The sweltering heat in Las Vegas didn’t deter hip-hop fans from attending the Lovers & Friends festival on Saturday. The two-day Live Nation event is held at the Las Vegas Festival Grounds and features headliners Lauryn Hill, Usher, Ludacris, Lil Jon, Monica, TLC and Mario.
Although most of the day’s performances went off without a hitch, the end of the night seemed to turn into chaos, according to social media.
Onlookers described a rush around 10:30 p.m. as thousands of people ran for the exits and some were trampled. Several participants reported hearing a gunshot, although this was debunked shortly after.
Something happened at the Lovers & Friends festival. Looks like it might be a false alarm. pic.twitter.com/2SFIGr1kw0
— Las Vegas locally 🌴 (@LasVegasLocally) May 15, 2022
Local Las Vegas news reports that a “security incident” interrupted the festival but no shots were fired, according to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police, according to News 3.
Event organizers blame the incident on fans rushing to the barricades and added that the show started again with Usher, Lil Jon and Ludacris headlining.
Earlier today, the most newsworthy incident was Brandy pulling out of the bill (she had to cancel due to illness) and Timbaland bragging about how he was in early Drake .
Taking to the stage with his catalog of hits, Timbaland had fans singing every word.
During his set, Timbaland noted that he was one of the first to co-sign Drake, as early as “Say Something” in 2009. First released on Drake’s “So Far Gone” mixtape, the song reached #23 on the Billboard Hot 100.
“It was one of the first times everyone heard Drake,” Timbaland said from the stage. “So I was part of – I feel like I tapped very early. I see greatness very quickly and I’ve had the pleasure of working with great people.
timbaland performed “say something” and said he was the first person to debut drake in the world 👀
— Shirley Ju (@shirju) May 15, 2022