced out demeanor, including an especially animated performance his nu-classic jam, “Icon.” (I think he was wearing a bomb vest.)
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Such energy allowed for Migos to match the anticipation their name brings to the culture these days. It’s not a secret that the red-hot trio are not the most animated live performers but something in the Mapfre Stadium air prompted a changeup in m.o. From commanding a soft mosh pit as they performed “Deadz” to nailing the melodies of “Get Right Witcha” to their dazzling light display for records such as “Supastars,” Quavo, Takeoff and Offset closed things out in orderly fashion without being boring. Salute.
The overall enjoyment from fans bodes very well for upcoming October legs in Nashville and Charlotte, which will deliver big names such as Wiz Khalifa, Machine Gun Kelly, Lil Pump, Juice WRLD, Sheck Wes and more.
As for the Zombies, their last heralded project in Vacation From Hell dropped all the way back in April — which might as well be last year according to today’s rap’s feeding frenzy.
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And while they would certainly love to join the forthcoming Breakaway Festival installments, they have a good reason to be absent.
“We’re about to go back on tour in October to do our European run, but we’re actually currently recording right now,” Erick revealed. “I wouldn’t want to put it out there like a flag, but I would say that we’re trying to. I think, like you said, if you release music all the time, then people forget about it. Sometimes when you put out new music, people take a step back and listen to what you just released it for.
“If you only have a couple songs out, to actually go back and listen to it, it lasts because you’re not really out there. I think for us, touring is such a huge part of what we do and once we start to perform again, I feel like we just want to make music, on the road, or when we get some time at the crib. It will be something. Yeah, I’ll say that.”
Follow @breakaway on Instagram for more updates, contests and cool experiences.
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Check down below for more flicks of the extravaganza.
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All Photos by Tyler Church.
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