Soundset 2015 - Shakopee, MN

     As any veteran Soundset goer will tell you, good weather at Canterbury Downs is never a guaranteed thing... Though some years have been nice, there is the occasional overcast and tornado threat... This year's treat was consistent rainfall... Nothing horrific, and at some times it added an almost majestic quality to watching your favorite artists fiercely spit bars while the rain falls upon them their whole set... But did that stop anyone from not enjoying their Soundset experience?! Well obviously some, but a high percentage of those that showed up stuck it out for the long haul and enjoyed it all the while...

     Having been to other festivals: Warped tour, Curiosa, Riotfest, Paid Dues and Rock The Bells, I can confidently say that Soundset is my favorite of them all... Granted I am biased, as Minnesota is my home state, but it's more than that... It's a TRUE Hip-Hop festival in purest sense - there's B-Boys & B-Girls, graffiti, DJ's, emcees, beat boxers, as well as skateboarders, and a car show... Not to mention the fried cheese curds were fucking delicious, and Fulton brewery's "Lonely Blonde" blonde ale and "Once Upon A Vine" IPA were excellent local offerings as well... The roster is another consistent draw in, as it was once predominantly midwest acts but has since grown to include some of the hottest and classic names in the Hip-Hop world!!

     Arriving in a hoodie and shorts, I tore the appropriate holes in a trash bag and that was my armor for the day, and it held up surprisingly well!! The gates opened and what was once a nice line of civilized festival goers, immediately transformed into what resembled a scene out of World War Z, as thousands of people flooded the front entrance... First things first, I obviously made sure to start the day with a beer in hand, but once that was accomplished we headed straight to the graffiti walls...

VIZIE MSK

     With this years artist lineup, we were treated to not only some of MSK's amazing roster, but also some of the most talented writers from the midwest's HM and TCI crews as well... If you were lucky enough to have extra time, or live in the metro area, the "Seasons In The Abyss" art show at Co Exhibitions runs until June 24th and includes works from the Soundset artist arsenal and then some!! They had the previous years art displayed as well, but much of the pieces were  basically completed before the day began... Not a terrible thing, but it's nice to see a little more of the artists while they do their work, even if it's scheduled to rain for the entirety of the day... HOPE4, VIZIE, RIVER, JURNE and EWOK were there working on their pieces, but SEVER's unfinished Hummer was the most intriguing of them all as it was upside down and at an angle, which seemed like it was going to be quite difficult... But as the day progressed, I got an opportunity to check back on the walls, and possessing the samurai precision that SEVER does, he knocked it out quite amazingly and added "MALL OF AMERICA" on the side as well as the mall's logo... RIVER's precision was nice, and the character he added to his piece was a welcome addition to the letter bonanza occurring all around me... Ultimately I feel JURNE laid down the piece with the most flavor this year, his flow and style were exquisite and his letter structure was second to none...
     Going back in time, we departed the painting area and cruised the vendors and scoped out a few of the cars that had shown up... Though many cars had plenty of aesthetic appeal from the outside, the rain deterred many entrants from displaying their vehicles innards, resulting in a less than spectacular show overall... More strolling led us over to the skate area where a halfpipe and stair set up had been erected by Familia skateshop, which we had coincidentally drove past the prior evening after a brewery tour on the northeast side of town... A few guys were attempting the stair set, but again, the rain probably didn't allow for much more than that at any given time... Having got my initial fix of miscellaneous activities, it was then time to begin taking in the sweet sounds of live performances!!

Dessa

     First on the itinerary was Watsky, an artist I'd never heard of, but his live band was solid and wonderfully accompanied his fiercely spit bars... Rhymesayers deM atlaS graced the mainstage next and made sure everyone knew Minnesota emcees were in the house and ready to represent in full force!! Aesop Rock, Rob Sonic and DJ Abilities, also residents of the Rhymesayers roster, immediately followed and they have yet to ever disappoint... Having just seen them perform as their collective "Hail Mary Mallon" a few months prior as they pushed their "Bestiary" release, I must admit that show was overall better, but all things considered, they were still one of my favorite performances of the day... Following the Mallon boys was debatably the single most anticipated act of the day for myself, a native Minnesotan and long time member of the Doomtree collective, Dessa... She had a few accompanying instrumentalists, most notably her violinist, Jessy Greene, who's contributions to one of my personal favorites, "Matches To Paper Dolls," was an outstanding addition to the already amazing track... She continued her noteworthy post-birthday set with remarkable poise as she delighted thousands with her touching lyricism and stage presence on many other tracks, another personal favorite, "Call Off Your Ghost" among those performed... After Dessa's remarkable set, Sway introduced Clockwork Indigo which sparked  quite an uproar from a slew of younger fans trying to slither their way to the front to witness the performance... The Flatbush movement is, in my eyes, very similar to the Odd Future movement, in that it's hardcore fanbase is composed mostly of kids a decade my junior, whom are ready to "mosh" over bass heavy beats with some overused high-hats... Now don't get me wrong, I'll own any pit you put me in, that music just isn't exactly my cup of tea, but I did hear their performance was an outstanding one!!

SonReal

     Missing Clockwork allowed for a beer and corndog intermission before heading over to the Fifth Element tent to witness SonReal's performance... The tropically dressed emcee came with extremely high energy and sincerity, as his balance of grimy and poppy beats echoed throughout the tent amongst his enthusiastically delivered verses and hooks... Though SonReal proved to be an excellent performance, with west coast heavyweights Dilated Peoples about to hit the stage, I had to depart early... Having recently dropped their first album as a collective in over 8 years, "Directors Of Photography," has proven to be an amazing album for their debut Rhymesayers release... Though Evidence, Rakaa and Babu have each released solo projects in the meantime, I was excited to see them perform as a collective again, as they never fail to impress with their live performances!!
     Though I do my best to not have negative comments in my writeups, Yelawolf's performance ended up being rather disappointing... I understand his new album is a progressive step in a new direction, but his live show seemed more of an outlaw country rock band at a biker bar than a performance from one of Hip-Hop's most stylistically impressive emcees... He eventually steered his set to include a stronger Hip-Hop influence, including spitting extra bars from his "I Wish" remix on the track, but overall his set was less than spectacular... I'm not writing Yelawolf off as an artist altogether, it's just I'd missed many live performances from him in the past and had extremely high hopes for his set at Soundset...

Sway introducing Logic

     Following Yelawolf was one of Hip-Hop's most recent success stories, Logic... Having been a fan for about 4 years, I was extremely excited to see him perform, especially after receiving such widespread, high acclaim from his "Under Pressure" album... With his savage flow and cryptic wordplay, Logic served up the crowd with verse after verse of Hip-Hop artistry at its finest!! Solidifying his position as an elite member of the Hip-Hop community who is well deserving of his spot on the main stage!! Ludacris performed after Logic and made sure that everyone in attendance was on their feet and ready to get wild!! His always catchy melodies and savage lyrical prowess made for a high energy set that reminded many of us how prolific his singles catalog truly is... After Luda's set came the grammy nominated artist, Big Sean, who was the only performer (who I saw) that had visual accompaniments to enhance his set... The visuals did a good job adding depth to his performance while he shuffled through his verses on his multitude of hit songs, as well as a touching song dedicated to his grandmother who passed away earlier this year...

Aesop Rock, Rob Sonic & DJ Abilities

     Admittedly, though I fear being ostracized by the Minnesota Hip-Hop community, I chose catching the Freddie Gibbs & Madlib set over Atmosphere's... Not only have I seen Atmosphere multiple times in both Arizona and Minnesota, but I had never seen Gangsta' Gibbs and Madlib before... On top of that, Gibbs and Madlib dropped "Piñata" last year and though I didn't see it get quite the acclaim I felt it deserved, it was one of, if not the best album of 2014 - YEAH, I SAID IT!! After their performance, I had to ditch yet another great Rhymesayers act in Brother Ali to go see the left coast heavyweight and legend, Ice Cube!! I knew I was excited to see Ice Cube, but when he stepped on the stage, I was absolutely blown away by the reception he received from the midwest Hip-Hop crowd that had amassed in front of him!! Running through a slew of singles including "Today Was A Good Day" before moving on to some of his personal favorites, he single handedly  showed Soundset 2015 what longevity and relevancy means in the Hip-Hop game... Though Cube's set was superb, J. Cole was to follow, and the Fayettenam artist came out of the gates blazing!! The energy felt when he hit the stage was unrivaled for the day and he returned it in good fashion!! Opening with "Nobody's Perfect," he then began playing hits off his Forest Hills Drive album including my personal favorite "G.O.M.D.," which even had a breakdown in it!! His quick intermission including touching dialogue about how he appreciated everyone in attendance was a classy touch to an already outstanding set... But as the bright lights shined from behind the falling rain in the increasing darkness, he sent Soundset goers off with his two biggest radio hits "Can't Get Enough" and "Power Trip..." An appropriate ending for Soundset 2015's closing act, I mean not even Hip-Hop royalty's NAS got to close out Soundset when he perfomed!! Needless to say, I'm sure the young star has time and again "made Nas proud..."

     Though it was a rough go during the almost 12 hour day in the cold and rain, this was indeed another outstanding year for the Midwest's, and debatably the world's, best Hip-Hop festival!! The constant growth the festival has seen is amazing and the day after, Rhymesayers announced they'll be moving the festival once again, this time to the state fair grounds!! There's even rumors it could be extended to more than a days worth of festivities!! We'll just have to wait and see... Regardless, this years performances were again of the highest caliber and and I can't wait to return home and fall in love with Hip-Hop all over again next year!! For more photos, make sure to check out the full collection and give NSXAG a like on the Facebook page!!