“…a caucasian, up on the stage and…”

Even back then he had the girls screaming

via

Eight-hour music festival going down in the parking lot of the Metrodome. Trust me, it’s not as shady as it sounds. As you can expect, there’ll be performances by a bunch of artists. So much so that I don’t feel like typing it all. Instead, check out the link or peep the info below. Best part is that tickets are only going to cost you $25! Link

Rhymesayers and Rose Presents bring you Soundset 08: the official Midwest kick-off festival of the summer with eight hours of the best independent Hip Hop music in one day.

Confirmed artists for Soundset 08 include: Atmosphere, Dilated Peoples, Aesop Rock w/ Rob Sonic and DJ Big Wiz, Little Brother, DJ Babu, Rhettmatic, J-Rocc of the World Famous Beat Junkies, Brother Ali, Eyedea & Abilities, P.O.S., Blueprint, Mac Lethal, Abstract Rude, I Self Devine, Musab, Psalm One, Grayskul, Los Nativos and more to be announced!

On stage, Soundset 08, year one. Atmosphere, fresh off their sixth studio album, When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold and a 20-city album release tour, come back home to Minneapolis to headline Soundset 08. As forerunners of the independent west coast rap movement, the legendary Dilated Peoples (Evidence, Rakaa Iriscience and DJ Babu) will join us from Los Angeles, CA. On the wheels of steel, from the West Coast, we welcome the World Famous Beat Junkies (DJ Rhettmatic, J-Rocc and DJ Babu), performing individual DJ sets. Reigning from NYC’s Def Jux camp, Aesop Rock, along with Rob Sonic and DJ Big Wiz, return to Minneapolis after last year’s sold out performance at First Ave. North Carolina MC’s, Phonte and Big Pooh, aka Little Brother bring to the stage one of the finest shows in Hip Hop. After much broad critical acclaim for his Undisputed Truth album, Brother Ali is set to deliver his raw emotion and political views to the Twin Cities. Rhymesayers’ artist and local hero, P.O.S., of Doomtree fame, returns to the Dome parking lot after performing there on last year’s Warped Tour. 16 artists performing on the main stage, a second stage with additional local artists, a slow & low custom car show, skate demo and more fun for the whole family!

Tickets for Soundset:
- Special 3-Day Fan Presale at $20.
The Soundset Special 3-Day Fan Pre-Sale (4.09 – 4.11) begins Wednesday, April 9, 2008 at 11:00AM local time.
Get Yours Now: Soundset.DucatKing.com or Fifth Element, 2411 Hennepin Ave South, Minneapolis, MN 55405

- National Public On Sale:
Tickets go on sale to the general public on Saturday April 12th at 1:00PM through www.ticketmaster.com. Tickets are $25.
Visit our websites for the latest Soundset 08 lineup, music and information!

www.myspace.com/soundset or www.rhymesayers.com

Interesting article about Atmosphere and their new tactic to defend against advanced album leaks. Instead of sending out advanced promotional copies to journalists and critics for review, Slug and company have put together listening sessions, which means exactly the way it sounds. No advances sent out, no leaks prior to a release date.

I’ve noticed more of these sessions popping up over the past few months but I’m not sure how effective this strategy will be against online piracy because it just delays the inevitable. People are going to download music, whether that is four months in advance or a day after release. The real problem isn’t with bootlegging but with putting out quality music. I would like to believe that if an album is solid, people are going to buy it no matter how early it’s available for download. Personally, I have no problem buying new music as long as it’s dope. But how many of those have come out in recent years? Most of my purchases lately have been albums from the 80s and 90s. To sum it all up, most new music albums have sucked. Link (via)

“Do you actually feel like this is going to stop people from bootlegging?” one writer asks with a hint of disapproval. “Are you expecting it to help you sell more albums?”

“This is our way of gauging how much we would lose,” Slug responds. “I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I feel like I’m in a position amongst my contemporaries to try something like this to see how it works. If it’s not as successful as we want it to be, and we can say that it’s definitely because of this, then we’ll have learned a lesson and all of my friends can look at it and say, ‘I’m not doing what those idiots did.’ “But if this does work,” he adds, “then everybody can use the model. It’s not the most creative approach, but it’s a step toward coming up with something.”

No trailer yet but that poster is kind of bugged. The movie is currently in post production and slowly gaining attention from B-movie fans. Shot in 35mm and featuring cameos from a slew of indie artists including Prince Paul, J-Zone, R.A., Vinnie Paz (who is apparently helping to finance the project), Reef the Lost Cauze and Remedy. And that doesn’t include the artists contributing to the soundtrack. Prince Paul seems to be in charge of the music and other contributors will include Kool G. Rap, Smoothe Da Hustler, Killah Priest, 60 Sec Assassin, Jedi Mind Tricks, Ras Kass, Havoc, Tech N9ne, Shabazz The Disciple and even Atmosphere. Visit them at mysp*ce.com/badbiology

via Beats and Blood

previously:
Rugged Man Producing Horror Flick, Prince Paul Doing Score