Moneybagg Yo steps up to close out festival
The final day of Beale Street Music Festival ended with a whimper and a ’Bagg — a Moneybagg, specifically.
While the fest endured stormy weather Saturday, which delayed several performances, the evening’s big act — Megan Thee Stallion — did eventually perform, hitting the stage around 1 a.m. and satisfying fans with a late-night tour de force.
On Sunday, the top-billed artist on the Bud Light Stage, Lil Wayne, proved to be a shock last-minute scratch — reportedly, trouble with a private jet kept the rapper from making it to the festival. His absence essentially handed the evening over to hometown hero Moneybagg Yo, turning his evening set into a headlining finale.
While there’s no doubting Lil Wayne’s hip-hop status and legacy, Moneybagg’s star is clearly brighter at the moment anyway. After building his brand with LPS like “43va Heartless” and “Time Served” — the latter album going gold — 2021 saw the 30-year-old South Memphis rapper’s album “A Gangsta’s Pain” top the Billboard charts, not once but twice. The last Memphis artist to achieve the No. 1 spot was pop superstar Justin Timberlake.
Riding the commercial growth and mainstreaming of Memphis rap in recent years, Moneybagg has become the new face of Bluff City music. (His muchpublicized relationships with fellow music fest act Megan Thee Stallion and Instagram model Ari Fletcher have also gone some ways to up his national profile.)
Making his biggest local appearance since the release of “A Gangsta’s Pain,” Moneybagg’s Sunday evening set felt like further affirmation of his status, as one of the biggest crowds of the festival gathered to watch him perform.
Moneybagg wore the proverbial crown well during a kinetic 45-minute set. Emerging shirtless and draped in jewelry, ’Bagg burst out of the gate — backed by a live drummer and DJ — ripping through a volley of rapid-fire rhymes on “Doin 2 Much” and “Pistol By Da Bed.”
He worked the crowd — which skewed younger than any other act over the weekend — relentlessly between songs, shouting out his Bread Gang crew and his CMG label family, including company head Yo Gotti, who joined him onstage. (The two had shared courtside seats for the Grizzlies playoff game earlier in the day).
“I got a true story I want to share with you,” he announced before launching into a ferocious “Pop My S***.”
By the time Moneybagg was through, the audience showering him with affection, there was little room for doubt. “Memphis always with me,” he said, confirming the general feeling of the night. “Always.”