NEW YORK — The cooler weather at Randall’s Island Park on Sunday didn’t stop some of the hottest names in the entertainment industry from delivering musically — and socially — charged performances on the final day of Governors Ball 2018.

The last 21 of the 66 total artists performed throughout the day, with groups taking the stage at one of four locations around the island from 12:15 to 11 p.m. Sunday’s lineup included Mayfest 2018 headliner Quinn XCII, Aminé, Khalid, Third Eye Blind and day 3’s headliner Eminem.

Quinn XCII played from 2:15 to 3 p.m. on the Bacardi Stage, just over a month after performing in Walnut Park at Syracuse University for Mayfest. The artist, who is signed to Columbia Records, performed hits including “Straightjacket” and “Another Day in Paradise” on Sunday.

Rapper and singer-songwriter Aminé began his set at the Gov Ball NYC stage immediately after Quinn XCII. When he came onstage, he told his audience, “So when you come to an Aminé show, we like to make everyone feel beautiful, all right?”

He began a series of chants, shouting out “You’re beautiful!” and having the audience shout back “I know!”

After “Heebiejeebies” and “Hero,” the Portland, Oregon, native poked fun at white women in his song “Yellow,” rapping “White girls love me like my first name Coachella” after the famous annual spring music festival on the West Coast.

After that came “REDMERCEDES” and “Spice Girl.” Throughout his set, Aminé had karaoke-style lyrics on the screen behind him.

When his final song “Caroline” came on, Aminé used it to send another message to his white fans about the use of the word “n*gga” in his lyrics. When the word came up in the song’s verses, the screen behind the artist read “If you ain’t black don’t say it.” The rapper, who himself is black, repeated that message instead of using the word.

An hour later, the crowd at the Honda Stage was almost as big as it had been for Shawn Mendes two days prior. On Sunday, though, it looked a little older for the 90s rock band Third Eye Blind. The group performed some of their biggest hits including “Semi-Charmed Life” and “Jumper” and welcomed listeners old and new to the set.

“We’ve been wanting to do this for a long time,” one of the band members said about performing at Gov. Ball. He added that the group is in the studio making a new record now.

They celebrated their 20th anniversary last year. Lead singer Stephan Jenkins said that all it takes for them to keep going is “a little bit of courage and a little bit of magic.”

“All the courage, all the inspiration comes from you guys,” he said.

Like Third Eye Blind, rising star Khalid played from 4:45 to 5:45 p.m., but he was at the Gov Ball NYC stage. The 20-year-old singer appeared to attract a younger audience than the rock group across the island.

Vic Mensa played at the American Eagle stage from 5:45 to 6:45. The “Liquor Locker” singer was scheduled to play at Syracuse University’s Mayfest in 2017 but missed the show due to flight cancellations.

Once the sun set, temperatures dropped and winds picked up, but a large crowd still turned out for the final performer at the Gov. Ball 2018 American Eagle stage: Philadelphia rapper Lil Uzi Vert. He’s worked with rap moguls like Wiz Khalifa and Young Thug since his music gained traction in 2015.

Vert rapped verses of “You Was Right” and “Bad and Boujee” before he got the entire crowd singing along to “The Way Life Goes” and “XO Tour Llif3.” The latter climbed to No. 7 on the US Billboard Hot 100 charts by this time last year, and Vert played it twice during his set, which went from 8 to 9:15 p.m.

Those who stayed until the end may have gotten rained on once again, but day 3 headliner Marshall Mathers, otherwise known as Eminem, rewarded them with fireworks, guest performances and a mixture of old and new classics from one of the genre’s trailblazers. He bantered with the rest of his crew onstage, talked to the audience and mixed in a few rap battles with 50 Cent in tracks like “Crack a Bottle.”

Skyler Gray also joined Eminem onstage to sing Rihanna’s part in “Love the Way You Lie” and Beyonce’s part in “Walk on Water.” The latter was recorded for the 2018 album “Revival.” Eminem performed “Chloraseptic” and “River” off the same album.

At one point during his set, he stopped to give a “shout out to wifey … Nicki Minaj” — alluding to recent rumors about the rapper’s supposed relationship with the singer. He continued by telling the crowd that he and Nicki “go together.”

After skirting around the dating rumors, Eminem closed out the show and the festival with some of his older hits, including “My Name Is,” “The Real Slim Shady,” “Without Me” and “Not Afraid.”

The rain steadily picked up during the last half hour of his set, but that didn’t deter the entire crowd. With many sporting a $5 poncho from the merchandise tent, festival-goers kept chanting Eminem’s lyrics all the way out of Randall’s Island.

Randall’s Island’s next music event will be Panorama at the end of July. The Weeknd is headlining, along with Janet Jackson and The Killers. Tickets for the three-day event are on sale now.

Published on June 4, 2018 at 8:19 am

Contact Colleen: cefergus@syr.edu | @ColleenEFergus2