Flo Milli rules the stage at SXSW as her album drops — Literally

Wednesday night, Peso Pluma headlined a night of music ranging from mexicana to urbano and Norteño folk music in Rolling rockThe Future of Music showcase, causing lines around the block. The following night, the showcase spins in another, no less powerful, direction, mixing hip-hop with innovative sounds from Ghana, South Africa, Nigeria and more.

The Herald, aka Keite Young, came out and showed he wasn't messing around. Backed by a five-piece band and a 10-piece choir, the singer launched right into a cover of Leonard Cohen's “Hallelujah.” It was a bold way to start the evening – and an effective one, as Preacher, who was actually a preacher many years ago, drove the contours of the song while the choir helped provide the right emotional thrust. Dressed in a shiny black suit, Preacher then went for a dynamic mix of funk, blues and rock as the singer explored the peaks and valleys of his soulful voice.

DJ L3ni, who was spinning rough hip-hop and other sounds between sets throughout the night, gave way to Pheelz. “If you live Afrobeats music make some noise!” he shouted as soon as he took the stage and the crowd complied. The Nigerian star started out as a producer – at one point reminding the audience that his resume includes Burna Boy, Davido and Wizkid – then hit it big in 2022 with the fantastic “Finesse” and now has a burgeoning solo career. (He just made it a track with Usher.) Tonight the tall, lanky Lagos native bounced around the stage, tried out his malleable crown and threw down some covers of “I Want it That Way” and “Young, Wild & Free.” Pheelz played a drum machine for a minute, then sat on a stool and played acoustic guitar for “Stand By You,” which he introduced as “one of the most beautiful love songs I've ever written or heard.” He closed with “Finechata”. “This song changed my life,” he said, before belting out a chorus good enough to change yours, or at least stick in your head for a few days.

Flyana Boss was pure light and energy — and fun. The duo of Bobbi LaNea and Folayan Kunerede make joyfully risqué songs that zip back early hip-hop for a new, fully online generation. They introduced “Mango Bananas” with a brief speech about potassium (“You can't spell potassium without ass,” they noted, which is true), then traded lines like “Boys fall from trees/Straight to the knees/I want be my main squeeze/Juice me, juice me”. Elsewhere they did synchronized dances, held their hands up to the crowd and told the world they were good. They played 'You Wish', the smash viral hit of 2023, where fan Missy Elliott did the remix. Then they asked 'Is that the queen?' It was — or, at least, a sample of Freddie Mercury's “mamma mia” from “Bohemian Rhapsody,” which fed into “Mamma Mia,” a track that Flyana Boss has played on TikTok and pretty much nowhere else (“There's no way get it this sample cleaned up lmaoooo,” the caption read when they posted a clip to the app.) They closed, of course, with a big hug for each other.

Ghana's Black Sherif brought a different, but no less powerful, energy. Dressed in black, big boots and shades, he single-handedly saves the stage for a DJ, came out like the coolest person in the room, then brought 40 minutes of intensity, bouncing like an athlete. Delivered in English and Twi, his music mixes traditional Ghanaian sounds, especially high-vibration ones, with modern ones, especially drill, for a deeply effective blend. He closed with “Oil in My Head,” a soulful meditative in which he sings, “All I see is blessings.” Then, in one of his few quips, he told the crowd, simply, “I love you guys.”

Uncle Waffles, Swazi born DJ and South African based record producer, came and changed the vibe again, in a cool way. Waffles, born Lungelihle Zwane, has become a big name in amapiano, the South African style of dance music that has exploded in recent years, and on Thursday night she kept the crowd moving with a free-flowing hypnotic set. An amused man interjected here and there — “Go Waffles, go Waffles!” — but mostly this involved grooves that felt like they could go on forever. Waffles really mixed things up by stepping out from behind her DJ setup to do some loose moves for the crowd. As long as she was making everyone else dance, she might as well.

Flo Milli brought the crowd together at a pivotal moment – and not just because she was the star of the night. “This night is so special to me,” he told the crowd, “because the album drops in a few minutes.” It's True: The Alabama rapper's second LP, nice ho stay it literally came out while on stage in Austin. It's a more vulnerable set of songs from the rapper, but tonight Flo mostly showed her earlier confidence. Wearing cut-out boots and knee-high boots, with hair flowing past her waist, she dived into anthems like “Like That Bitch,” which boasts lines like, “Her boyfriend DMs me, 'Oh, I need your good ass” .

Milli has been a rapper to watch — and a ton of fun to listen to — since her breakthrough hit “Beef FloMix,” released while she was still a college student. But this year she scored a chart hit with “Never Lose Me,” a more laid-back love song. Tonight she introduced it as a song “for all my favorite girls” and then delivered a spirited performance to close out her set — or so it seemed. Then, he said, “I got a little treat for everybody,” and played the brand new remix — featuring Cardi B and SZA — while jumping offstage and taking photos with fans for several minutes. And just when it looked like the night was over, confidence returned as he belted out 'In the Party'. Flo returned to the stage to perform the 2019 track, filled with not-so-loved songs like “I smoked all his weed and told him to go away.” It was yet another moment of overconfidence in a career that should be full of them.

(Full disclosure: In 2021, Rolling Stone's parent company, P-MRC, acquired a 50 percent stake in the SXSW festival.)