HOT 100 FESTIVAL Rick Ross Dominates Billboard Hot 100 Fest Set, Salutes Prodigy & Chester Bennington

Rick Ross headlined the Sun Stage last night (Aug. 19), capping off a day-long party of genre-hopping hysteria on Billboard Hot 100 Festival’s second-biggest stage. Ross has hits, and he let it be known. Whether it was his own tracks or features on the smashes of others, the Maybach Music leader made the most of his hour of stage time.

It opened with his Meek Mill collab “Ima Boss,” and often included cuts from his 2010 opus, Teflon Don. He spit bars from the fiery opener “I’m Not a Star” early on, then held off, and broke out more later on. His early career hit “Hustlin’” came up in the opening minutes, and predictably, it was a success. Midway through the set, his piece from Ace Hood’s 2013 smash “Bugatti” brought the crowd into a frenzy. Dropping some “Aston Martin Music” late in the set? Of course the crowd was ready for a bit of that Teflon Don highlight.

Rozay didn’t address the crowd much, but he knew how to conduct a somber moment. Towards the end of the hour-long set, he tipped his hat to Prodigy and let his DJ blast a little bit of Mobb Deep's “Shook Ones, Pt. II.” Right after, he shouted out Linkin Park’s recently deceased vocalist Chester Bennington while “Numb” blared over the speakers.

When it was all over, the DJ stayed out a little longer, teasing the crowd with a few more seconds of Ross’ ominous soundtrack. There was no time for an encore, but the Miami native had already made his statement.