Soundset 2014: Representing the fresh pulse of hip-hop and celebrating “Illmatic” legacies By: Junauda Petris
Walking down into the valley of Canterbury Park for the this year’s Soundset, was a breathtaking and heartwarming sight. From teenyboppin’ Wiz Khalifa enthusiasts to those who bought Illmatic on cassette, the festival represents the diversity of Minnesota’s hip-hop loving masses. Soundset is our annual hip-hop utopia, complete with a soundtrack of Two Chainz and Toki Wright and the comforting, unmistakable aroma of that “sticky icky.”
Minnesota’s biggest hip-hop music event, in its seventh year, featured the diaspora of the genre’s finest, from local to national, mainstream to underground, and of course, the old school and new guard. On the spectrum of hip-hop legendariness, were local icons Atmosphere, cannabis enthusiasts Cypress Hill, and Los Nativos, the Twin Cities’ original indigenous, Mexican hip-hop trailblazers.
One of this year’s national headliners, Nas, was celebrating the 20th anniversary of Illmatic, his groundbreaking, hip-hop classic, told from a then (and still) baby-faced ghetto prophet. Nas’ performance was powerful and confident, making it clear why he as an artist and his debut album, have been among the most enduring in hip-hop history.
Conversely, on the path to their own unique and defining greatness, this year’s festival also featured many young artists. Among them, Chance the Rapper, as well as local heavy-hitters (and darlings) Dem Atlas, Lizzo and Lazerbeak, Allan Kingdom and K. Raydio and Psymun. Many of the blossoming artists featured on this year’s line-up can recall their first time going to Soundset and found the experience of rocking the stage magical.
“I am elated! I am so happy,” gushes K. Raydio after her Soundset performance with producer and collaborator Psymun, on the Fifth Element stage. With a smile both disarming and sincere, the singer shares about her first time attending Soundset.
“My first initial Sound set experience was a few years ago when I actually volunteered for a benefit to help the tornado relief fund on the North Side and that was, like the only way I could afford to attend that year. So a couple of years later, to be in this position, it is so surreal.”
The singer marvels at the way an album created in a difficult time of her life has been so moving and popular among audiences. She is hopeful her presence on this year’s roster will open doors for dynamic and talented women artists.
“It is a good start, but we need many more women artists,” tells K. Raydio, referencing the under-representation of female musicians at Soundset. “I hope this is the start of really recognizing other women artists as a serious deal and not novelties. There are a lot of talented women in the Twin Cities and nationally that really deserve a spot in the spotlight.”
Also in awe of the magic of his first experience performing at Soundset was Allan Kingdom. “It was fun, and for me definitely a milestone in my life,” muses local, hip-hop’s “Radiant Child” with genuine excitement, “especially because (my) deejay...was the deejay of someone I really look up to, Kid Cudi, so like everything today was really heavy for me.”
Kingdom’s Soundset experience represents how Soundset not only is an opportunity for local hip-hop lovers to enjoy artists within the continuum of hip-hop’s legacy but also represents a benchmark for local musicians who are growing in their careers.
With the boldness of youth and the work ethic of a steel mill worker, Kingdom had been determined to grace the Soundset stage from his first time attending the festival. Kingdom recalls the ambition that was born the last time he was at Canterbury Park, “I came last time and I was like, I am not coming back until I am performing, and so that is exactly what I did.”
All images by Sarah White
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