Soundset 2012 Recap

The fifth annual Soundset HipHop Festival took place this past Sunday at Canterbury Park in Shakopee, Minnesota, which is a short drive from the twin cities. Despite the 90-degree weather, this year’s festival was attended by more than 20,000 people from all over the country. The festival had many activities going on throughout the day including a live graffiti wall exhibition, a skateboarding showdown, a DJ tent with B-Boys and B-Girls, a rock climbing wall, custom car show and the most important of all, three stages filled with Hip Hop acts performing throughout the entire fest. There was more than enough time to take part in each activity given that the fest opened its doors at 11am and went on until about 7:30.

The Hip Hop acts came from all over the country to perform at this year’s fest. The East Coast, West Coast, Midwest and the South were all greatly represented by various acts throughout the day. Rhymesayers Entertainment, which is responsible for organizing this awesome festival, also had a good amount of their artists perform at this year’s fest. Rhymesayers’ own Brother Ali hosted the festival while Aesop Rock, Grieves, Budo, Evidence and P.O.S all represented the Minneapolis crew on the Soundset stage.

Minnesota’s Hip Hop festival also hosted some great talent that is not a part of the local scene. Queens native Action Bronson put on a hell of a set with his clever rhymes, while XXL freshman Danny Brown didn’t disappoint while running through some of tracks off of his XXX album. Mississippi’s Big Krit gave his fans a hell of a performance that surely helped him gain some new fans over in the process. Krit performed tracks off all three of his critically-acclaimed mixtapes, all while giving us a glimpse of his much-anticipated upcoming studio debut, Live From The Underground. Kendrick Lamar followed Krit’s performance with tracks off of Overly Dedicated and Section 80. However, Kendrick Lamar didn’t get around to performing the Dr. Dre-assisted tune, “The Recipe,” which would have surely went well with the festival crowd.

As is customary, the festival’s greatest moments occurred as it approached its final moments. The second to last act of the day consisted of true Hip Hop legends, Ghostface Killah and Raekwon of the Wu Tang Clan. The members of one of Hip Hop’s greatest crews went through many Wu Tang classics and towards the end of their set they realized some fans’ dreams as they invited a few members of the Soundset crowd to the stage to cover Method Man’s and ODB’s parts along with them. Truly one of the highlights of the festival.

Lupe soon followed Wu Tang’s set with a dope performance of his own accompanied by his live band. Lupe performed tracks off of all of his three major label albums and even threw in his verse on N.E.R.D.’s “Every Nose” to everyone’s surprise. True to form, Lupe wowed the crowd with his great stage presence and a set that showcased his greatest hits so far. Lupe’s set was cut short due to a tornado warning that was approximately 20 minutes away from the festival, which also meant the festival’s headliner, Atmosphere, would not be able to perform.

Despite the short set and the canceled Atmoshere performance, this year’s Soundset festival was a huge success and a great experience for any Hip Hop fanatic. We at Pursuit Of Dopeness are definitely looking forward to Soundset 2013. Check out some of the performances from this year’s festival below and let us know what you thought of the festival.