As ESPN's X Games return to Minneapolis for the second summer in a row, organizers are doubling down on hip-hop and electronic dance music for the accompanying concerts.
In the music lineup revealed Thursday, rap legend Ice Cube and hometown hip-hop hero Brother Ali are listed alongside EDM stars Zedd and Kaskade for the July 19-22 games.
As was the case last year, the concerts will take place in Commons Park outside U.S. Bank Stadium (where most of the televised sports competition is held). Tickets to the music side of the event are now available starting at $20 for general-admission and $50 for a three-day pass via xgames.com/tickets. Different levels of VIP and games/music combo passes are also on sale.
Here's the rundown of who's playing which days:
Friday, July 20: Kaskade
Saturday, July 21: Ice Cube and Brother Ali
Sunday, July 22: Zedd
When he's not too busy starring in or producing big-time Hollywood movies, Ice Cube regularly returns to the stage to prove he can still bring it on stage. And he certainly did just that his last time in town for the 2015 Soundset festival, hosted by Brother Ali's crew Rhymesayers.
Russian-born DJ/producer Zedd was one of last year's headliners at the big Summer Set fest in Somerset, Wis., while Kaskade was just in town last month as part of the high-buck Super Bowl party lineup at the Lumber Exchange Building.
More names will be added to the X Games music lineup as the event nears. Last year's roster in Commons Park featured Atmosphere, Flume and A Day to Remember. In the interim, the Winter X Games in Aspen, Colo., featured Marshmello, LCD Soundsystem and Method Man with Redman.
Here's a video recap that shows off the set-up and vibe from last year's concerts in Minneapolis. We'll throw in Ice Cube's best-known classic, too.
