Festival season continues this weekend as Governors Ball heads to Flushing Meadows Corona Park in New York, New York. Just like last year, this year’s lineup of acts will bring a lot to the stage. Post Malone will likely bring his “Song of the Summer” candidate, “I Had Some Help” featuring Morgan Wallen, to the Big Apple. SZA is riding the high of having her album, S.O.S, included in Apple Music’s 100 Best Albums of All-Time list. Not to mention, emerging acts like FLO, Reneé Rapp, Doechii, Sexyy Redd and Teezo Touchdown will be in the city. As the weekend nears, here are a few questions we have on our minds as we make our way to Queens for another event-filled weekend in this thing we call…the music industry.
Will SZA Offer Any Updates About LANA or the deluxe edition of S.O.S?
When SZA is mad about something involving her music, she’ll usually let her fans know. However, it becomes sort of awkward when a few of her “fans” become the source of her frustration. In early January, a few of her “fans” began leaking music that was seemingly tied to the deluxe version of S.O.S called LANA. After she caught wind of what happened, she tweeted, “Leaking my music is stealing. This is my job. This is my life and my intellectual property. You are a f—g thief and I promise to put maximum energy into holding everyone accountable to the full extent of the law. I am tired.” Shortly thereafter, Punch of SZA’s record label, Top Dawg Entertainment, added, “When music leaks it often lead to delays and/or canceling whole projects.”
Two months after her initial, SZA returned to X, formerly known as Twitter, to offer an update. In a since-deleted tweet, the New Jersey native let her fans know that she would be adding the leaked tracks to a deluxe edition of S.O.S and creating a new LANA album from scratch. “Seems like a fair deal. Enjoy,” she wrote. Nearly three months later, the TDE hasn’t exactly provided any concrete details regarding the release date of either project. However, she was reportedly spotted in the studio earlier this month. As she prepares to return to the tri-state area for Governors Ball, it’s fair to wonder if we’ll get any more updates regarding LANA or the deluxe edition of S.O.S.
Will Sexyy Red Continue to Use MAGA-Adjacent Imagery in Her Live Shows?
In many ways, Sexyy Red is living the dream. At the start of 2023, the average listener had little to no idea who the red-haired rapper from St. Louis was or what her music sounded like. Within the last 18 months, what she’s achieved is nothing short of remarkable. “Pound Town” arrived on January 27, 2023 and nothing has been the same since. The single climbed to the 66th spot on the Billboard Hot 100, leading “Song of the Summer” conversations along the way and earning a slew of feature opportunities. “Hellcats SRTs,” “Get It Sexyy,” “SkeeYee” and a pair of Drake collaborations later, she finds herself making the festival rounds as she promotes her debut album. With all of that said, her dreamlike rise to pop culture relevancy hasn’t been all roses.
One week ago, Sexyy Red made her way to Philadelphia for The Roots Picnic. Critics like Panama Jackson of The Grio described the experience as “fun [and] whimsical” and Kyle Denis of Billboard said it was “scintillating.” However, the set was ultimately overshadowed by the presentation of her performance. After publicly saying she f—s with former President Donald Trump, the he St. Louis native projected images of a red hat with white lettering that read, “Make America Sexyy Again.” Reminiscent of Donald Trump’s Make America Again paraphernalia, the imagery displayed during her performance didn’t do much to draw in new fans. Tweets like, “This isn’t just a one off, Sexyy Red has repeatedly dove into Trump MAGA s—t. It’s the way I’ll never get into her sundown town a—s,” weren’t hard to find as video of her performance circulated throughout the internet. In response, the rapper tweeted, ““It’s Sexyy Red [for] President. I’m my own candidate I’m not endorsing anybody.”
As Sexyy Red makes her way from Philadelphia to New York for Governors Ball, it’s unclear if her performance will feature much of the same “Sexyy For President” themes that made her appearance at The Roots Picnic controversial. And if it does, will it be received differently amongst festival goers at Governors Ball than The Roots Picnic?
What will Doechii Bring to the Stage?
SZA will not be the only member of TDE at Governors Ball. Doechii is set to make the trip to New York and she promises to deliver a performance unlike any other. While speaking to ELLE, she said her performance at the festival will be “dramatic, theatrical, and maximalist.” “I’m going all out. Plus, that one’s gonna be a fully taped performance, so I really want to show a scene,” she added.
Talk of TDE being dead in the water or falling off were grossly exaggerated. Within the past year, Isaiah Rashad has toured with Ray Vaughn, ScHoolboy Q has released a critically-acclaimed album, Jay Rock has confirmed his next album is in the works and SZA’s S.O.S was featured on Apple Music’s 100 Best Albums of All-Time list. Not to mention, TDE alum Kendrick Lamar is riding the high of “Not Like Us” and his slew of diss tracks aimed at Drake. Mixed in with all of the success TDE has had recently, the label’s Swamp Princess has been building a buzz of her own with standout tracks like “Wbat It Is” and “Persuasive.” More recently, she has released “Alter Ego” with JT and appeared on Reason’s Porches. Now, all eyes are locked on the release of her debut studio album. which she says has “great, unique music.” With Isaiah Rashad, SZA and Jay Rock seemingly inching toward album releases, it’s unclear when the album will arrive but her stage performances could provide some insight about what to expect.
