The first high of the weekend came before Soundset even began. The temperature. One of the hottest weekends in history for Memorial Day Weekend in Minnesota. The temperature would ease a little on the cloudy Sunday but the mics weren't cooling down. This lineup was one of my favorite in recent memory. With everything from legends like Wu Tang Clan and Ice T to up and coming artists like A Boogie and Jaden Smith, coming together with the hometown roster of Rhymesayers artists was a recipe to fight the fire of the temperature with the fire from the stages.

Highs:

1. 1. 1. Lioness – Local twin cities emcee Lioness impressed me since I saw her on stage opening for Doomtree earlier this year. Not only having the ability to aggressively speak her mind, she sported a smile you could see from the VIP gates and had the crowd in high spirits from the get-go.
      2. Evidence and his lens – Evidence took the stage and I was back in my comfy home of the photo pit, but this time I was looking through the lens that the Dilated Peoples member had lent me for the show. His set was full of energy but the real winner was a young man named Malcolm who jumped on the stage and spit every bar Ev threw at him.
      3. Murs – I have seen Murs a handful of times in the last few years, but I missed him when I went to my first Soundset in 2016. When I saw him rock a crowd of 20 in Madison, Wisconsin, I knew that he deserved the energy he got here. And even being opposite Wu Tang Clan on the main stage he drew a heavy crowd at the Atmosphere and Friends Stage. The secondary winner here was a friend of mine who's powerful message drove Murs to close out his set with a shout out to her and the song Melancholy.

Lows:

1. 1. 1. Russ – Russ put on a great show, no denying that, but his ego got in the way and his late finish caused issues later in the day. While he has long been proud of making his way in life by himself, something to be admired, for me, it's a classic case of act like you've been there before. While many were there before him, he selfishly took the time away from fans who paid to see their favorite artists perform and added extra stress to the festival.
      2. Erykah Badu – I am all for self-expression and fashion, but to me, the look Erykah brought to the festival was just odd. Fortunately for the audience, while her look was strange her voice was as incredible as ever. At the end of her set, the mic's were cut but her voice rang through the crowd to a roar of approval.
      3. Migos – While the set was as lit as expected, there were a couple low points. Similar to a couple years ago when Future took the stage, Migos casually strolled onto stage 15 minutes late, but they were fashionable. The short-lived performance was full of energy and hit song after hit song, but for all the anticipation they ended up being cut off midway through 'Walk It, Talk It' which could have been avoided had they made it on time.

Biggest Surprise

Atmosphere and Friends stage lived up to its hype. Sometimes the announcement of a new stage can feel like a gimmick to sell more, but this truly was Atmosphere and Friends. From Ice T giving up part of his set to a new artist on his label to Evidence bringing up a young fan, there was plenty of friends new and old sharing the stage. I made it back in time to watch Sa-Roc bless the stage during Brother Ali, but she wasn't the only special guest. Brother Ali also brought out Bun B, but after years of the fans begging for it, the true gem (which I missed but was informed by many peers) was when Slug brought out Murs for a Felt Reunion.

Biggest Regret

The biggest surprise for me was the biggest regret. While walking away midway through the Atmosphere set in order to catch the late and short appearance by the Migos I heard “Dirty Girl” come on by Felt and 'felt' my heart drop literally. What made things worse was getting to the main stage only to wait for another 20 minutes for the Migos to bless us with their presence. Thankfully the short set was still live and worth seeing.

Soundset 2018 will be an experience I won't soon forget, but like Jbird with planning, Soundset 2019 is something I am already preparing for. The State Fairgrounds, the buckets of cookies, the skateboarding, the car show, the vibe of this festival embodies hip-hop to its fullest extent and even more so it does it in a way that everyone of every generation can enjoy, and enjoy together. Thank you Soundset!

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