Soundcheck: Hip-Hop Hits Festival Season– Paid Dues, Coachella & Lollapalooza

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It was 10:45 Sunday night when Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg hit the main stage to close out the three-day music festival at Coachella. When the lights went low, the infamous West Coast duo resurrected some old hits and old friends for their highly anticipated, headlining set. 50 Cent, Tony Yayo and Eminem all came out to perform famous collaborations with the prolific pair; leaving lots of room for long breaks for Dre.  An elaborate hologram of the late Tupac Shakur appeared alongside the duo onstage to deliver his verses from Two Of America’s Most Wanted and Hail Mary from beyond the grave.  The tribute was interesting; but a bit morbid as well and the crowd seemed a bit puzzled to say the least.  Overall, the ninety-minute headlining set was nostalgic at best; and while it was enjoyable; Dre’s contribution didn’t suggest the comeback he has been promising for years now.  Backstage fans included Rihanna, Fergie, Will.I.Am and the Fire Marshall shut down the area for capacity reasons, leaving stars like Paris Hilton scrambling from the side stage.

Murs pulled off his seventh successful Paid Dues Festival on April 7 in San Bernardino, California. The day featured performances from Kendrick Lamar, Mac Miller, Dipset, Odd Future and Wu-Tang among others.  The Clan hit the stage earlier than expected due to scheduling conflicts, setting the tone early for a day of hip-hop hits.  Doomtree, Dilated Peoples and DJ Quik rocked the crowd at the Dues Paid Stage for hours before making way for headliners like Odd Future, who proved to be major Dipset fans when they went wild in the crowd and photo booth once Cam’Ron, Jim Jones and the Diplomats started their set.

The Monster Stage was the place to be for sizzling sets from heavyweights like Brother Ali, who delivered a crowd-pleasing set including Writer’s Block and Room With a View and hip hop’s only Oscar-winning group Three-6 – MafiaMac Miller followed up, giving a standout performance at the homegrown festival with sprinkled in favorites like Kool Aid & Frozen Pizza and Knock Knock.

Cali’s own Kendrick Lamar kicked off his set acapella, and debuted his Dr. Dre-featured single, The Recipe for the crowd. The Compton-bred rapper, who recently announced he has recorded over thirty songs with Dre seemed like the headliner of the festival, proving why he’s poised to take over the game in 2012.

Next up is Lollapalooza at Chicago’s Grant Park.  The three-day festival kicks off August 3 and features big names from both rock and hip hip’s elite like Red Hot Chili Peppers, Black Sabbath, J. Cole and Wale among others. The amazing Aloe Blacc will hit the stage that hosted Lupe Fiasco and Amy Winehouse in previous years, and fans will be treated to stellar sets by Frank Ocean, The Weeknd and Overdoz among others. Childish Gambino will grace the summer stage and Macklemore will hit the stage to promote his No Kings release as well.