Sunday, Aug. 3, 2008-Fan’s View of RTB 2008, NYC
Although the festival begain at 11am, I showed up to Rock the Bells 2008 at 3:30pm, at the beautiful Nikon Theatre at Jones Beach (NYC) to enjoy some of my favorite artists headlining on the main stage. Hipster newcomers like Santogold, Kidz in the Hall and Wale held it down for today’s Hip-Hop scene but the real treat was the “Golden Era” line-up of Hip-Hop stars that rocked the stage that night. Here’s a recap:
Immortal Technique rocked his set with his brand of conscious Hip-Hop on a higher level. Didn’t really keep my attention, although I enjoy his music, however, I had just arrived and was still trying to get settled. But no doubt, he represented lovely.
De La Soul, the original predecessor of new wave Hip-Hop graced the stage and did some of their beloved hits like, “Potholes in My Lawn” (a personal favorite) and “Stakes is High”. the threesome also brought out Dres from Black Sheep who took us back with “Flavor of the Month” and the energetic party-starter “The Choice is Yours” (you know, “Engine, engine, number 9″…you know the rest). However, the highlight was when an excited Q-Tip frenetically bumrushed the stage to do his verse on the classic “Buddy”(right on time, too)! Ah, if only Jungle Brothers, Latifah, Monie Love, Chi-Ali (hold ya head, peace) and the entire crew could have done the entire song. Somewhere between De La Soul and Rae and Ghost (or maybe afterward, I’m not sure) a reunited Pharcyde also took the stage and performed some of their well-known joints. They took us back with hot ones like “Drop”, “Runnin” and of course “Passin Me By”.
Raekwon and Ghostface were my favorite act of the entire show! Performing an extensive catalogue of timeless lyrical classics, I was up and out of my seat mouthing the lyrics to every joint I knew when these two were onstage. Bringing Cappadonna and DJ J-Love for the ride (both of which did not miss a beat!), Rae and Ghost tore through all of their greatest works: “Eye for an Eye” (Prodigy would have been proud), “Glaciers of Ice”, “4th Chamber”, “Tony for Mayor”, “Rainy Dayz”, Rainy Dayz Remix” (U know how to love me/U make me fee-eel sooo good!), “Celebrate”, “Incarcerated Scarfaces”, “Criminology” and so many more. I choked up when Raekwon announced honestly, “The Clan ain’t the way it should be right now but we thank y’all for all of your support. Believe that.” In short, these two epitomized the essence of what Rock the Bells is for: feel-good, quality Hip-Hop. Wu-Tang Clan, work it out and get back together! The people need y’all!
Mos Def was up next and his mere presence sent the crowd into a frenzy (he seems to have a knack for doing this kind of thing wherever he goes:-)) Similar to other acts, Mighty Mos tore through crowd favorites and brought out partner Talib Kweli for a rousing set of their Black Star classic material. Ending with melodic version of “Ms. Fat Booty”, Mos brought out Pharoah Monch for a rowdy performance of “Simon Says”. This was the perfect segue to the high-energy antics of Red and Meth aka “Redman and Method Man”, who, hands-down, gave the best live performance (next to Q-Tip, who really impressed me with his showmanship that night). Mixing the old with the new, the “Blunt Brothers” performed all their hottest collabo joints (“How High” Pts. 1 &2, “4,3,2,1″) and their solo joints “Method Man” and “I’ll Bee Dat”, just to name a few). Although neither fella crowd-surfed, the dynamic duo brought out 3 special guests: legendary rappers EPMD, the illustrious Slick Rick and fellow Def Squad fam Keith Murray. Red and Meth left the crowd hyped for the next performance along with a stage show that was hard to top.
But Nas still prevailed. Nasty Nas aka God’s Son surprised the crowd that night, with his own live band, “Mulatto” and an exciting, strong performance that was a far-cry from his past lackluster stage shows. In the past, a Nas show was similar to a Rakim show. Both are God MC’s, however both are boring on stage and simply recite lyrics, leaving the fan to be satisfied with the pleasure of seeing their favorite MC spit some of their favorite songs live and in-person, instead of being entertained by a real show.
Well someone must have put the bug in Nas’ ear because he came correct. Red and Meth might have set the stage on fire, but Nas doused that shit with his own smooth stage presence and calm, cool collected energy. He was hot, cool and vicious all at the same time, in addition to having the best sound quality of the entire night (was that on purpose?). Regardless, Nas ran through the past (“Represent”, “One Love”, “World is Yours”, “One Mic”, etc.), present (“Hero”, “Black President”) and the future (his musings onstage where he opened up about how he rose from the projects and became a success and his positive testimony about life itself). But the biggest surprise was when none other than Jay-Z emerged from backstage to perform “Black Republican”. For some reason this reunion onstage seemed much more genuine and heartfelt than when they reunited at Jay’s “I Declare War” concert in 2006, where the ubiquitous flick of them showed each in a b-boy stance with folded arms, glaring at the crowd in arrogance. This time, broad, sincere smiles enveloped the faces of two of Hip-Hop’s greats who seemed to understand that there is strength in unity, as they did an elaborate handshake and man-hugged.
A true “Yes We Can!” Hip-Hop moment, if there ever was one.
Not to be outdone, the final act was headliner A Tribe Called Quest. Gracing a NYC stage together for the first time in 11 years (count ‘em: ELEVEN YEARS!), Tip, Phife, Jarobi and Ali behind the turntables had the crowd at their feet. With Tip warming up the crowd (accompanied by Mos Def) for almost an hour with his solo hits/crowd favorites(“Vivrant Thing”,”Sucka N*gga”), new material and witty, unpredictable stage show (I’m telling y’all Q-Tip is the truth onstage!), the crowd was in a frenzy when ATCQ finally performed. Performing all their hits (“Electric Relaxation”, “Jazz”, “Check the Rhime”, etc.), ATCQ held down the stage as if no one else had performed prior. And for the grand highlight, Busta Rhymes emerged to perform his scorching “Scenario” verse.
This year’s Rock the Bells Festival will be hard to top. Energetic performances performed by some of Hip-Hop’s most talented lyricists/artists, it all felt too good to be true. Once for all, we now know that Hip-Hop can never die, as long as we keep it alive.
Check back for more highlights and commentary on 2008’s Rock the Bells NYC show.
YOUR TURN: What was your favorite moment of this summer’s Rock the Bells tour?
Despite the tremendous respect he has garnered as a technological genius and Hip-Hop pioneer/icon, not much is known about the legendary Grandmaster Flash’s rise as a turntable instrumentalist turned Rock’n’ Roll Hall of Fame inductee (the first Hip-Hop artist to do so). In his recent memoir, My Life, My Beats: The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash, the man born Joseph Saddler sets the record straight on his childhood, meteoric rise to fame and his personal struggles with drug addiction and music industry politics.
