After suffering a slew of delays due to the global pandemic, Montreal’s Metro Metro Festival finally saw the light and day during the weekend of 20 to the 22nd of May. The lineup consisted of 50 Cent, Lil Baby, Trippie Redd, Lil Tecca, Don Toliver, Tory Lanez, and many more of hip hop’s brightest stars. Unfortunately, unlike the previous lineup, which included Cardi B and Saweetie, 2022’s list of artists was primarily men, which goes against initiatives amongst the industry to push more female and non-binary artists towards the forefront.
The festival gathered thousands of attendees, mostly young teens and adults. The crowd filled with excitement as spectators were prepared to indulge in a weekend filled with good music and an even greater atmosphere. Despite the few stepbacks, the real show began when Drake made a surprise appearance at Lil Baby’s set. First, he began telling the crowd how much he missed Montreal and called the city home. Then, he performed his hit “Headlines” and “Laugh Now Cry Later.”
As Drake returned to Montreal, the crowd erupted into cheers as his last performance in Montreal was at the Bell Centre for his album Scorpio back in 2018.
The lineup included the 50 Cent, Dababy, and the French-Canadian rapper Loud on the last day. On a day that was struck with a harsher climate, the weather wasn’t enough to knock the spirits of festival-goers as they maintained copious amounts of energy throughout the event. A lineup filled with modern rappers, the appearance of 50 Cent was a refreshing moment for all 90s hip hop lovers as he played his classics, including “P.I.M.P” and “In Da Club.”
Overall, Metro Metro did not disappoint. Having suffered a ton of setbacks and obstacles out of the organizer’s control, this rendition of the festival surely sets the stage to become a premier live experience in all of Canada.
