As a busy summer of music festivals and other massive concerts draws to a close, there's still at least one more big party to be had. The festival providing those memories would be Billboard Hot 100 Fest 2017, which began at Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater in Wantagh, N.Y., last night (August 19th). An assortment of music stars performed for fans across a four stage setup, with many of them running through their biggest hits and working the crowds into a frenzy.
Some of hip-hop's biggest names were behind the microphone on Saturday, including Gucci Mane. The Droptopwop rapper continued his string of August concert appearances with a strong effort here, opening his set with his two recent Drake collaborations, "Both" and "Back on Road." Those two songs played very well for a crowd that was probably on the younger side from what he's used to. To close out his memorable set, Gucci hit the fans with "I'm Back Bitch," no doubt a flippant response to any remaining doubters following his court-mandated exile.
In addition to Gucci, Ty Dolla $ign also took to the stage to run through an impressive list of credited songs. What reportedly began as a slightly off-kilter affair, Ty soon settled into a groove, performing well-known tracks like ""Paranoid," "Don't Tell 'Em" and his chart-topping Fifth Harmony cut "Work From Home." After him, Rick Ross used part of his set to pay tribute to some fallen music icons. His DJ played Mobb Deep's "Shook Ones Pt. II" as a shout-out to the late Prodigy, followed by Linkin Park's "Numb" as a send-off for Chester Bennington. It wasn't all doom and gloom for Ross' fans however, as the rapper blazed through a supercharged performance of "Bugatti" and a host of his other popular songs.
For the late show, Big Sean bounded up in front of the crowd and delved into his collaborations with the G.O.O.D. Music crew, including hits like "Clique." "I just came to have a good time in one of the best cities in the world," he shouted out to the audience before launching into "Jump Out the Window." It was only the first day, but an explosively good time was had by all in attendance.
You can check out other highlights and video interviews from backstage at Billboard Hot 100 Fest's Day 1 action here.
