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Rock the Bells has gone global. This year marks the first time RTB has played outside the US, which prior to 2006 was primarily known as a California festival. It has become so much more than just some hip hop festival. The Hip Hop Declaration of Peace, which was comprised by KRS-One, states that “through the principles of this Hiphop Declaration of Peace we, Hiphop Kulture, establish a foundation of Health, Love, Awareness, Wealth, Peace and Prosperity for ourselves, our children and their children's children, forever.”
No other hip hop tour has clearly lived up to this statement more than Rock the Bells. Like the music it showcases, RTB has become a symbol of hip hop democracy. Guerilla Union has done its homework, make no mistake. They have helped to wipe away this East Coast vs. West Coast mirage which plagued fans of hip hop throughout the nineties. Now more than ever hip hop music needs a vehicle to express its ever changing voice. No where else will you get a chance to see this firsthand than with RTB. It debuts such a variety, a conglomeration if you will, of the greatest hip hop artists alive today. Rock the Bells has outdone itself once again, raising the bar for another year.
Hip hop has evolved out the streets and into the basic foundation of our subconscious. It’s no coincidence that in 2006 Nas declared that hip hop was dead. In his opinion hip hop artists have all but lost their creative power as musicians. Nas left little to be doubted Saturday night at the San Manuel Amphitheater, that hip hop is in no way, deceased. Rather, it lives and breathes. Nas worked the crowd for a little less than an hour, throwing out the old favorites as well as some new jams like Sly Fox, a shot at Fox News. His message was simple, stand up for what you think is right, don’t back down. In that sense Nas is doing his part to alter the minds of those who feel that hip hop music cannot help change the world for the better.
It was an honor to be in the presence of some of the greatest hip hop artists that have ever lived. Say what you want, Nas put on a great set, but even he couldn’t stand up to the sheer aura of such artists as The Pharcyde, De La Soul and a Tribe Called Quest, the latter of which closed the show. Two years ago I witnessed the Wu Tang’s ODB Tribute with the RTB’s tour in Concord, California. That tour had a different vibe, especially since the focus of the show was entirely on Wu Tang. The collection of artists that year was also quite different. Del was there, the Living Legends showed up. There was also a Black Star reunion, hell even Dave Chappelle made a guest appearance.
This year Supernatural hosted the show along with B-Real and Scratch. Two years ago when I saw Supernat, he was coming off one of the craziest nights of his career, free styling for more than nine hours continuously. That’s amazing anyone could do that for one hour, let alone nine. Supernatural nearly broke the world’s record set by the British emcee Ruffstylz who free styled for over ten hours. Regardless, Supernatural officially stamped his spot on the list of hip hop legends after that set in 2006. One of the few surprises we got this year was a special appearance by The Black Eyed Peas. Special it was, until we realized that Fergie wasn’t in attendance and then the whole thing seemingly gave way like a firework without its pop.
Rock the Bells 2008 did have its fair share of stand out performances. Since there were so many artists performing that day, most were limited to an hour or less. Yet that’s exactly what you should expect from this festival, it’s what makes RTB’s so bitter sweet. Immortal Technique as always put on a classic show with as much intensity as he had back 06. Then there was Method Man and Redman’s electrified set where they spent most of it, literally with the masses. One has to appreciate Method Man’s desire to get out to the people. In 2006, he was the only headliner that left the stage. Other legendary artists like The Pharcyde found a way to take the crowd back with classics like Passing Me By as well as a perfectly placed blow to their critics with a rendition of Bobby Brown’s, My Prerogative. However, out of all the performers Saturday night, it was Tribe Called Quest’s Q-Tip that stole the show.
Tip’s new album titled The Renaissance will be released October 14th so it was clear that he needed a Tribe-less set. Now as I said before, Nas put on one hell of show, but when you’re squished between legendary acts like The Pharyde, Mos Def and a Tribe Called Quest, it’s hard to shine. Q-Tip’s cameo performance with Mos Def showcased a wide array of new tunes as well as some old favorites like Vivrant Thing. Tip and Def’s set very well could have been the headlining event. Like some heavyweight fighters, they put a knockout punch on a sun drenched crowd which had been served a day of memorable performances. It was the perfect way to open a cool evening of hip hop. Tip’s cameo with Mos took the crowd to the top long before Nas ever left his bus.
When Tribe began their set I came out from behind the stage to see the show as it was intended to be. It reminded me of why I came in the first place. I went to Rock the Bells for the same reason as everyone else. In 2006, I stood mainly in front of my seat, some fifty feet from the stage and a bit too far to one side. Yet, that day I stood in awe of every artist that came up. No matter how much sunscreen I applied that day I still got one of the worst sunburns of my life. It didn’t matter that for the next two weeks I looked like Darkman, what mattered most to me was that I got to peer at greatness, no matter how beautifully chaotic the festival would make it. Watching a Tribe Called Quest the other night was surreal, much like seeing the Wu Tang Clan a few years back. I had the pleasure of twice being involved in a moment that was greater than my self and it was imperative that I show my respect.
We hear artists say all the time that it’s just about the music. One tends to hear it so much that they forget that some artists actually mean it. WuTang’s Raekwon the Chef made a point to remind the crowd at RTB’s Saturday afternoon that hip hop isn’t about this bitches and hoes mentality. It’s not about what kind of car you’re driving or how much money is in your wallet. Rock the Bells has united both coasts to stand up once and for all and declare that hip hop is for the world, for the rich and the poor, for better and for worse. Hip hop is an art form as important as any other musical genre that has found a way to inspire millions.
I think about all of my friends, back home in Salem, Oregon. I think about growing up listening to The Pharcyde, De La Soul and Tribe Called Quest with my little brother and our friends. By the early nineties, rap and hip hop music had reached the far corners of our country. It made its way into every nook and cranny. My parents couldn’t understand why their 12 year old son wanted an album called Sex Packets from some group named Digital Underground. Yeah, so we grew up in the suburbs. We idolized hip hop artists not because we were looking to be hard. No one thought living in “the Ghetto,” as Too Short reminded us, was particularly a good thing. For a change in fact we were paying attention. We found meaning to the words being said and in deciphering its message we felt a step closer to the artists we idolized. I personally found an appreciation to hip hop’s exploration of the artist’s ability to apply their stories in syncopation to a collection of beats.
The art of hip hop is the blending of many different styles, genres and forms of communication. There were few other forms of communication which spoke to us so greatly growing up. Hip hop continues to inspire generations of kids around the world. Fifty years from now, people will look back and see that hip hop music has changed every facet of our culture. It’ll be like looking back now at the 1940’s and not being able to comprehend the fact that jazz music was in many ways doing the same thing that hip hop is doing today. The intricate rhyming that one may hear coming from an artist like Ghostface Killah or Mos Def is as innovative and intelligent as anything composed and/or improvised by John Coltrane or Sonny Rollins.
I would recommend any true fan of hip hop music to check out its Declaration of Peace. Learn it, realize it. These artists take pride in their work and nothing makes that more evident than with shows like Rock the Bells. I find that the Fourth Principle explains it all… “Hiphop is a term that describes our independent collective consciousness. As a conscious way of life, we acknowledge our influence on society, especially on children; and we shall forever keep the rights and welfare of both in mind. Hiphop Kulture encourages womanhood, manhood, sisterhood, brotherhood, childhood and family. We are conscious not to bring any intentional disrespect that jeopardizes the dignity and reputation of our children, elders and ancestors.”
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