Smokin Grooves made its return to Southern California’s L.A. State Historic Park on Saturday with a loaded lineup of Erykah Badu, The Roots, Nas, and many more. The hip-hop-centric event saw over three dozen acts perform brief sets throughout the day.
Badu’s headlining slot marked a rare festival appearance for the Baduzim singer. In the days since Smokin Grooves, many took to social media to note that Badu’s set was cut short, to roughly 30 minutes. The artist responded in an Instagram post of her own, noting that as a result of the city’s curfew, her performance was truncated because other sets had gone on longer than scheduled.
“[Questlove] always told me the headliner spot at a huge 1 day concert festival is the worst slot,” she wrote on Instagram. “Because when curfew comes & you aren’t even 1/2 way thru the set … they will cut the mike . When things run behind that night , The headliner has to take the weight . But still .. I give my all . Love you guys . Grateful .”
Questlove was in attendance on Saturday, playing alongside The Roots who delivered performances of “The Next Movement”, “Here I Come”, and more. Hip-hop heavyweight Nas also mined his extensive catalog for classics like “NY State of Mind” and “Made You Look” alongside cuts from his most recent albums King’s Disease and King’s Disease 2. In addition to these headlining sets, the festival featured performances from Thundercat, Flying Lotus, Kamasi Washington, The Internet, and many more.
Check out a collection of galleries from Smokin Grooves in Los Angeles on Saturday courtesy of photographers Greg Noire, Quinn Tucker, Josh Gonzales, Natt Lim, and Virisa Yong.
Erykah Badu – Los Angeles, CA – 3/19/22
[Video: it’s Lit!]
Nas – Los Angeles, CA – 3/19/22
[Video: it’s Lit!]
The Roots – Los Angeles, CA – 3/19/22
[Video: Broadcast Culture (Houston)]
Thundercat – Los Angeles, CA – 3/19/22
Kamasi Washington – Los Angeles, CA – 3/19/22
[Video: FESTIVAL WORLD]
