“You’ll never know if you don’t try — and don’t try; do.”
That’s always been the ethos of Rolling Loud.
Whether it was back in a warehouse in Miami or from a massive amusement park in Thailand, the premiere hip-hop festival has always embodied the spirit of getting out there and defying the impossible.
It’s in everything they do — from curating a stellar lineup that brings the biggest names in hip-hop to cities fans would never think to see them in to developing an expansive merch line that exceeds expectations to putting together experiences that you’d never find at a typical festival.
In fact, doing what’s never been done before (and then subsequently, outdoing all of it) was how it all started.
“We were throwing parties, and we just saw it eventually. We always used to partner together on other types of business, so then we said, ‘Hey, why don’t we take this party thing and make it into an actual business?’” recounts Rolling Loud co-founder Tariq Cherif.
From there, Tariq and fellow co-founder and business partner Matt Zingler put up several concerts across Florida before finally landing with the idea of Rolling Loud.
The festival started as a small one-day, multi-artist show in Miami in 2015 featuring headlining performances from Schoolboy Q, Juicy J, and A$AP Ferg. Now, a decade later, it spans multiple days with iterations all over the world, attracting tens of thousands of people in every city they land and staging legendary acts like Lil’ Wayne, Travis Scott, Kendrick Lamar, Nicki Minaj, Cardi B, A$AP Rocky, and more.
From its home base in Florida that now sees 80,000 attendees to its newest international edition in Pattaya, Thailand that draws over 50,000 people across the Asia-Pacific region, Rolling Loud has become an institution of its own, no longer just an experience but a phenomenon that’s taken the world by storm.
The allure of Rolling Loud undoubtedly lies in the experience they’re uniquely able to provide both fans and artists alike. For an artist, it’s an incredible platform to connect with a global community and showcase your art in the grandest way possible; while for fans, it’s a rare opportunity to bear witness to hip-hop giants in their element and experience an unforgettable party you’d want to relive again and again.
But, the heart of the festival is its commitment to both honor the legacy of hip-hop and push the culture forward.
Rolling Loud Co-Founder Matt Zingler, photographed by Kenneth Dimaano.
More than just the rowdy mosh pits, intoxicating performances, and lavish fireworks that fans have come to know, the festival prides itself on creating that not only makes space for the genre’s up-and-comers but that also pays homage to everything that hip-hop has done and been — all fuelled by Zingler and Cherif’s deep-rooted love, admiration, and respect for the genre.
Ans so, as hip-hop’s influence grew, Rolling Loud — a space that genuinely championed hip-hop and all that they stood for — grew alongside them.
“It was very tough to kind of get to this point in our career, and we’re very fortunate that we’re here now, and a lot of that’s due to the artists and the music, and how large and influential hip-hop became. I think that the timing was really everything for us,” shares Zingler.
He continues, “A lot of the momentum from Rolling Loud comes from the blood, sweat and tears that was put into the company in the States. So, now that a lot of those people have seen the footage and the cultural impact and the artists that we platformed, and artists that we have grown with and have grown with us, it kind of brings that respect for the brand and the notoriety.”
Rolling Loud Co-Founder Tariq Cherif, photographed by Kenneth Dimaano.
Over the last decade, nothing has been as central to hip-hop in the same way that Rolling Loud has been. Beyond just growing exponentially alongside the genre in the States, the festival has been integral in being a catalyst for its global expansion.
“The goal was always to create a brand we could expand and make the largest brand in the world,” says Zingler.
With multiple editions across Europe and its recent move into Asia with Rolling Loud Thailand (not to mention, several more international editions in the works), the festival has been fundamental in cementing hip-hop’s roots across the globe.
More notably in Asia, where the genre is still emerging into the mainstream, Rolling Loud has been a great showcase of how hip-hop is a growing phenomenon.
“I think it opened a lot of doors for other people to realize that it’s possible to do a festival of this magnitude. It opened the ability for us to potentially expand the brand to multiple locations in Asia, engaging a lot of interest in talent in the region — China and Japan and Korea, etc. I think it opened a lot of other entrepreneurs’ eyes,” says Zingler.
With building any new international edition, translating the essence of Rolling Loud has always been the easy part for Zingler and Cherif. “That just comes with the brand,” Zingler says simply.
Rather, the biggest challenge — beyond the obvious logistics and red tape of transporting a massive live event across the world — was bringing along the thrilling acts synonymous with Rolling Loud.
“One of the biggest hurdles that we faced when we came to Thailand initially, was informing the artists of where we are in the world and why it was important to come here and expand their brand. It’s convincing the talent to travel out here,” explains Zingler.
Wherever they go, the two co-founders play a delicate game of booking artists that not only capture the state of hip-hop at the moment — from its most popular names to its most exciting newcomers — but also represent the best of the region they’re in.
As young hip-hop fans who never got to see their favorite artists come to their city, Zingler and Cherif knew the importance of bringing huge international names to Thailand.
“Miami is in the Southern, Eastern most tip of America and it’s out of the way for touring. A lot of artists, when they tour — granted, it’s become more of a touring market for arenas and stadiums — but when we were growing up and when we were in college, artists would skip Florida a lot of the time,” Cherif recalls. “The most South that they would go to was like Georgia, and so you’d see ‘US tour’ but a lot of times it didn’t have Florida. So, that’s why we started booking shows: to get these artists that were not coming to Florida, to come to Florida. So, we definitely resonate with [never getting to see artists in your city].”
Much like its inaugural edition, the second year of Rolling Loud Thailand saw big names out in the sunny city of Pattaya for the very first time.
You had the likes of Tyga, an artist that needs no introduction. With a discography of hits that precedes him, the rapper is one of music’s most compelling figures today.
Tyga, photographed by Kenneth Dimaano.
On another end, the festival also had trending gamechangers like Ski Mask The Slump God. The rapper brings to the stage a frenetic energy that you can’t fully encapsulate into words; but if the varied mosh pits he incites are any indication, he knows how to move a crowd.
Ski Mask The Slump God, photographed by Kenneth Dimaano.
Artists like Nav also bring in diverse flavor into a sonically rich festival like Rolling Loud. With hypnotic trap beats and electrifying melodies, the musical polymath has everyone dancing in an instant.
Nav, photographed by Kenneth Dimaano.
It’s this varied combination of these artists and sounds that Zingler and Cherif meticulously work to create, on top of also championing established and rising acts from the region.
“Thailand is a destination location, so you have people flying in from Singapore, from South Korea, from Russia, from Japan, from Australia, from all over the place so we’re really booking from the whole region,” adds Cherif.
“It’s just a beautiful thing to see that hip-hop is such a diverse genre and it’s so inclusive that you can change the language, but you can’t change the spirit.”
Across two editions of Rolling Loud Thailand, the festival’s lineup has seen a massive share of Asian talent on stage.
You have incredible performers like Jay Park, who has been at the forefront of the growth of Korean hip-hop. Whether it’s by laying the foundations to support his fellow rappers or representing Asia hip-hop as a whole on the global stage, the multi-hypenate carves out a league of his own.
Jay Park, photographed by Kenneth Dimaano.
And what’s Rolling Loud Thailand without an enthralling selection of Thai rappers? With one of the most diverse and rich hip-hop scenes in Southeast Asia, the local iteration of the festival has always been a space to see Thai talent shine.
For both editions of the festival, MILLI has taken the stage to rep Thailand loud and proud — even bringing alongside her fellow DREAMGALS members GALCHANIE and Flower.far last year. With her infectious energy, innate charisma, and vibrant verses, the young rapper has always been the life of the party and a festival standout year after year.
MILLI, photographed by Kenneth Dimaano.
MILLI, GALCHANIE, and Flower.far of DREAMGALS, photographed by Kenneth Dimaano.
Seeing Asians perform on the same stage as hip-hop giants is a testament not only to the caliber of musical talent in the region, but also to the global platform that Zingler and Cherif have built through Rolling Loud.
“When you zoom out in the macro sense, at some point your legacy dies, no matter what. I don’t think my ego, or either of our egos, is so big that we expect to be remembered forever; but I think that I like the idea of inspiring young people, or really any person, to just chase that dream that you have and just start,” says Cherif.
He continues, “Nothing is impossible in this world. I know we’ve already inspired people, and as long as people remember us, I hope we’re inspiring young and all age entrepreneurs to go do what it is that they want to do.”
Rolling Loud Co-Founder Tariq Cherif, photographed by Kenneth Dimaano.
In 2024, Rolling Loud celebrated its 10-year anniversary. It capped off its first decade with 28 iterations across 10 cities around the world, and hundreds and hundreds of performers — and yet, this is all just the beginning.
With what they say is just the mere foundations of an empire in their hands, Zingler and Cherif have a lot in store for Rolling Loud.
Rolling Loud Co-Founder Matt Zingler, photographed by Kenneth Dimaano.
“Rolling Loud has become more of a lifestyle brand over time, and the cultural relevance of the brand stands for something just as hip-hop stands for something,” says Zingler, adding that the brand will soon encompass multiple verticals, from merchandising to alcohol to even a basketball league.
When asked what the next 10 years will hold, Zingler ends with: “Rolling Loud is a name and it’s going to stand for something greater than concerts and festivals. The first 10 years have been amazing for the company and building the brand, but the next ten years will be just as exciting, if not more exciting, for the brand and the fans.”
Photographed by Kenneth Dimaano, assisted by Jomar Solania and Mayks Go. Creative direction by Kenneth Dimaano. Lights provided by Fox Tree Co-Work Studio. Produced by Franchesca Basbas. Special thanks to Kerry Harrison of Rolling Loud.