Homegrown hip hop is first off the blocks to rock the festival scene

Raising The Bar Festival 2013 KLPac, Sentul Park, Jalan Strachan (off Jalan Ipoh) Kuala Lumpur Date: Today, noon, RM68

Featured acts: If ever there was a statement of intent, this festival underlines the fact that homegrown hip hop is in rude health. This 12-hour marathon of a festival, with three stages, presents the famous and not-so-famous hip hop names who owned the scene a decade ago or were criminally underrated and overlooked. The venue’s Pentas 2, outdoor and deck & lobby areas have been booked out for day of rhymes and beats. In short, Raising The Bar Festival 2013 hits it up for a wide range of rappers, deejays and hip hop crews, sometimes with tracks that won widespread popularity, and sometimes with tracks that merely won over the music blogs that looked to hip hop for the next big thing. From newcomers to the established names, this independent festival has them covered. Highlights include the Teh Tarik Crew reunion show as well as sets from ManHand, Psycho Unit, SSK x Tilu, Kartel: Joe Flizzow + Altimet + SonaOne, Starrsound: Balan Kashmir, K-Town Clan, Caprice, Nadhira and The Rebel Scum. Need more thrills? Just add Ruffedge, Slam Poets KL, The Fabulous Cats, Arabyrd, The Bassment Syndicate and Muscle//Machine to unleash the bright and dark side of the genre to the masses. The deejay decks will also be in full effect with Unconventional Science (US), DJ Lethal Skillz, DJ Nesh, DJ Luqe, Kartel Hitmen, DJ Krates, Detour Asia: Cee x H3, DJ Guibo, Tatsuro Miller, Mushroom, Buttons, T.K.I and DJ Mastermind in action through the day. A hip hop bazaar, workshops and community collaborations will also be an integral part of Raising The Bar Festival 2013’s activities.