June Fest, a hip-hop music festival in Rapid City

RAPID CITY, SD (KEVN) — “Rapid City’s first-ever hip-hop festival,” said Leo Arguello, co-owner of Dead End Records.

It’s a free event for a great cause, Dead End Records have been putting on shows for almost two years and it’s now become a festival. Although free, donations are encouraged and all proceeds will go to the Corner Stone Rescue Mission.

“We started meeting more people involved in the hip-hop community, and we started launching our own local shows, which eventually turned into something, like June Fest,” said Arguello, one of organizers of June Fest.

Memorial Park is a place people love to be and for some it is a dream location. “A lot of people we talk to say bandshell is their dream scene here and it just felt right to do it,” said Colton Dean, co-owner of Dead End Records.

In the heart of the action in Rapid City, Dead End Records hopes that June Fest will be part of the city’s summer events. Additionally, a performing artist, Dean, said, “We just want to be another downtown event, something that’s in consideration with other events.”

Dean and Arguello both agree that it’s the easiest way for rap artists to gain exposure in a city that generally welcomes music from other genres. “So for a lot of our artists, it’s actually their first time performing, and they’re nothing out of the ordinary,” Dean said.

Beginners are joined by other artists who have been in the business for some time. Arguello says, “We’re going to have Yadda Man from Nebraska to perform. Back in the Rapid City area for the first time in a few years. Yadda Man is a rap artist who travels much of the Midwest to perform.

Dead End Records expects to attract close to 1,000 people.

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