The Roots, A$AP Rocky, Janelle Monae & More Rock ONE Musicfest [Photos + Recap]

Photos by Victoria Ford // Recap by Cali Green for Okayplayer

ONE Musicfest was undoubtedly one of the most ambitious festivals of the season. The lineup for its 6th annual incarnation brought music lovers from far and wide (Brooklyn here) to Atlanta’s Aaron’s Lakewood Amphitheater to celebrate the beauty of diversity in music -- as one. Close to 50 artists performed across three stages and included up-and-coming talent alongside bonafide stars and legends, along with a series of DJ crews for good measure (sadly, we missed all of ‘em). For nearly 12 hours, artists like SZA, Raury, The Internet, A$AP Rocky, Janelle Monae’s Wondaland collective, Lauryn Hill, Ghostface, Raekwon, and our very own Legendary Roots Crew performed for an audience spread across the massive theater -- some fans stood front and center, some in seats, and others sprawled out on the lawn.

If the festival had one major flaw, it was the overlap of amazing performances making it genuinely impossible for those of us who haven’t mastered teleporting to see everything and everyone present -- Big Krit, 8Ball, MJG, Scarface and Bun B all rocked on the Zeus Stage at the same time that Janelle, Jidenna, and the rest of Wondaland’s artists brought down the house on the Hercules Stage. Still, the vibe was incredible as ATL and its sunny mid-70s temps with low humidity made for the perfect locale to catch one of the last festival events of the 2015 season. ONE Musicfest delivered a stellar day of beautiful music and equally beautiful people. Check the photo gallery and get the festival’s brightest moments below.

ARTIST: Raury

SONG HIGHLIGHTS: “High,” “God’s Whisper”

BEST MOMENTS: As one of the festival artists who was performing for a largely hometown crowd, Raury’s energy was met with love as one of the day’s earlier acts. His repertoire with his (incredibly talented) band along with his magnetic stage presence definitely belie his 19 years on this planet. Backstage, we spied him making a connection with Wondaland’s stylish guitar virtuoso Kellindo, seeking to get together to write music. Here’s hoping it was evidence that we can expect further greatness from the young talent.

ARTIST: SZA

SONG HIGHLIGHTS: “Hijack,” “Child’s Play,” “Babylon”

BEST MOMENTS: As we noted after her Afropunk set, SZA continues to get better and better. This performance raised the bar (and a few brows as she donned a ghillie suit -- “she looked like a beautiful swamp fairy,” noted Kaley Puckett, keys player for the band). SZA and her ensemble of musicians proved the TDE representative intends to leave her mark and stick around for a while. Her vocals were tight as it was clear she was there to engage the audience -- and they responded in kind, turning all the way up for songs like “Hijack” and her hit “Babylon.”

ARTIST: The Internet

SONG HIGHLIGHTS: “Gabby,” “Getaway,” “Dontcha”

BEST MOMENTS: It’s a beautiful thing to witness a fan fall in love with music that’s new to their ears. And even more so to see the tried and true sing along word for word to a band many may not yet know well. As we overheard one audience member state, “I’m just trying not to lose my mind!” The Odd Future reps breezed into ATL with the kind of cool that’s come to be expected of them. Syd Tha Kid’s soaring falsetto, near perfect vocals, and smiling charm paved the way for what was truly a festival highlight as the band made sure people left knowing who they were and where to find them.

ARTIST: Ryan Leslie

SONG HIGHLIGHTS: “Diamond Girl,” “Addiction”

BEST MOMENTS: During a backstage interview, Leslie told reporters his set was intentionally short and sweet: “fifteen minutes was all we needed. I told them I’d come here to perform for free; I love Atlanta.” Dollars and cents clearly had no bearing on his performance as he did a quick and high-energy run through “Diamond Girl” and “Addiction” on the festival’s Hercules Stage. He definitely held his own playing opposite Wale on the main Zeus Stage (who, incidentally, we caught for a moment as he sang his own rendition of Musiq Soulchild’s hit “Just Friends”).

ARTIST: Ghostface & Raekwon

SONG HIGHLIGHTS: “Ice Cream,” “Eye for an Eye” (Mobb Deep cover), “Black Jesus”

BEST MOMENTS: It’s no secret we have immense love for the Wu Tang Clan and its members collectively, but we’re happy to see Ghost and Rae interacting as a duo on stage every chance we get. The legendary hip hop veterans have the kind of seasoned skills vocally and lyrically that many artists aspire to and they clearly make no apologies for it (see: Action Bronson). The pair gave the crowd a solid performance of their top tracks, making us wish they’d adopt a live band show. Early in the set, Ghost announced to the festival production staff as puffs of foam floated through the air “hey, stop the foam machine! If that shit hits the mixer and it goes out, you gonna have riot in here.” We’d say he was right.

ARTIST: Janelle Monae, Jidenna, Roman GianArthur, Deep Cotton, St. Beauty

SONG HIGHLIGHTS: “Tightrope” (Janelle); “Long Live The Chief” (Jidenna); “Strong Enough” (Sheryl Crow cover, St. Beauty)

BEST MOMENTS: The Wondaland collective came out on stage in full force with a cover of Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy” led by Janelle and Roman, before she announced “Ladies and Gentleman… welcome to Wondaland presents The Eephus!” And what a wonder it was as they seamlessly moved through more than an hour of music from their ‘Eephus’ EP and more. They alternated between grooving and rocking, accompanying each other throughout the entire set -- dancing and cheering each other on in a way that signified unity and family. From Janelle’s pelvic thrusts to Jidenna’s body rolls, they took the crowd to church and the congregation said “amen!” throughout. This is also where things got a little more hectic for many -- it was hard to pull away from this set to catch the legendary hip hop performance happening across the way with Krit, Scarface, Bun B and company. But it was worth sticking around since the best moment of their set (and perhaps the festival) came at the end as they closed with “Classic Man” and lingered... Soon after, Janelle returned to the stage to announce that they had one more song and would probably be cut off before finishing -- the full collective returned (with Raury in tow) to perform the Black Lives Matter anthem “Hell You Talmbout” with booming drums and even bigger conviction. As predicted, the band’s sound was clipped early, but they continued singing, with the audience right along with them as their backing vocals: “say her name, say her name, say her name, won’t you say her name.” To call it a spiritual moment is entirely fitting.

ARTIST: A$AP Rocky

SONG HIGHLIGHTS: “L$D,” “Shabba”

BEST MOMENTS: Having proven to be A$AP Mob’s leading man of sorts, Rocky started his set low key, poised behind a microphone stand atop a staircase. He occasionally asked the audience if they were ready to turn up yet -- the answer was always yes, but the crowd would have to wait a bit before the energy went full throttle. After keeping it smooth (and a bit sexy), he announced that at 26, he was “damn near considered an old ass man” in the rap game before he turned it all the way up with his crew. The vibe wasn’t quite as polished as Wondaland’s, but the same family message was given as he brought guests and friends on stage to join for a few songs. While his assertion of his elderly status is clearly debatable, he made sure to leave the crowd wanting more -- and we certainly did as we had to leave his set early to run over to catch The Roots.

ARTIST: The Roots

SONG HIGHLIGHTS: “Doin’ It Again,” “The Next Movement,” “Proceed,” “The Seed (2.0)"

BEST MOMENTS: If we say “everything” will you believe us? Because it’s true. By now, we imagine more than a few of you have seen the legends live and know as well as we do that there is no tighter or more engaging group of musicians than these gentlemen. Black Thought’s rhymes, Questlove’s drums, Kirk’s guitar (and vocals, good Lord), Mark’s bass, Frankie’s percussion, James’ keys, Damon aka Tuba Gooding Jr.’s sousaphone (for the record, it’s not a tuba), Kamal’s keys, Jeremy’s drum machine… it simply doesn’t get much better than The Roots live. Starting at nearly 8pm on the dot, they ran through the hits we love, mixing in nods to classic tracks like “Jungle Boogie” and “Apache,” and even tossed in Fetty Wap’s “Trap Queen” for good measure (hey, what’s up, hello…). Standout moments included Thought’s shout out to both Sean Price and J Dilla, an always welcome but much-too-brief drum solo from Questlove during “The Seed," and Kirk’s guitar solo followed by his taking flight from the drum kit platform as they wrapped “You Got Me.” (Incredible props to photog Vickey Ford for capturing that leap with her lens.) As they walked off the stage, Quest threw drumsticks into the crowd and Damon hopped down to snap photos with fans as “Never Understand” played on the speakers. The set ended around 9:20 and a few stragglers (perhaps those familiar with Lauryn Hill’s relationship with time…?) stuck around to sing along — those are the moments when tried and true Roots fans become evident.

ARTIST: Lauryn Hill

SONG HIGHLIGHTS: “Lost Ones,” “Killing Me Softly,” “Master Blaster” (cover), “Doo Wop (That Thing)”

BEST MOMENTS: Sigh. We love you, Miss Lauryn Hill, but you’re killin’ us. More than 30 minutes late to the stage for her scheduled 9:30 start and several minutes after her band had already set up. She also seemed to be sound checking and adjusting levels during the first song (and throughout the set) -- all things we’ve seen and heard about the brilliantly talented Ms. Hill for quite some time now. One audience member said: “Lauryn, girl, you need to get it together,” and got a hallelujah chorus from those around her. Despite the set not seeming varied much from previous performances we’ve seen this year -- Lauryn performing seated with her guitar, band and background vocalists situated in the same places -- there’s nothing quite like Lauryn Hill when she hits her stride. And to be fair, when a band and songs are as polished as this, there’s no need to fix what ain’t broke. Still, we do wonder how long the talent and legacy will outweigh the difficulty. We also wish she’d chat with crowd and move around the stage a bit, but at the end of the day, it’s Lauryn freakin’ Hill, those beautiful lyrics, and that stunning voice. We get it. And clearly, so do the audience members who wait (mostly) patiently and several event bookers -- doesn’t seem she’s lost one yet.