Half-empty bottles of cheap champagne, orange juice and the odor of burned weed consumed my friend’s apartment. Bas and J. Cole’s collab, “Housewives,” echoed throughout the rooms as we rushed our pregame in anticipation of the highly coveted event. After rolling a day’s worth of joints, tying my bandana tight and praying to the gods to stave off the rain, it was finally time to journey to Flushing Queen’s Citi Field for the Meadows Festival.
“Jesse, if we miss Bas, I’m going to slap the shit out of you!” I yelled at my friend in fear of missing one of my favorite artists. With some encouraging words (“We’re no longer friends if we miss him”), we managed to arrive in Queens just as Bas stepped out on the stage. Adrenaline coursed through my veins; my pupils widened to fully absorb the experience; my bandanna prevented my face from looking like Shaq at the free throw line. Pure elation inhabited my body as I heard the words “Too high to riot” boom throughout the millennial infested concert, foreshadowing a great two-day festival.
I’ve heard the saying, “If there were ten of me I would rule the world.” Well, if there were ten of me, I would have been able to see every act. Unfortunately science hasn’t caught up yet, so I was left with just me, myself and I to explore the Hip Hop heavy Meadows line-up. Despite Kanye trading in the latter portion of his set for more important matters, I’d say this festival was one for the books.
Relive the musical heaven with me by checking out the playlist below, highlighting some of my favorite songs from Meadow’s artists. (Please excuse the limited amount of Chance the Rapper—blame Spotify).