photo by: Jules Ameel

Uh-oh. MTV2 done messed around and gave extensive coverage to the SOUNDSET FESTIVAL that went down over the Memorial Day weekend in Shakopee, Minnesota (a few miles south and west of the Cities).

Does this mean that the Rhymesayers collective turn in their "underground" badge? Will they be able to resist the appeal of mass exposure?

Stay tuned...

An event that doesn't seem to get much publicity on any level (locally, nationally, or otherwise) - the Anuual Juneteenth Celebration - which is a commemoration of the freeing of slaves (in terms of it being actually against the law) that doesn't have an official date, due in large part to the fact that most black folks aren't sure when they were actually "freed".

But that's a subject in itself, and I want to keep the focus on the event that took place on June 14th, 2009 at Theodore Wirth Park in North Minneapolis. It was a lovely day, and the festivities started off just as well with an entertaining parade that travelled through the northside.

Here's some flicks to prove it:

 

I got a chance to attend an interesting event at McNally Smith College of Music in St. Paul (Twin Cities), Minnesota. It was the kick-off event for the Hip Hop Diploma Studies program that the nationally accredited school will be offering this fall.

It was a free event that you had to register for in advance. When I arrived, I was given a CD sampler, a nifty little “rhyme book,” and some promotional flyers pubbing various groups and their projects. The event started with a dialogue between Toki Wright and Davey D. – a local hip-hop artist, and DJ/hip-hop historian/columnist/activist/etc. – respectively. The two conversed about a number of topics, but the most dominate subject was the radio industry, and how they tend to get down.

There were performances by the group Doomtree, and a beat production/battle/performance by Big Quarters, in addition to the dialogue and a performance by Wright, the evening's host.

Being a professional in the industry for years, and having the opportunity to travel to many different places, Davey D. has an in depth knowledge of the inner workings of the medial conglomerates that run the many different stations across the country. He pointed out that most of these stations are run by a select few, and those people hardly have the best interest of the listeners in mind – they are strictly trying to get paid.

Although the weather isn’t trying to cooperate, you can gauge by the increased amount of activities going on in the Twin Cities that the summer season is upon us, and beginning to get into full swing.

While Mother Nature is only giving us hints in short bursts of how hot it can get during Twin City summers, the events that have been going on – as well as many more to come – have been keeping the heat heavy and steady.

May jumped off nicely with Cinco de Mayo celebrations being held throughout the Cities, and the pace was picked up by Soundset 2009 that went down over Memorial Day weekend at Canterbury Park.

June is moving at an even faster pace, with highly entertaining events happening – many of them occurring on the same day!

That was the case the first weekend in June, with a Prince Family Reunion show and Maria Isa’s show celebrating the release of her new album both taking place on Friday, June 5 th 2009. The plan was to check them both out, hoping that one would start later than the other. Betting on the hip hop show moving slow, we headed first to the Cabooze; we weren’t on the media list (as we were supposed to be) – so we would have to pay – and not have access to the spaces and people necessary to get some good shots and some feedback from the performers. So we dipped, and headed to First Avenue to check out the Maria Isa jumpy.

The placed was pretty packed – and with an unusual amount of females in the house – I must say that I was surprised by that.

Messing around with the Prince Family Reunion and wasting time attempting to get access had us miss the opening supporting acts of I Self Devine, Muja Messiah, St. Paul Slim, and others… but we did get to catch the main attraction.

And though she’s getting way too slender for my tastes, Maria Isa is still a very attractive young lady; which is an especially welcoming sight in this scene. She had the support of the crowd as she went through a series of joints, bringing up a few different artists to perform songs that they’ve done together.

She has pretty good singing voice, and she’s pretty much OK when flowing; it’s the band that wasn’t doing it for me. While they weren’t terrible, the energy and the punch of percussion just wasn’t there to me, and it was something that I would expect from an artist that makes what hip hop and latin influenced music.

But she did have the crowd going, and the ladies came out to support; these are a couple of things that I could never be mad at.

Here goes some more photos...

 

Episode 17 - I know I'm the only one countin'...

More talk concerning random topics courtesy of the homies MMM and mal.