Lolla, a new Paramount+ docuseries, gives credit to the Black artists who helped establish the festival and alternative rock as a whole.
Photo: John Storey/Getty Images
The early lineups of Lollapalooza helped coalesce alternative rock into a powerhouse genre in the 1990s, centered around bands like Jane’s Addiction, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Pearl Jam. But the most alternative thing the first Lollapalooza did was book a rapper. Ice-T was the clear outlier on the inaugural lineup in 1991, though he had an ace up his sleeve: He was now in a band, too. Ice used half his set to debut his new metal outfit Body Count, which he’d recently formed with guitarist Ernie C. Just months before, Americans had watched a video of Los…
