Soundset 2014 Festival – Canterbury Park, Shakopee, MN – May 25, 2014

Soundset 2014 comes to Canterbury Park on Sunday, May 25, 2014, a massive hip-hop festival that has been popular for years. Unlike previous years, the weather is incredibly beautiful rather than record high temperatures, making for the perfect Memorial Day weekend day festival. It’s evident days earlier when the festival sells out thirty thousand tickets in advance, a new record, that the festival is a bigger success than ever before.

The talent spreads across two main stages for nine hours and alternate roughly every hour and a half. In the Fifth Element tent are several rising stars in the industry, while fans of DJs can visit the Essential Elements tent. There are numerous other interactions as well, such as a graffiti wall, a hip-hop themed car show, skateboarding, and a variety of vendors for all types of fans. Once again, the festival is incredibly well planned out, appealing to nearly every demographic.

The lineup is varied in local and national acts, hip-hop veterans and newcomers, and more. For example, local Minnesota acts such as Prof, Brother Ali, Flatbush Zombies, and Lizzo, proved how much of a role the city of Minneapolis truly has on the hip-hop genre. They bring a great energy to the crowd and many expect to see some locals as main acts next year.

Cypress Hill is one of the more veteran acts at the festival and one wouldn’t know it listening to them. Nas celebrates the twentieth anniversary of Illmantic, the album that made him so well known in the industry. 2 Chainz is one of the most popular acts of the day, one that causes the volume of the crowd to increase nearly double. Probably the most interesting aspect of the festival was seeing if Wiz Khalifa was going to make it or not. Having been arrested on drug possession in Texas, he then chartered a jet to Minneapolis to ensure his fans are his top priority. It wasn’t without it’s appreciation, as the fans were beyond thrilled to see him.

Atmosphere was the headlining act, but a number of people leave prior to his performance. It is speculated that is due to Wiz Khalifa’s performance, who many suggest should have been the headliner. While many left, others considered it disrespectful to Atmosphere that they didn’t stay for his set. Regardless, he left the remaining fans with a fantastic set to close out the festival.

This year’s Soundset is an incredible success for a number of reasons and we cannot wait for Soundset 2015. With a thirty thousand ticket advance sell out, it should be noted that one should grab their future tickets in advance. With remarkably beautiful weather and fantastic talent, it’s hard to see how they will be able to top this year. We can only wait and wonder.