Prof Headlining Historic Red Rocks For First Time After Initially Saying “Hell No!” To The Idea

Prof is a seasoned performer at this point in his career. For more than 20 years, the triple threat (yes, he can sing and rap but can entertain the hell out of a crowd with his charisma) has been honing his craft at venues around the world, bringing a healthy mix of bravado, talent and a dash of irreverence to the stage.

But for as confident as Prof seems to be, his headlining show at the historic Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison, Colorado, on April 26 has him a little shook. In fact, he tells AllHipHop he initially said “no” to the opportunity. AEG Presents Talent Buyer Adam Stroul first proposed the idea.

“I said, ‘Oh, hell no. I’m not ready,'” he admits. “I’m like, ‘No, no, not yet.’ And then I called up Wonka and I go, ‘Listen to this. This m########### thinks we should headline Red Rocks.’ And Wonka goes, ‘Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no way.’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, that’s crazy.’ Then I called my f###### tour manager and she said no so quickly and harsh that it hurt my f###### feelings. But Adam just kept on taking these steps. And then I was like, ‘F### it. Whatever. I’ll try this s###.'”

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Prof will have a couple of shows ahead of the Red Rocks date to warm up or, as he puts it, get more reps in. Even though Red Rocks is a dream destination for artists, he’s not “pinching” himself—it’s more than that.

“I’m more like slapping myself,” he says. “It’s like, ‘Get ready, wake the f### up.’  It’s the first show I’ve been nervous for in a very long time. We’re taking my stage production and doubling it or tripling it in size and complexity, too. I like to take my team who’s been loyal along with me, so we don’t know what the f### we’re doing. We’re leveling up so much. The stage production is so much bigger. There’s so many failure points. If it does fail, it’s just me on that stage.”

But, deep down, there’s a sense Prof knows he’s going to kill it. He adds, “When the music starts, there’s no coming back. I’m just ready to get going. I’m glad that we have other big shows leading up to it so we can work out the kinks and stuff. I’m trying a lot of risky stuff. I’ve made a dumb ass decision not to do the same thing. I’m doing all the risky s###.”

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Prof will have reinforcement from several special guests, including Danny Brown, That Mexican OT and JPEGMAFIA. He’s been working on the set for two to three months in hopes of delivering a memorable experience for his loyal Gampos. The magnitude of headlining a show at Red Rocks isn’t lost on Prof.

“I can remain grateful just because of how long it took,” he says. “If I had just started rapping a year ago and I was young, I’d probably be like, ‘Oh, this is mine. I’m owed this.’ But this has taken so long, and I’ve worked so hard. I’ve put blood, sweat, tears, sacrifice and all that stuff into this. It’s a different perspective, and I’m very grateful for it.”

Prof’s vision for a Red Rocks show was sparked around 2012, not long after Macklemore blew up with “Thrift Shop.” Macklemore happened to have a show at Red Rocks the same night Prof was in town, so he decided to go. As he watched the performance from backstage, he couldn’t help but wonder if that kind of platform would ever be in his future.

“This is when he was really popping, like straight off of The Heist or something like that,” he recalls. “I remember being like, ‘H########, this place is crazy.’ And the show was big. I remember being like, ‘I don’t know if I’ll get to this level.” Evidently, he did.

Prof’s latest album, Horse, arrived in 2023. He’ll be playing music from his entire catalog along with plenty of surprises. Doors open at 5 p.m. MT. Find tickets here.