021 has seen several Hip Hop culture/professional wrestling crossovers. Yet another major merger between the two entertainment mediums is set for later this month.
Rolling Loud Miami is scheduled to take place July 23-25. This year’s festival will feature WWE presenting segments of an episode of Friday Night SmackDown live from the event.
On July 23, the Rolling Loud mainstage will feature multiple Smackdown matches. The Fox network will also broadcast the Miami-based faceoffs with the remainder of the show airing from Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland.
“I grew up on Sweet Chin Music, mesmerized by the spectacle that Vince McMahon and co have built at WWE,” said Tariq Cherif, co-founder/co-CEO of Rolling Loud. “The idea of weaving our two storylines into one world, one must-see event, is electrifying.”
“What Matt Zingler, Tariq Cherif, and the entire Rolling Loud team have built is spectacular,” said Scott Zanghellini, WWE Senior Vice President, Revenue Strategy & Development. “We couldn’t think of a better partner to deliver such a unique WWE experience to fans during the July 23 edition of Friday Night SmackDown on Fox.”
The Rolling Loud Miami lineup includes A$AP Rocky, Travis Scott, Post Malone, Lil Baby, 21 Savage, DaBaby, Young Thug, Kodak Black, Megan Thee Stallion, Lil Uzi Vert, Lil Durk, Playboi Carti, Roddy Ricch, Rod Wave, Lil Tjay, Polo G, Latto, Rick Ross, Gucci Mane, and many more.
There have been several public interactions between rap stars and WWE stars over the last seven months. In January, Cardi B called out WWE CEO Vince McMahon after the recording artist was mentioned on Monday Night Raw. Her “Up” single is now the official theme for WWE’s SummerSlam 2021 pay-per-view.
In addition, Bow Wow reportedly began training to be a wrestler with WWE Hall of Famer Rikishi. The 34-year-old Beware of Dog album creator’s Verzuz opponent, Soulja Boy, also got into social media feuds with WWE roster members Alexa Bliss and Randy Orton.