This week, Dominick Mayer and Michael Alexander discuss:

What are your must-see sets at this weekend’s Soundset, in Minneapolis, MN?

Michael Alexander

My summer 2012 kicks off with the first festival on my hitlist: Soundset at Canterbury Park in Shakopee, MN. The beauty of festivals like these is that you are afforded the opportunity to stumble upon new music/artists that you have never heard before. You also have the opportunity to see someone who is on the cusp of stardom. (Big K.R.I.T/Danny Brown?) There are however, a few specific sets that really interest me this year, starting with headliner Atmosphere. A Minnesota native, Atmosphere is a prime example of the different style of rap coming out of the Midwest. I have never been a hardcore follower of his, so it will be extremely interesting to see if his live performance can leave a lasting impression. Second is the performance by Ghostface Killah and Raekwon of the legendary Wu-Tang Clan. I know it’s not the whole crew, but the energy and life Ghost and Rae bring to the table is undeniable. I’m curious to see what songs they will perform as well.

And then there’s the whole reason I want to be sweating my ass off in 90-degree weather this Sunday, and his name is Kendrick Lamar. The list of reasons I want to see K Dot is damn near endless, so I’ll just start with admiration. I have been a fan of Kendrick Lamar for some time now, and I really respect what he represents as an artist. He’s like a fusion of a throwback golden era (90s hip-hop) rapper with the ability to craft what is currently happening within American communities as a platform to deliver thought-provoking tracks. I put him on top of the whole rap game right now, and I hope that his live performance exceeds my expectations.

Dominick Mayer

Since Michael already nailed the intro to Kendrick Lamar, I’m also going to shout out Astronautalis, whose eloquent hip-hop genre bending has been a favorite of mine for a long while now. I mean, he wrote a badass jam about the foundation of America:

And also: P.O.S., whose Never Better is one of the great unsung hip-hop classics of the past decade. Festival season has begun. Game face.