Tycoon Festival 2025: Chris Brown stars, Sexyy Red surprises, Detroit hip-hop represents
In a lively and festive Saturday night at Little Caesars Arena, the Tycoon Music Festival made its Detroit premiere as Chris Brown headlined to a packed house.
Detroit's Tee Grizzley and viral rapper Sexyy Red were among the top surprise guests in a four-hour affair that delivered multiple artist cameos to go with the announced lineup of Brown, Wiz Khalifa, Gucci Mane, Fabolous and Skilla Baby.
It was the sixth edition of an annual event launched in 2019 by Brown's manager, Ant Wilson, who was on hand at LCA along with girlfriend and R&B star Monica. Detroit was the latest destination for Tycoon after previous runs in cities such as Atlanta and Houston.
Here's a rundown:
Brown's 50-minute set reaffirmed his onstage bona fides as he closed the night for one of Team Breezy's most devoted U.S. markets.
Kicking off with a neon-streaked 'Party,' Brown drew mostly on the recent years of his two-decade catalog, though he did dip back to the early days with a dash through 'Yo (Excuse Me Miss),' 'Poppin'' and a glistening 'Strip.'
Brown was joined at times by a high-energy dance crew to complement his own dazzling, hip-hop-influenced moves, though he was just as comfortable commanding the proceedings alone onstage. He shined on a mid-show stretch of bedroom soul ('Sweet Love,' 'Back to Sleep') and a warm, glowing 'Residuals.'
Clad in a shirt citing Ecclesiastes 9:11 — a Bible verse about endurance through life's twists and turns — Brown wrapped up with 2014's 'Loyal' after thanking fans for their allegiance: 'It'll never go unnoticed,' he said.
Saturday's set was a quick taste of what may be coming with Breezy Bowl XX, which will kick off in June and eventually feature pair of August shows at Ford Field: a slick, visual-heavy production (including pyro and a pair of giant inflatable Chris Browns flanking the stage), dynamic choreography and a heap of hit songs.
By virtue of its timing, this year's Tycoon became a 4/20 weekend celebration — the weed aroma was apparent as soon as you pulled into an LCA parking area — and this Pittsburgh stoner-rapper was certainly up for the cause.
Spliff in hand as he hit the stage, Wiz romped through a trippy 40-minute set of hazy floaters ('Mezmorized'), hypnotic numbers ('We Dem Boyz') and catchy hits like 'Roll Up,' which came with giant balloon joints tossed to the crowd. Fans especially locked in as he wrapped with an upbeat 'Young, Wild & Free' and anthemic 'See You Again' with Charlie Puth's piped-in vocals.
Three months after her own LCA headlining appearance, the breakout St. Louis rapper was back Saturday, drawing screams of recognition as she hit the stage two hours in. Twerking in a skintight suit, Sexyy Red clocked all of five minutes in her cameo.
She followed a pair of unannounced sets from Detroit rapper Payroll Giovanni — who performed his solo hit 'Hoes Like' and nodded to his westside group Doughboyz Cashout — and Chicago's G Herbo.
It was Tee Grizzley who got the prime-time spotlight, joining Brown for the duo's 2023 hit 'IDGAF' and wrapping his mini-set with a crowd-igniting 'First Day Out,' the rapper's 2016 breakthrough smash.
In between — with Brown momentarily ceding his own stage — Tee paired up with fellow Detroit rapper Skilla Baby for their collab 'Gorgeous.'
Earlier, Skilla Baby had kicked off the Tycoon fest with a ladies-pleasing set that had him venturing out into the arena to give fans a chance to grab their own close-up TikTok moments. 'There's no place like home, there's no place like home,' the 26-year-old intoned at one point.
Highlights included 'CFWM' and 'Tay B Style' — and a Skilla-led crowd singalong on Keyshia Cole's 'Love.'
Atlanta trap pioneer Gucci Mane logged a pro performance with a set that included a vivacious onstage appearance from his wife, Keyshia Ka'Oirr, during his early career hit 'Freaky Gurl,' part of a set that included crowd-pleasers 'Pillz' and 'Wasted.'
Fabolous, equipped with his agile, sing-song delivery, kicked off with a latter-day track ('Cold Summer') before ultimately making his way back in time to the smooth grooves of 'Can't Let You Go' and the set-closing 'Breathe.'
Contact Detroit Free Press music writer Brian McCollum: 313-223-4450 or bmccollum@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tycoon fest in Detroit: Chris Brown stars, Sexyy Red surprises, more
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