High winds and intense dust couldn’t stop the party on Saturday when the Tucson Taco Fest kicked off at Rillito Park. The breeze kept the spring heat at bay as hundreds of fans treated themselves to tacos, tequila and a hearty helping of hip hop on the main stage. Headlined by T.I. and Lil Jon, the fest’s lineup also boasted a slew of rap stars that came out to perform all the hits all day long.
The sun was high in the sky as Bubba Sparxxx took the stage to throw down his own take on Southern rap. With so many performers on the bill, his time was short but memorable as he made use of the stage’s long catwalk and got the early crowd dancing. Fans were still trickling in as he closed the set with “Ms. New Booty” and the call and response could be heard from the front gates. Yung Joc appeared promptly afterward and was visibly confused by his early set time but resolved to make sure that the party didn’t stop. He’s had plenty of hits in his own right but his famous features also made an appearance- most notably the verse on T-Pain’s iconic “Buy U a Drank”. The crowd was really rocking along now and there was so much more to come.
The Iceman, the people’s champ Paul Wall emerged with a glittering ear to ear grin as the Tucson fans cheered raucously at his appearance. The Texas rapper is loud and proud about his roots, infusing his rhymes with a distinct Southern flow that’s lent itself to more than a few iconic songs. With his silver hair and matching silver grill, Wall spent his set smiling through every song, including one track written for his wife of two decades. Naturally the set had to conclude with his verse on Nelly’s “Grillz”, as he let the stage lights reflect off the chrome on his teeth as the beat faded out.
The day moved into late afternoon when Chingy appeared in a full blue leather look to really pump up the audience. Fans got on their feet to dance to “Fly Like Me” and “Dem Jeans” as the rapper encouraged the women in the audience to show him what they’ve got- and they were more than happy to give him their best moves. The opening notes of “Right Thurr” activated whole sections of the crowd who had the dance come back to them like muscle memory and really had the fest warmed up for the rest of the night’s performances. Chingy was followed by Fat Joe and his posse who delivered a set full of sharp rhymes and humor between songs. It was impossible to miss him in his bright yellow outfit and eagle-eyed watchers caught the set from way back in the lines for the food as everyone made their way back to the stage ready to close things out.
Our day ended at golden hour with Lil Jon bounding out for the most energetic set of the day. His songs demand dancing, jumping and guzzling plenty of liquor and he made sure the fans put their drinks high in the sky before drenching the first several rows with water. A cardboard cutout of his head bobbed up and down in the crowd as Lil Jon powered through a massive setlist of songs that soundtracked an entire era of radio hip hop. From features with Usher and Pitbull to the impossibly catchy “Shots”, the sheer number of hits that were played shocked even those who have experienced this before. The party extended long after the sun had set and made way for T.I. to shut things down with his own amazing performance.
