A Rapper Only Had 13 People Watch His Rolling Loud Set So The Festival Sent Him An Xbox And A Funny Note

There are a lot of great benefits to the boom of music festivals for indie artists but there are also some drawbacks. For instance, up-and-coming rappers who land a slot on a Rolling Loud lineup can expand their audience and get their feet wet performing for the first time. However, things can also get a little awkward because these artists are often so new, they don’t have much music to perform — or many fans to perform for.

That’s what happened to Philadelphia rapper Eem Triplin at Rolling Loud New York this autumn. Triplin was booked for one of the earliest time slots, and the crowd had yet to arrive in earnest. This meant that he had to perform for a “crowd” of just 13 people. At the time, he seemingly took the mishap in stride, tweeting, “Gotta start somewhere.”

This chapter of his story has kind of a happy ending, though. On Monday (November 29), he posted photos of a package he got from the festival’s organizers containing a new Xbox and a card that read, “Hopefully, you get 20 people next time.” Rolling Loud reposted the photo on Instagram, writing, “Glad you like it.” At least he didn’t get his set canceled by the NYPD.