Drake is “ducking” Rolling Loud, according to festival organiser
Drake has been accused of “ducking” Rolling Loud, the largest hip-hop festival in the world. The event’s organiser has revealed he’s been trying to secure Drizzy since its inception, but the Toronto rapper has allegedly constantly refused the slot.
Co-founder Tariq Cherif appeared on Big Boy’s Neighborhood this week, claiming he went as far as giving Drake the opportunity to headline three nights in a row. Still, that opportunity wasn’t tempting enough to strike a deal.
“I feel like Drake’s ducking us,” he said. “I got no beef with Drake. I like Drake. I think he’s a great artist. We’ve been trying to book him forever. We even offered Drake ‘Three Nights of Drake’ once. They were like, ‘You need to make it special,’ [so we were like], ‘Alright, three nights of Drake! You’ll be the headliner for three nights!’”
Founded in 2015, Rolling Loud has become a global festival with events in Asia, North America, South America, Europe and Australia. Festivals have taken place in Miami, California, New York, Sydney, Portugal, Toronto, Rotterdam, Germany, Thailand and Austria.
The latest edition of the festival was revealed this week, with A$AP Rocky, Playboi Carti and Peso Pluma being announced as headliners for Rolling Loud California. Set to take place on March 15th and 16th, the lineup also includes YG, Sexyy Red, Ski Mask the Slump God, Larry June, Ken Carson, Quavo, 03 Greedo and many other big names.
As for Drake, he’s touring Australia and New Zealand in February with shows in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Auckland. After dropping his last album, For All the Dogs, in 2023, the rapper recently teased his return to music, recently writing on his Instagram Stories, “I’m about to get active again.”
He’s also working on a collaborative album with fellow OVO artist PARTYNEXTDOOR. “I’m loaded [for 2025]”, he told Adin Ross on a live stream. “Me and PARTY’s [album is] honestly one of the projects I’m most proud of in my life. I’ve always wanted to make a full album of that – of our sound, Toronto sound, R&B.”
He added, “So it’s just the best that both of us have to offer. Listening party has to be in the city. I think ’25 will be a shift. I think people wanna just get back to like just dropping their shit.”