Tyler Daswick: It was a day of anarchy at Lollapalooza, and the raging against the machine began with one of the earliest acts. Mick Jenkins, this year’s edition of the Shafted Rapper on Too Small a Stage, ended his energetic set with an ode to N.W.A.’s “Fuck tha Police,” and fans left ready to wreak havoc on the rest of the grounds.
Cassidy Ryan: Up-and-coming Chicago rapper Mick Jenkins used water as a metaphor on his album The Water[s]. On Saturday the MC orchestrated a similarly themed call-and-response chant: “Drink more water.” “Water is a direct synonym with truth, and as badly as we need water in this world we need truth,” Jenkins explained. The budding artist comes across as an incredibly thoughtful and intentional person; after the set, he reached over the backstage fence to sign articles of clothing and scraps of paper for a small gathering of fans.
Bummed out, I trekked though puddles of vomit, heaps of nappers, and a pack of Christian demonstrators to catch the end of adorable Brooklyn synth-pop trio Wet. Wonderfully unassuming, vocalist Kelly Zutrau’s delicate vibrato added gloss and pathos to the group’s mellow, hypnotic R&B. Sailboats plied the lake behind New Orleans rapper Pell as he closed his eyes though the chorus of his somber lullaby “Runaway.” Dressed like a suburban dad ready for golf—checkered khakis, a grey polo buttoned up to his chin—the 21-year-old MC gave a dynamic performance filled with introspective improvisation and rousing bangers.
The crowd at Django Django couldn’t have been more different; the field was packed and people were giving it up for the Brits. Day two apathy, it seemed, had dissipated. At least until I got to Pell. Some joked that the line for snow cones was larger than the New Orleans MC’s audience. Twice I was asked who was playing. Jared Pellerin rapped with endearing earnestness, beginning each song with words of wisdom. He tried starting a chant of “Pell yeah!” to not much success. On day two, indifference had taken center stage.
