One of the best things about California music festivals is that they are frequent and they offer the chance to experience a whole different range of music.  There are festivals for mountain music and festivals for the hyphy movement and festivals for every genre and subgenre in between.  This works out well for me since I’m a girl who really and truly loves all different kinds of music.  My favorite thing is when a single festival offers a diverse look at one genre of music, showing off every color in the genre’s spectrum. So, I’ve got my calendar marked for March 24, 2007 when I plan to attend the second annual Paid Dues festival down in San Bernardino, CA.

Paid Dues brings some of the hottest names in urban music together in southern California for a day dedicated to displaying the diversity which exists in the modern rap scene.  Fans of the genre know that there are multiple sub-genres within rap, ranging from electronic DJ beats to complex slam poetics, with lyrics which touch on issues from all walks of life.  Paid Dues brings these various urban trends together in one space for one day, offering fans full-length sets by performers including Blackalicious, Cage and Brother Ali.

Of particular interest to me is the planned performance by Jean Grae, the only female performer representing the women at Paid Dues.  The lyrical strength of this MC cuts straight to the heart of raw emotion and offers no apologies for the ugliness or explanations of the beauty which can both be harbored there.  Doing more than just holding her own in the male-dominated industry of the rap music world, Jean Grae should be one of the most dynamic performers at next weekend’s festival.

But the performance which is going to get the most attention by everyone else is likely to be the performance by FELT.  FELT is the duo of Slug and MURS.  The second half of this rap twosome is the guy responsible for Paid Dues happening in the first place.  An underground MC who has the confidence to be a star and the talent to back it up, MURS joined forces with Guerilla Union to create the Paid Dues festival.  Supporting artists and independent projects, Guerilla Union is responsible for some of the biggest music festivals in the country.  With a strong lineup and a broad range of rap talent, Paid Dues could wind up being a hit among the Guerilla Union shows.