Reunited Micranots headlining For the Love, new Lowertown hip-hop festival

July 10, 2014

For the Love, a new festival featuring a lineup stacked with local hip-hop acts—featuring the reunited Micranots as its headliner—will take over St. Paul’s Lowertown neighborhood this weekend. Presented by ACEntertainment, the fest will run from 2 p.m. to 2 a.m. on Saturday, July 12.

The festival will mark the Micranots' second show in ten years; I Self Devine and DJ Kool Akiem were last seen together just over a year ago at the 7th Street Entry. The pioneering Twin Cities act’s 2000 album Obelisk Movements—a seminal testament of the burgeoning underground hip-hop scene in Minnesota—was reissued on Rhymesayers last year.

The event will include two stages: one at Bedlam Lowertown and one on the North Plaza at Union Depot. Both stages will be all-ages from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. After 9 p.m., the festival will condense to just the Bedlam stage, and the remainder of the event will be 18+. The Micranots performance (8:00 p.m.) will conclude the Union Depot sets.

The East Plaza at Union Depot will also feature “hour-long DJ sets, b-boying and b-girling, a live graffiti wall, and a number of artists selling their wares.” In addition, the festival will host a spoken word event at the nearby Black Dog Café from 2:00 to 7:00 p.m.

Subtitled “A Community Celebration,” For the Love aims both to celebrate Lowertown—its cultural diversity, food, businesses, the newly opened Green Line and Bedlam Lowertown—and to bring Minneapolis hip-hop to St. Paul as well as showcasing St. Paul hip-hop.

The festival is free and open to the public. Free rides to the event will be available through Metro Transit. Below is the festival's complete lineup.

Union Depot stage

2:40-3:00: Why Khaliq

3:20-3:40: Skool Boy Ent

4:00-4:20: BDotCroc

4:40-5:00: Kaleem

5:20-5:40: Jordan Looney

6:00-6:20: Sarah White

6:40-7:00: Glo Pesci

7:20-7:40: Desdamona

8:00-9:00: Micranots

Union Depot North Plaza DJs

2:00-3:00: B-Rock

3:00-4:00: Versed Radio

4:00-5:00: King Otto

5:00-6:00: DJ Huh? What??

6:00-7:00: DJ Willie Shu

7:00-8:00: DJ B-Rock

8:00-9:00: DJ Kool Akiem

Union Depot East Plaza Stage (DJs only)

2:00-3:00: DJ Nimo the Hooligan

3:00-4:00: DJ Just Nine

4:00-5:00: MC Harv

5:00-6:00: Espada

6:00-7:00: King Otto

7:00-8:00: DJ Nimo the Hooligan

Black Dog Café

2:00: Music by DJshelie and sign-up for open mic

2:30: Jess the Poet

3:00: Joe Adams

3:20: Hamline slam team

3:40: Guante

4:00: Keno Evol

4:20: Donte Collins

4:40: Open mic

5:00: Adversity

5:20: Radio Ali

5:40: Open mic

6:00: Khary "6 is 9" Jackson

6:20: Kortland "K.O." Jackson

6:40: Lyeriq Lashay

Bedlam Lowertown

2:20-2:40: Company Costume

3:00-3:20: Erok Foret

3:40-4:00: Rich Garvey

4:20-4:40: MC Longshot

5:00-5:20: Lioness

5:40-6:00: Remo Williamz

6:20-6:40: Cherry Sky

7:00-7:20: Illuminous 3

7:40-8:00: Up Rock

9:00-9:20: Mayda

9:25-9:45: Aquafresh

9:50-10:10: Solly & Veins

10:15-10:35: Sweetz P

10:40-11:00: Crunchy Kids

11:05-11:25: Beasly

11:30-11:50: Metasota

12:00-1:00: Guardians of Balance (Mastermind and St. Paul Slim)

Bedlam DJs

2:00-3:00: DJ Frank Castle

3:00-4:00: DJ Huh? What??

4:00-5:00: DJ Willie Shu

5:00-6:00: DJ Nimo the Hooligan

6:00-7:00: MC Harv

7:00-8:00: DJ Frank Castle

8:00-9:00: DJ Simone Du Jour

9:00-10:00: Espada

10:00-11:00: DJ Simone Du Jour

11:00-12:00: DJ Just Nine

12:00-1:00: [artist performance period]

1:00-2:00: DJ Frank Castle

Austin Gerth is a member of the class of 2016 at Concordia College. He also writes for Concordia’s student blog, The COBBlog; and Concordia’s student newspaper, The Concordian.

This activity is made possible in part by the Minnesota Legacy Amendment’s Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund.