Nettspend’s Rolling Loud Set Showcases Rockstar Status
A voiceless DJ Rennessey set let the aesthetic and artistry shine.
This past weekend, one of the biggest rap festivals took place in Inglewood, California—Rolling Loud. Headlined by hit-rappers A$AP Rocky (arriving via helicopter) and Playboi Carti (who performed nearly 40 songs during his two-hour set), the festival has been a global fan favorite for its 10 years of operation.
We saw a lot of familiar names perform this weekend; however, a lot of budding talent from the underground scene got their chance to shine on the festival’s D’Ussé Stage. Osamason performed a post-Jumpout (and leak…) set after recently signing to Atlantic Records. Che delivered one of the craziest afternoon sets I’ve seen in a while, just ahead of his mixtape release, Rest in Bass. Other standout performances came from rappers xaviersobased, untiljapan, and Glokk40Spaz, to name a few.
But there was one headlining set I was anxiously waiting for, behind the screen of my monitor in my college-town apartment—Nettspend.
Nettspend has been insanely busy. He dropped his studio debut, BAD A** F*****G KID, in early December, immediately following it with a 10-stop tour. He then teased an HBO documentary about the making of the album. His relationship with model Mazzy Joya has developed a cult-like following. He collaborated with skate brand Vans for his Invert Tour, which will take him to 19 cities alongside xaviersobased. And just last week, he was on the runway at Paris Fashion Week, modeling for luxury avant-garde brand Miu Miu—with the bottom of his hair dyed black.
I’ve been a Nettspend fan since I saw the video for his track, “Funnuhyuh” on xaviersobased’s YouTube channel in July 2023. Watching him blow up and take the industry by storm has been incredible. I love how he doesn’t give a f**k and carries himself like a rockstar—especially being 18 years old (as of yesterday, hbd nett).
Two years later, that rockstar energy is turned up to an entirely new level. As I sat in my chair watching a sea of fans wait anxiously for his set, the screen lit up with a black-and-white backstage feed. A striped limousine pulled up—Nettspend, draped in an American flag, stepped out with Mazzy. They kissed, and the crowd erupted in screams.
An alternate intro to “Shut Up” started playing as Nettspend waited to take the stage. Mazzy kissed him again before they ascended the stairs. As the intro switched to the actual song, Nett wrapped the flag around Mazzy, and she assumed her position behind the DJ stand, where she stayed for the duration of the set. The sound guy handed Nett a microphone just as the beat was about to drop—he barely had time to yell, “What!” before the D’Ussé Stage erupted in smoke, and the crowd exploded into a mosh pit.
This was one of the most entertaining intros I’ve seen in a long time. It was executed almost flawlessly, setting the hype at the perfect level. The crowd was electric. Even though this was the last set of the night on this stage, they still brought 110% energy, and I was here for it.
The intro was followed by “Project Pat” and “F**K CANCER”, the latter dedicated to Nettspend’s late grandma.
“Long live Doris. Long live my f*****g Grandma!” - Nettspend
Nettspend dominated his nearly 40-minute set, running through hits like “Beach Leak”, the infamous Deftones-sampled “That One Song,” the TikTok-trending “Tommy”, and his arguably-biggest track, “nothing like uuu”.
The extended intros were on point, some of my favorite live-show moments in recent memory. That, combined with Nettspend’s stage presence, made this one of the best sets I’ve seen from a rising underground artist. His setlist blended cult fan favorites “shine n peace” and “we not like you” with his newer hits. Compared to his Rolling Loud performance last year, this set felt way more cohesive and polished—the crowd, the production, and his stage presence had tripled in quality.
About halfway through, I noticed something different. DJ Rennessey, the New Jersey-based DJ and music curator—and Nettspend’s go-to DJ—was silent. He hadn’t spoken once. Rennessey is known for hyping up crowds at Osamason, xaviersobased, and Nettspend shows, so this was a surprising move. But it worked. The crowd stayed just as hyped, proving that Nettspend has an insane amount of crowd control.
Nettspend’s stage presence during this set was unlike anything I’d seen from him before. Autotune-laced melodies filled the space between songs, and he made sure to connect with fans in the crowd. One of my favorite moments came during the outro of “Perc Soda”, when he pointed out specific fans and told them he could see them.
“I f*****g hear you. And I can see you. And I can see you. You, you, you, you, you, you, you.” -Nettspend
This is exactly why I love Nettspend—and music in general. Music makes you feel something. You go to shows and meet people who love the exact same thing you do. Whenever I feel lost, I turn to music. Nettspend gets this—he makes music for people who feel different, and in doing so, makes them feel like they belong. Seeing him recognize that, at just 18 years old, makes it bigger than the music. Nettspend isn’t just an artist—he’s a visionary.
I think he truly deserved a nighttime headlining set, and this performance proved it.
This set made me insanely excited to see what else Nettspend does next. And I can’t wait to be at his Cleveland show at the end of the month.
Check out his new single, “Impact” with xaviersobased here.
If you haven’t checked out the performance yet, you can watch it here. (I highly recommend it.)