My Bells Have Been Rocked!!!Posted by james on August 5th, 2008

This weekend I went to the Rock The Bells festival this weekend, and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised with the turn-out, and the acts.  I didnt like the sun so much.

THE ACTS (in order of appearance):

  • B.o.B - Some group from atlanta, didn’t like them at all. Luckily i was just getting in, so i didnt catch much of them
  • Murs - Murs is a dope MC from LA, who’s had hits on the definitive jux laebl, as well as a new album Murs For President coming out in september.  He put on a pretty sick show, and even for being in an early slot, he rocked it pretty good.  He also mentioned that he has a FREE mixtape out, I downloaded it yesterday and it’s pretty solid.
  • Immortal Technique - A political MC from NY, i’ve never been a fan of his, and this didnt change my opinion.  I dont know, he just tries to be too hard.  He did however tell fans that he was walking off stage and through the crowd to the merch booth, which he did, no security.
  • Wale - New guy coming from Washington, D.C. you might have heard him on The Roots new album.  Pretty good stage show overall, especially since no one really seemed to care to listen to the guy, will definately keep my eyes on this new up and coming young MC.  He also released a FREE mixtape, check it out.
  • Dead Prez - Good group from tallahassee, hit it big with “Bigger Than Hiphop”, then had a few more mixtapes come out, and a new album dropping soon, kinda good, kinda blah.
  • De La Soul - I was really looking forward to their set, and they didnt disappoint, they went through most of thier hit songs, and a lot of their underground hits.  The best part was when they brought out dres from Black Sheep and dide some Black Sheep songs. Hotness.
  • Raekwon and Ghostface - KILLED IT. I’ve always wanted to see Wu together, but mainly so i could see these two MCs perform.  They did a medley of their songs going back and forth, and even playing some of the new songs off Raekwons Only Built For Cuban Linx 2 (which were pure fire.)
  • Mos Def - Blew. Highly disappointing. Hardly did any of the hot shit he’s known for (umi says, ms fatbooty).  He did however close with travelin’ man (possibly one of his best songs ever).  He did complain about the heat every 5 seconds though. WE KNOW ITS HOT, ITS MIAMI IN THE SUMMER.
  • The Pharcyde - Did a really good set, however I honestly havent really listened to their music through the years, so I enjoyed the set, probably not as most as others in the crowd.
  • Method Man and Redman - Probably the most live group/set of the day, they really know crowd control, and how to keep it going.  Once again they went along with the medley approach, playing their best solo stuff, as well as hits of their blackout! album.  One cool thing was that they got the “king of miami” noreaga out to perform a song.
  • Nas - Finally got to nas. Started off with hiphop is dead, then went through his albums hits chronologically, and played a good bit off his new album too.  The only thing i didnt like was how much crowd participation he was trying to get.  I think he was winded and just didnt want to rap, but who knows.
  • QTip,A Tribe Called Quest - So they said ATCQ was the headliner, but then right before they are supposed to come on, the announcer (Q-Tip) is all “Q Tip is gonna play some solo stuff, then we’ll bring tribe out” so i peaced out on that.  Seen ATCQ before, wasnt gonna stand for getting bamboozled like that.

All in all, it was the first full hiphop show i’ve been to in a good 5-6 years, and was quite refreshing to get back into the mix.  Definitely not going to wait that long again before going to another one.

Below is a link to the pics i took.  Im no photographer, so they’re not that great, but feel free to look at em.

Rock The Bells 08

 

Sorry for all the non-professional/business like posts, but this week has been a lot of fun!  Back on track this week!

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