On Oct. 26 and 27, ONE Music Fest (OMF) celebrated 15 years of being one of the southeastern region’s largest two-day urban progressive music festivals. People from Atlanta and far beyond came to support this special occasion that has been a cultural cornerstone for music lovers across the nation.
This year’s lineup consisted of artists spanning decades of hip-hop and R&B, including Nelly, Gunna, Earth Wind and Fire, Victoria Monet, Jill Scott, Latto and more.
Early on Saturday, R&B country artist Tanner Adell kicked things off on the P&G stage with her glamorous southern flair, contrasting with the style of the artists set to take the stage after her. She performed works from her debut album, “Buckle Bunny,” and she played hit single, “Silverado.” 2024 will be a year for the books for Adell — she collaborated with Beyonce on her “Cowboy Carter” and performed for the very first time at the BET Awards.
Following Adell, BigXthaPlug and Fridayy both brought large crowds to hear the up-and-coming rapper out of Texas and Fridayy’s newest single, “Back To You,” released the day before. In their wake came Ari Lennox with her rich sound and refreshing R&B catalog. During roughly the first fifteen minutes of her set, she repeatedly faced technical difficulties on the stage. Lennox handled the situation gracefully, solved the problems with her team and then resumed the melodious set that she was excited to give her fans.
Fans were eager to see ‘90s legends and sensations Nelly, Method Man and Redman take the stage next and revisit their past work that is undoubtedly iconic to this day. Nelly brought out two special guests along with him, Jermaine Dupri, and fellow member of the St. Lunatics, Murray Lee. Meanwhile, on the Sprite stage, Earth, Wind & Fire played their classic hits for the many longtime fans in the crowd.
While this year was a long-awaited celebration, the festival had to overcome some obstacles on its way to greatness. At the last minute, OMF fans received heartbreaking word that Grammy award winner and Saturday night headliner, Cardi B, would not be able to attend her set due to recent events of being hospitalized caused by undisclosed medical emergencies. The “Bodak Yellow” rapper’s latest Instagram post thanks fans for their understanding of the situation. She closed her message saying, “Bardi Gang – thank you for understanding and I’ll be back better and stronger soon.”
The OMF team swiftly assessed the dilemma at hand and placed Atlanta hip-hop singer Latto and DJ Drama in her place along with “friends” whose identities had not been revealed yet.
Although the people in attendance might claim that they saw more of Latto’s friends than Latto herself on Saturday night, her almost thirty-minute set was full of energy and included hits like “Georgia Peach” and “Big Mama.” The expected special guests included rappers 2 Chainz and Jeremih, who was also billed to perform once more on Sunday with DJ Drama.
Day two consisted of more of yesterday’s and today’s top hip-hop and R&B artists including Glorilla, Victoria Monet, DaBaby and Plies. Similar to day one, the latter day contained its own ordeals that required fast solutions.
Sexyy Red, one of rap’s hottest rising stars at the moment, seems to have ghosted her planned set time at the festival. She has yet to apologize to the fans who had planned to see her for the no-show, and it is obvious on social media that they have taken notice of the inconsiderate behavior. One fan, @howyallkeepfindingme, left, “You brought out the whole city and didn’t even show up. You didn’t apologize of anything, and this how you feel?” as a comment on Red’s Instagram post directly following the event. Hopefully, this does not become a pattern when artists commit to festival appearances.
Atlanta rapper, Hunxho, managed to save the day and take the place of Sexyy Red with little to no notice and still energetically perform to a crowd who was expecting someone else.
Despite the minor inconveniences, OMF concluded the celebratory weekend on Sunday with monumental performances from Jill Scott on the Sprite stage and Gunna on the P&G stage, managing to pull off another successful year as a community driven organization.
OMF continues, year after year, to lift up the Black community and to inspire a new generation to continue the rich legacy of rap, hip-hop and R&B. Its multiple stages are a home to many fans and will continue to be home to new musicians in the years to come.