"The most random link up ever" — Internet reacts to Kai Cenat meeting The Weeknd for the first time at Rolling Loud during Playboi Carti’s set

Playboi Carti was one of the star performers at the Rolling Loud festival in Inglewood, California, over the weekend, alongside A$AP Rocky.

A video clip from Carti's set was posted to X by @FearedBuck on Monday, March 17. In the clip, The Weeknd - who was a surprise guest in the performance - was seen shaking hands with - and hugging - live streamers Kai Cenat and Dabo.

They were also seen dancing and laughing together as Playboi Carti continued his performance.

The tweet has since gone viral, receiving over 140K views and 4K likes within hours of its upload. Netizens have been reacting to it, with one of them commenting:

"The most random link up ever, Kai doesn't even know the lyrics"

Some netizens pointed out how Dabo had seemingly gotten lucky to get to share a stage with Carti as well as to have met The Weeknd, who appears to be receiving him happily in the clip.

"Dabo went from glazing Carti to being on stage with him meeting The Weeknd" - commented an X user.

"Nothing to see here just some n*ggas enjoying the weeknd" - added another.

"Kai Cenat rips his shirt while on stage as Playboi Carti performs RATHER BE at Rolling Loud" - posted a third netizen.

Meanwhile, others were shocked by the surprise appearance of The Weeknd at the festival.

"Man, if The Weeknd's just casually popping up at Rolling Loud, I might need to rethink my weekend plans. Stay on your toes, world!" - wrote a fourth user.

"holy dabo how have you done this" - replied a fifth one.

"Imagine meeting The Weeknd on stage during Playboi Carti’s set! Kai Cenat and Dabo living the dream at Rolling Loud!" - commented a sixth netizen.

Abel Tesfaye's appearance amidst Playboi Carti's Rolling Loud set comes a couple of days after his long-awaited third studio album, I Am Music, was released. The Save Your Tears singer is also featured in one of the album's tracks, titled Rather Lie.

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Playboi Carti gifted Kai Cenat and Dabo his custom YVL chain during his Rolling Loud set

Before Kai Cenat and Dabo joined Playboi Carti on stage during his Rolling Loud set, the Whole Lotta Red rapper made another grand gesture for the livestreamers. Clips from the performance reveal that mid-performance, Carti also gifted his YVL chain to the streamers.

Per a Tribune article (published on March 17), the chain represents Playboi Carti's Young Vamp Life persona. It is symbolic of his mysterious, vampiric aesthetic that echoes through his music and fashion.

Carti's generosity comes nearly a month after he shared a clip of Cenat's interview on Grammy's red carpet on his Instagram story. In the interview, Kai talked about the Magnolia rapper's upcoming album, I Am Music, saying:

"He needs to drop, for real. Carti gotta drop. I know Carti gon’ see this. Carti, just drop! I’m on national TV. Drop, gang! You feel what I’m saying? So yeah, that’s what we missing. In my world, a lot of people need that, so we need to make sure that happens."

While sharing the clip, Carti wrote on his story that "dis video might be the one to do it."

Fast forward to March 14, and the Rockstar Made rapper finally dropped the 30-track album. I Am Music has a star-studded feature from artists like Travis Scott, Kendrick Lamar, Lil Uzi Vert, Future, Skepta, Ty Dolla Sign, Young Thug, and Jhene Aiko.

The album also set a new record as Spotify's most-streamed album in a single day in 2025, as announced by the streaming platform itself through a tweet.

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Over six months before Carti dropped I Am Music, the rapper debuted All Red - the official single for the album - during another live performance.