Cincinnati Hip Hop artists once again will perform alongside some of the biggest acts in music this weekend at the unique Ubahn Fest, which returns to the underground transit tunnel near Paul Brown Stadium (the entrance is downtown under the Second Street overpass at the intersection of Plum and Third streets) this Friday and Saturday. The lineup is top-loaded with Hip Hop and EDM heavyweights both nights — superstar DJ Steve Aoki and 2 Chainz head up Friday’s festivities, while Saturday’s lineup includes chart-toppers Big Sean, Gucci Mane and Lecrae — but the other musical offerings provide a great snapshot of the current Hip Hop scene in Cincinnati and a good reason for fans to show up at the 6 p.m. starting time both nights.
On Friday, the Change Starts Here Stage kicks off with Middletown native and DJ/producer Hilliard, who’s followed at 7 p.m. by MC JAYAL, formerly of the local crew Those Guys. Talented and dynamic Cincinnati duo The M.O.O.N., which released the stellar Crossroads EP earlier this year, takes the stage Friday at 8:15 p.m., followed by a 9:30 p.m. set by producer/DJ ChuckDiesel, who blends Bass and Dubstep with Hip Hop.
On Saturday, Cincinnati native Clockwork DJ (who moved on to national acclaim as Mac Miller’s touring DJ, while also releasing music and performing internationally as a solo artist) kicks off the main Connect Cincinnati stage at 8 p.m. The Change Starts Here stage gets rolling at 6 p.m. with music from Bergs, followed by on-the-rise MC Strykur and DJ J. Dough. Gifted local rapper Monty C Benjamin takes the stage at 7:30 p.m., followed by MCs Audley (backed by Cincy AltRock band Sylmar) and C the Gray. Saturday at 11:30 p.m., Speed — the artist formerly known as Buggs Tha Rocka — plays the Change Starts Here stage between Gucci Mane’s and Big Sean’s main-stage sets. It marks Speed’s first high-profile hometown appearance since the name change, which coincided with his social media posts this summer about working on a new project at the Capitol Records building in Los Angeles, suggesting big things are on the way soon.
Dynamic local collective BLVCK SEEDS will also host spoken word and poetry on a third stage at Ubahn.
See below for the complete Ubahn schedule and tracks from some of the local artists on it. For ticket info and more, visit ubahnfest.com.
From The M.O.O.N.'s Crossroads EP:
Speed on a track from the recent Fort Ancient Records collaborative album, Gatsby:
Monty C. Benjamin's latest:
Summertime remix from JAYAL:
Recent Lil Wayne mix from ChuckDiesel:
C The Gray:
