Paying homage to the underground hip-hop scene and their promise as artists, veteran emcee Murs, and Guerilla Union (Cypress Hill Smokeout and Rock The Bells) host their sixth annual Paid Dues Festival next Saturday April 2nd, at the NOS Event Center in San Bernadino starting at noon and ending around 11PM.
Over the years, the festival has bought out some of the biggest artists, however, this year it’s a little different. This year, the line-up for the festival is the most eclectic ever combining veterans E-40, Murs, Slaughterhouse, Black Star (Mos Def and Talib Kweli), and Bun B, with some of the hottest up-and-coming artists around: Dom Kennedy, Lil’ B The Based God, The Black Hippy Collective—Ab Soul, Kendrick Lamar, Jay Rock and Schoolboy Q.
“If you want to pulse what’s happening in hip-hop, Paid Dues is a true barometer,” explains Chang Weisberg of Guerilla Union. “Murs has done an amazing job bringing together new and emerging artist as well as the most established pioneers in business.”
As well as having the most eclectic lineup ever, this year’s festival will have three stages and over 40 live performances. “Why three stages? Because the independent hip-hop scene has grown tremendously in volume and talent over the past 5 years,” says emcee and organizer Murs. “Partially due to the major record label system being on it’s ear, and even more so the way technology has empowered independent music as a whole.”
The three stages will be shining a light on different artists—The Paid Dues Stage will host some of the veteran performances like the headlined Black Star Reunion, Bun B, and Immortal Technique. The Dues Paid Stage will host all artists from the West Coast, all the way from headliners Murs and E-40, to Dom Kennedy, Skeme and E-40’s son, Droop-E. Lastly, the Grind Time Now stage will be hosting Slaughterhouse, as well as integrating emcee battle elements for the first time ever. Grind Time Now, is the largest rap battle league in the world, and the showcase will have seminal producers spinning, as well as having the top emcees battle one another, and the Grind Time Now all-stars.
Aside from just the festival, Murs and Guerilla Union have partnered with Habitat for Humanity of Greater Los Angeles to launch a campaign merging hip-hop and philanthropy. The aim of The Paid Dues Habitat for Humanity Project is to reach out to the music community and raise funds and awareness to help eliminate and fight back against substandard housing.
If you still need to purchase your tickets for Paid Dues, or for more information about Paid Dues partnership with Habitat for Humanity visit www.paidduesfestival.com.
Performances and Stages
Paid Dues Stage: Mos Def and Talib Kweli are Blackstar, Immortal Technique, Bun B, Sage Francis, Asher Roth & Nottz are Rawth, Heavy Metal Kings, P.O.S, Dead Prez, Krizz Kaliko, Binary Star, Tabi Bonney, Eternia, Sab the Artist aka Musab.
Dues Paid Stage: E-40, Murs, Andre Nickatina, Nipsey Hu$$le, Lil B The Based God, The Shock G Trio featuring Humpty Hump and DJ Fuse, Eligh, Mistah F.A.B, Visionaries, Black Hippy Collective, Dom Kennedy, U-N-I, King Fantastic, Skeme, Casey Veggies, Droop-E, Noa James
Grind Time Now Stage: Slaughterhouse, DJ Muggs vs. Sick Jacken + Bambu + Planet Asia, DJ Exile vs. Blu & Fashawn + Grieves w/ Budo, Opio of Hieroglypics, Chino XL, Invincible, Machina Muerte, Intuition, Dee-1, Blame One, DJ Freshh
