Words and photos by our new guest blogger, Erica C. Bowman.

Some of hip-hop’s greatest underground acts gathered last weekend for the Soundset Music Festival held at Canterbury Park in Minneapolis. Crowd favorites like Brother Ali, Atmosphere, Method Man, Murs and Hieroglyphics ripped the mic, but a few lesser known acts such as Dessa and A.R.M proved underground hip-hop is still indeed underground, full of hidden gems.

Read the remainder of this review AFTER THE JUMP…

Doomtree label’s diva Dessa held her own and wooed swooning males and females alike while Method Man and Redman boomed their bass on the main stage. Without a doubt, Dessa, Soundset’s only female performer, should have had a slot on the main stage. She was joined by Aby Wolf, as well as a slew of other Doomtree artists, on stage during her performance. Another noteworthy performance came from A.R.M (African Rebel Movement) which is made up of M.anifest, Krukid, and Budo. Other performers included: Wiz Khalifa, P.O.S, Solillaquists of Sound and People Under the Stairs.