The weather was perfect…
for my 5th consecutive year attending it felt like the first time we’ve had great weather all day. I feel as if the weather the last few years has either been raining for hours (into Travis Scott’s set in 2017) or scorching hot to the extent that not even sunscreen could help (Wu-Tang last year). This made for a great day of music, car-viewing, and people watching.
Lil Uzi didn’t show, but…
Lil Nas X and DaBaby showed instead for two 15 minute sets. Both artists have songs in Billboard’s top 10 with “Old Town Road” recently hitting its 9th consecutive week at #1, and “Suge” breaking through for DaBaby, which both performed flawlessly in Uzi’s place.
Our favorite performances …
The best were hard to choose from, but the men and women who stood-out shined bright. Doja Cat killed it. Delivering tracks like “Mooo!” and “Tia and Tamera” in a neon pink ensemble, she maintained a high level of energy throughout her set and was the best opening act we saw.
Tierra Whack, kicked off a sunny set rocking snow beach Nike Sacai blazers, starting with laid back and chiller tracks like “Only Child” and “Hungry Hippos”. Things picked up immediately at the drop of “Gloria”, and the crowd reached peak crazy during her performance of “Clones”, one of my favorite songs of the year. Throughout her set, she failed to miss even a single syllable and demonstrated her years of Instagram-rap-practice
Yasiin Bey and Talib Kweli returned as legendary-duo, Black Star, and shone brightest as our favorite performance of the day. It was the golden hour when the two stepped onto the “Atmosphere and Friends Stage”, briefly shouting out their mutual friend Brother Ali before they began. Both delivered solo work; Yasiin dropping his “Ms. Fat Booty” verses over Kanye West’s “Devil in a New Dress” beat - a beautiful blend of classics - and Kweli with “Get By” sparked with a locker-room-hype kind of energy for an introduction. Turning farther back in time, they began to spit Black Star anthems like “Re:definition” and “Brown Skin Lady” with expert dynamism as they glowed in the sun, shimmering like two of the faces of 90’s Hip-Hop’s Mount Rushmore.
Lil Wayne actually delivered!
“Y’all thought I wasn’t gonna make it, huh Minnesota?”, said a smokey figure as he began to glow in the spotlight of the final set of the night. Before Soundset 2019, Weezy had canceled his last two Minnesota appearances, which led to speculations and whispers about another no-show. This was easily the most hyped set of the night by general consensus, and it definitely showed at the beginning of every one of Waynes songs. From the signature producer tag beginning of “A Milli”, the repetitious sample of “6 Foot 7 Foot”, and descending tune of snares at the jump of “Got Money”, the beginning of each track led to absolute uproar. His vocals were not great, I would even say sub-par, but the hype and emotional connection the crowd had behind each song made Weezy’s set another one that stood out, and made for a picturesque ending to Soundset 2019.
We’re looking forward to Soundset 2020, check our Instagram for more photos from the event.
