The TwoGether Land event in Dallas over Memorial Day weekend set the tone for a hip-hop festival that honored the city’s influence on mainstream pop culture. When the lineup was announced in February, it teased Hollywood Bay Bay’s Dallas All-Stars, which included Big Tuck, Erica Banks, Yella Beezy, Charlie Boy, Dorrough, and more.
This is Dallas’ moment to inspire a new generation of listeners who come to see Lil Wayne, Latto or Key Glock, letting them know that Dallas hip-hop is ours and ours alone. On the TwoGether Land stage in Fair Park, with the African American Museum as a backdrop and preserving its history, it feels like a victory for the unsung heroes who keep the sound alive.
When you walk into Fair Park, TwoGether Land offers everything you need: one-day parties, outdoor concerts featuring hip-hop and R&B, an Art Overdose experience showcasing artists and vendors, and a recreational venue testing close to the ice rink and mechanical bull your skills. Or, you can relax with rapper Curren$y in the JetLife Lounge, where samples of Jet Life THC sodas will be available.
Sponsored events were unique events between the two groups, notably Martell’s Vibe Check Bar, which saw participants use brain-sensing headphones to scan their brainwaves, interpreting their emotions through bright colors and patterns. The mood is then mapped to a signature cocktail of your choice.
We had the opportunity to sit in on a live recording of the podcast on the TwoGether Land live stage. Concertgoers can see Texas-based Mazi’s World’s Marcus Adams interview rap group Dirty South Rydaz about their early mixtapes.
“It was kind of new to us,” Dirty South member Big Tuck said of their popularity at the time. “For the most part, we just wanted to make good music for the city. To represent the city in the right way.
Chalie Boy gave Victoria Monet a preview of his song “I Look Good” on “On My Mama,” and he followed up with an interview and shared his thoughts on the 2009 song still being a Dallas classic . “When you remix a song or rework a song, it brings new life to new songs and it brings new life to old songs,” Charli Boy said.
D-Town pride and celebration spread throughout TwoGether Land over the weekend as the Dallas Mavericks took the lead in the NBA Western Conference Finals. If Chalie Boy’s “I Look Good” wasn’t being played by countless DJs around the playground, Cali Swag District’s “Teach Me How to Dougie,” which grew out of the homegrown D-Town Boogie movement, was also getting some airplay.
It’s all in preparation for Bay Bay’s Sunday afternoon show, which captures the best of Dallas hip-hop from its early days to the current era. Of course, other music festivals have been held in Dallas and featured Post Malone, but none have attempted to spotlight the entire Texas music movement quite like TwoGether Land.
Sunday’s set time was delayed and gates were delayed due to storms in North Texas. The 5:15 p.m. time slot worked in Bay Bay’s favor, as the crowd stopped in after a set by another Texan rapper, That Mexican OT, whose song is named after Vietnamese Houston jeweler Johnny Dang. The song became a hit.
Bay Bay, always full of energy, started his set with dancers and then brought out “Home of Killaz” by Tum Tum. Bay Bay wanted to call on old Dallas idols and brought Big Tuck to a DSR reunion, where Tuck and Tum Tum performed “Southside Da Realist” and “Not a Stain on Me.”
Then it was time for North Dallas to gain recognition, with Bay Bay inviting Mr. Lucci to solo on “Diabolical” and then perform “Crook for Life” with Mr. Pukki. To the average rap fan, these names aren’t immediately recognizable and are considered underground, unless you jammed with them in high school or college. Consider it an important history lesson that brings attention to these rappers’ performances at festivals in their cities.
Bay Bay then treated fans to a blitz of D-Town Boogie artists, shouting out to Fat Pimp who danced to “Rack Daddy,” Lil Wil to “My Dougie” and “Bust It Open,” Trap Starz Clik and Dorrough dances. Bay Bay has a deep connection with the city’s talent, as does Chalie Boy’s “I Look Good” and “Thick Fine Woman.”
Fans enjoyed “Throwed Off” by The Party Boyz, Treal Lee and Prince Rick, and even the GS Boyz, who loved Stanky Legg like it never left. Fans saw Yung Nation, ME, Lil Ronny MothaF and Big Homie Sho perform a jig to a huge party.
But Wanwan isn’t done yet.
He turned his attention to today’s Dallas rap stars, bringing in Erica Banks to twerk on “Buss It” and “Toot That.” Although no explanation was given, Yella Beezy was not on set. Instead, Bay Bay performed “Outside (Better Days)” as a tribute to Mo3 with Gunna Meize and OG Bobby Billions, while Montana 700 performed the show with Zillionaire Doe.
This was not the finale we expected because some of the names were unfamiliar to the audience. It could use someone like BigXThaPlug or hilarious Dallas artist 4Batz, who was seen walking around TwoGether Land on Saturday. But the sentiment of promoting the new face of Dallas was appreciated.
If you go on Saturday and Sunday, TwoGether Land’s organization and flow make it easy for fans to schedule what they want to see and arrive at any time via the app, which will remind you when the next act is happening.
Lil Wayne, Latto, Jeezy and Gucci Mane are the fan favorites, but if you’re moved by slower jams, TwoGether Land’s fun comes with R&B performances from Amerie, Dru Hill, The-Dream and Summer Walker balance. The lineup is a carefully curated Southern regional mainstay, mixing artists from Memphis, New Orleans, and Atlanta, as well as Texas names.
Some highlights from the two days include Shaboozey teasing his new album and single with BigXThaPlug, Three 6 Mafia’s DJ Paul joking about the sweat on his shirt giving the shape of Texas, Gucci Mane with wife Keyshia Ka’oir Taking the stage together to perform “Freaky Gurl” Jeezy said he’s always liked Dallas, The-Dream commented that his real fans have kids because they listen to his music, and Latto channeled her intensely sexy “big mama” persona.
As Lil Wayne prepares to close out the weekend, it’s a victory for Wayne’s generation of artists who have achieved mainstream sustainability. Delayed slightly due to some fans suffering from heat stroke, Wayne held on for an intense 45-minute set that covered his Hot 100 singles, guest appearances, mixtape cuts and Tha Carter III classics like “Lollipop” and “A Milli”.
As the night wore on, after spending a few hours in the sun, Wayne was surprised to find the crowd swaying with him. He appreciates fans skipping the Mavericks game to be with him and telling us who won in case we don’t check the score. After all these years, he’s happy to still be rapping in front of an audience.
“This is love,” Wayne said.
The crowd kept cheering him on. If you’ve seen him live before, his parting words are standard, but on the first TwoGether Land, telling us he’s nothing without us rings truer than ever. Texas loves you, Weezy. Weezy loves us too.
