Photo by Tanya Cook
New York, the Bronx, is the birth place of one of the youngest yet most powerful forms of music. Hip Hop represents the real, the gritty, the glamour, the tear of happy and sad and is why many people consider it much more than a genre, but a culture. From New York this culture spread to the West Coast, artists like NWA, Snoop, and more recently Kendrick Lamar, but the late 90s saw the rise of midwest independent artists. From Psychopathic Records in Detroit to Strange Music in Kansas City, Independent Records were against the norm but growing in the underground. Around the same time Minneapolis, Minnesota was ready to make its mark on the game and Rhymesayers had just the right attitude to make history. This record label then expanded to include a transplant from Chicago who would have a major hand in building the largest single day hip hop festival in the world.
UHH: Can you tell the readers a little about yourself and your affiliation to Rhymesayers Entertainment?
J Bird: J Bird, Jason Cook is my real name. Basically [I'm] general manager at Rhymesayers. The titles kind of go around, even though we have titles they aren't really a real thing. I have been working with Rhymesayers since moving here in 2000, unofficially since the late 90s. I was kinda the first, besides the core in Sean and Saab and Saddiq, I was the first one to come up here and work full time in management. And then with Soundset it was an idea from the beginning that just took like 8 years to find a time to do it. So I brought that to Siddiq to do and then we formulated what that would be. [We have] other partners like Rose Presents that does the other side of things, [not] the creative side.
UHH: And this will be the 11th year right?
J Bird: Yeah, this will be the 11th year of Soundset. It actually started [before that] as a weekly thing before we turned it into a festival.
UHH: Yeah the first year was at the Metrodome Parking Lot right?
J Bird: Yup, the first year was [there] and we couldn't go back the second year because the Twins were playing there. So we realized we could keep [the Metrodome] as a venue, so we had to change it. It was really hard to find someone that platform for 8-10 hours of hip hop music without affecting communities and Canteburry was willing to let us [until we moved to the State Fairgrounds] a few years ago.
The brilliance a festival in its 11th year that is run by veterans of hip hop culture is that they can tweak and work it into a festival that not only reaches, but satisfies broad ranges. This doesn't come without a few bumps in the road, but I was curious as to how these lineups come to be.
UHH: Being the 11th year, one thing that stands out is your consistent inconsistency. You guys have everything from mainstream, to trap, to underground to backpackers and it seems like every year the balance shifts. What goes into the process of selecting each years lineup?
J Bird: There is always a core of Rhymesayers acts that rotate out. Atmosphere is the only act that has played every year, but there are always artists that are on a record cycle so we'll play [someone like] Prof. Outside of Rhymesayers its always been about a diverse lineup. That goes from the rappers to the DJs to the b-boys to the graf writers. So it's never been lets book the biggest selling rap show. It has to be diverse, it has to show all sides of hip hop culture. From older groups to newer groups. From this kinda rap to that kinda rap. It's been like that if you go all the way back, like, the first show was primarily Rhymesayers but we brought in Dilated [Peoples] and we brought in Little Brother and it expanded from there. The next year Pharcyde played.
Diversity for me is why this festival has continued to grow in numbers every year. There aren't a lot, if any, of other places where someone can find Migos, Wu Tang Clan, Murs and Russ playing the same stage. The same people that talk trash about the new school are the same that had to justify G-funk to the New York OG's. To me, hip hop has many branches if you don't enjoy a certain style, you can still find shade underneath another. J Bird mimic this sentiment.
J Bird: It was always important to us to have a range. Like, lets have The Roots and Common play, but also Future and A$AP Rocky. Let's have some strong local DJ's but then also, like this year, bring in [DJ] Jazzy Jeff. I think its really important for [kids and adults] to see and experience the culture and the people that started it and been part of it for years to really younger groups that are doing it their way.
Hip hop has always been about more than music. Much like punk right and other anti-cultures, hip hop is a culture that always spoke out against the injustices that people simply accepted. Soundset strives to showcase all the essential elements of hip hop culture from the b-boys to the graffiti artists, but I wondered which part of the festival intrigue J Bird the most.
UHH: I love seeing everything this festival brings out. I have been a fan of skateboarding since I was young and its really cool to see how these two counter cultures have coincided. Which non-musical part of the festival have you enjoyed watching over the years?
J Bird: My favorite part of Soundset, and it sucks cause I don't get to see it a lot, is to see the kids [of all ages, I am just saying kids] really enjoying it. [I like] to see teenagers, adults and really young kids really enjoying things. Nowadays, you are bombarded through social media with aritsts. Here's who's hot, here it is right in your face. For me, like last year, I have a daughter, she is five and for younger people to be able to see Lauryn Hill live without maybe knowing the full extent of everything she has done through the Fugees and different things. […] For really young kids to be able to see live music and I think part of the reason Minnesota has a strong local music community is because there are lot of all ages shows or 18+ shows. A lot of cities you can't do that, if you sell alcohol it has to be 21+ or booze free.
We went on to discuss how he first had a chance to have diversified lineups with Lollapalooza being able to see Red Hot Chili Peppers share a stage with A Tribe Called Quest. He explained how he had become fans of artists he never would have imagined because of the large diversity at Lolla. This is one thing I share with him. For me it was figuring out some of the EDM music that I know have on the playlist. Seeing Marshmello for the first time live at Summerset turned me into a fan, and seeing Prof live at Prof Outdoors had me instantly a lifetime fan. One person we both agreed on was the how positive a vibe we got when we saw Chance the Rapper perform, for him at Lollapalooza and myself at Eaux Claires, it was impossible to leave his set without a smile.And while he now sells out stadiums, Chance has a tie to Soundset, having played there in 2014.
J Bird: People don't realize that we had him here in 2014. We have had Kendrick play. We had Macklemore play before he blew up. Logic has played and if you go back and look at the ten years we have had a lot of guys on there. And we try not to repeat performers, like Tyler [the Creator] played, but as a part of Odd Future. We have never had the full Wu Tang Clan; we had Ghostface and Meth was here, but this year we have the entire crew.
UHH: And I wanted to ask you about that because last year when we talked to you, you had mentioned that one of the artists you have had on your checklist is the Wu Tang Clan as a whole. How did it feel to book one off your personal checklist?
J Bird: A lot of times it is just time. It took four or five years to get De La Soul to play at Soundset. Sometimes, like I said, how you want to book it and how it ends up isn't the same. With Wu Tang it all alligned right. It's the 25th Anniversary of 36 Chambers. Wu Tang is a special one for me because before I worked for Rhymesayers I did marketing and promotion and I worked with Steve Rifkind at Loud [Records] and I got that record on the radio in Chicago and was with them their first time in Chicago. It is meaningful to me with some of these older artists to bring them back because they also did things for me when I was just coming up and interning and finding my lane in the music industry.
He went on to explain how other acts like Lauryn Hill, Hieroglyphics, and others had special places including Souls of Mischeif putting an up and coming Atmosphere on tour legs and always looking out for them. This sense of community is on full display and one of the things that J Bird thrives to instill in the younger generations. This loyalty of his ends up being the greatest benefactor to the festival because it allows for young kids there to see artists like Migos and Russ to be exposed to Wu Tang and Murs. Moreso than the experience is what it creates in the fans that go. My very first concerts really created my love of music that eventually brought me to media. My sentinment echoes his when it comes to new music as live music tends to break the mold from a good artist to a great artist.
UHH: And that's how it was for me with Prof. The first time I'd heard his music was Prof Outdoors 3. I was floored by his performance and was just talking about it with him how now I don't really listen to him on record because that experience was so much better than any recorded version can give, but I will always come out for a live Prof show.
J Bird: Being in a crowd and the energy around you when its happening [is amazing], it's the music, it's the people's energy, it's the weather. People talk about rain and sun, and the year we had J Cole it rained all day, but the crowd energy was one of the best we've had at a Soundset. I don't know what it was, but the kids that day did not give up, the rain did not make anybody stop or anybody leave and it added to this [festival]. By the time J Cole his the stage it was ready to explode and you feel that. The thing is, if its your first festival you will realize that the nostalgia will stay with you forever. You will remember certain moments from certains songs for your life. You could be in your car ten years later and hear a song and it will bring you back.
This hits close with me and reminds me of last year and the moment that I know will never be forgotten. Travis Scott brought a thunderstorm with him. The sky turned orange and he rode a fifteen foot tall golden bird with lasers for eyes. Having only been covering shows for the last few years, and really have a minor selection in my hometown, I was excited to hear from a veteran about one of his favorite experiences.
J Bird: Weird example. Eddie Vedder played at the Tibetan Freedom Festival in Alpine Valley and it rained all day. It rained and rained and [then] Eddie Vedder comes on stage with an acoustic guitar and the sun comes out. I don't even remember the song but I know that if I hear it I can remember that exact moment. I remember having to take off my socks 'cause they were drenched [and] I can still smell the mud and I can feel the change in the day just from hearing that song.
UHH: It seems like the weather can often be the thing that sticks out. I hear the stories about Slug starting up 'Sunshine' and the clouds parting. Whenever I think of the weather I am reminded about the time I sat down with Kathy to talk about Mikey's [Eyedea] philosophy on coming back as the rain. And it seems to hold true that every major Rhymesayers event is accompanied by the rain. I was wondering what is your favorite weather memory from Soundset?
J Bird: The first year of Soundset we had tornados all around us. They had people monitoring the weather because there was sports going on right next door. The tornados were really far out but I remember Little Brother was on stage and a really strong gust of wind came through that blew over tents and shit. […] But J Cole, that year, with the weather was just like, there was something about it and the Travis Scott were he just [began] and it started pouring down. That's just the magic of it, you can't control it and the weather will always be a stress thing. People joke cause I wont look at it until its right the week of Soundset.
UHH: Talking about memories and nostalgia seems like a perfect way to transition into this because this past year at the X Games we sat down with Slug and he mentioned something about last year being the last one and again this year we've heard from him that its the last one. I was wondering if there is anything that could make you guys give up the craziness of this festival and what are your plans for the future with Soundset?
J Bird: I mean we keep doing it. What Seans is saying? No one really knows why he is doing it you would have to ask him. I don't know where that's coming from, but I put an FAQ on the website in regards to it so if people find out let us know. It gets harder and harder to do it every year. Financially things go up and kids see ticket prices but there is so much that goes into [those prices] that I feel we price it more reasonable and keep the ticketing fees as low as we can. This is just going to keep going until it doesn't feel good anymore. It's a lot of work, people don't realize that it's a year round job. You finish it, close it out and go through the post-festival information and then a couple months later you are [trying to plan things for the next year]. […] I think when its time to stop it will be time to stop and we will all decide to walk away. I don't know if we will announce a last one or if it will just happen.
From planning, to predicting who will blow up on time, to being able to minimize cancellations, sicknesses and unforeseen delays or mechanical issues, Soundset has continued to put out one of the best days of the years for over a decade. This May doesn't appear to disappoint as a lineup that includes young talented artists like Migos, Tyler the Creator, and Russ to seasoned veterans like Logic, Rapsody, and Murs to the legends of the Industry like Ice T, Wu Tang Clan and DJ Jazzy Jeff pairing up with the local iconic Rhymesayers squad, represented this year by Atmosphere, Prof, Grieves, deM atlaS and Evidence. I have been blessed to see this festival every year since moving to the twin cities and hope to continue seeing the celebration of hip hop culture grow and teach the newer generations for years to come. May 27th at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds in St Paul, join Sway, Heather B and Cros One with a crazy cast of talent and bask in the hard work of the Rhymesayers and supporters hard for a day meant to infuse, excite and inspire.
BUY TICKETS at www.soundsetfestival.com
