Kadetten – Day 2

With better attendance than the first day, the second and last day of Kadetten had a few big names in their program.

Foto: Johannes Andersen

The festival was mostly filled with a young audience. One can immediately feel the energy and become infected with it. The program was clearly aimed at the youngest, and the food and drink options were not as well thought out or with as much quality as we have seen in other festivals in Oslo. The great advantage without a doubt is the vicinity to the fjord and being able to go for a swim between concerts.

Lil Pump

One of the new generations of rappers part of the movement known as Soundclap Rap, quickly became famous and managed to place his single Gucci Gang in third place on the Billboard list.

With a playful, vibrant, and clearly extravagant personality, Lil Pump keeps the audience entertained. Among all the concerts programmed during this day, probably this was one of the best. At least, I was able to see that there was a leap in the quality after this Lil Pump.  The eighteen year old rapper connects immediately with the audience which tries to replicate the cool moves and sing along some of his biggest tracks. To my surprise many of the those who were in the audience were able to sing his songs by heart.

Lil Pump raps around the stage about drugs, money, cars, and expensive clothes, with multicolored dreadlocks replicated by some in the public. He managed to give a good and entertaining concert.  

7 / 10

Ty Dolla $ign

At this point the whole festival gather at the same stage, feeling a little bit more crowded and making it almost impossible to get close to the stage.  Unlike other acts, Ty Dolla $ign is accompanied by a live band with a very flashy drum set.

Shortly after opening the concert, people explode when Wavy starts, which is followed by the announcement of the new album and people forming a «typical» moshpit. The whole crowd goes crazy when they hear Swalla, one of the most famous collaborations of Ty Dolla with Jason Derulo and Nicki Minaj.  The atmosphere and energy could not be better, with the sun hitting directly on us. It was the perfect moment of this beach festival.

Towards the end the rapper invites someone from the audience to share a joint on stage and continues with his series of successful collaborations, this time presenting his new single with Drake.  In general, it was a good and professional presentation that kept the mood high.

8 / 10

Tyler the Creator

Tyler the Creator showed up with a spectacular screen on stage, which it was visually pleasant and made the effect of make him appeared almost immerse in the screen. With typical neon clothes and videos created by his own team, Tyler was definitely a good booking decision for ending the festival.

The expectations were high and he did not disappoint. Some of his songs were less energetic as previous acts but perfect for setting the mood towards the end. With his “clever” lyrics and fun songs, the crowd enjoyed every minute of his concerts. The fact that some of his songs are gentle, this doesn’t mean there powerful and exciting  moments. One thing that I appreciate is that the he doesn’t try to excite the audience with easy and vibrant beats, but rather rely on his way of deliver the verses.

At this point half of the Kadetten crowd was standing by the stage while the other half was enjoying the concert sitting on the grass.  With a few songs from his last and positively reviewed album, Tyler was able to connect with the public, making them dance along and sing some of his biggest hits such as Run, Boredom, 911/Mr. Lonely, and IFHY. In terms of quality and live singing, this probably was the best concert I witnessed during this fun festival.

8 / 10