Today, Guerilla Union announced the line up for the 2008 Rock The Bells festival, well, festival tour. Your ever-rocking Emperor headed up the street to the Hip Kitty, a jazz club that also happens to serve fondue. I know, weird. Anyways, went out, had some delicious key lime martinis (at 1PM, solid) and got to see Guerilla Union’s mastermind, Chang Weisberg, humbly (and I mean this, the guy looked sincerely overwhelmed by the fruits of his labor) offer his thanks to everyone involved, and had go-to guy MC Supernatural come out and free style the effing lineup. Amazing. And here it is, straight from the press release:
HEADLINERS INCLUDE A TRIBE CALLED QUEST, NAS, MOS DEF, DE LA SOUL, RAKIM AND
REUNITED SPECIAL GUESTS THE PHARCYDE
WITH ADDITIONAL PERFORMANCES BY SPANK ROCK, SANTOGOLD, KID SISTER, JAY ELECTRONICA AND MANY MORE!
ROCK THE BELLS has established itself as a world-class hip-hop platform by hosting legendary performances. The 2007 festival series included performances by a reunited Rage Against the Machine, the Wu Tang Clan, Public Enemy celebrating their 20th anniversary as a band and many more. The tradition of top names and memorable performances continues in 2008 as the line-up and routing for this year’s ROCK THE BELL 2008 INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL SERIES POWERED BY SANDISK–kicking off July 19 in Chicago–was announced today during a press conference in Claremont, CA by Chang Weisberg of Guerilla Union and hip-hop all-stars A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, Raekwon, Murs, and Supernatural who are all confirmed on this summer’s bill.
Featuring performances by A Tribe Called Quest, Nas, Mos Def, De La Soul, Rakim, Method Man & Redman, Raekwon & Ghostface (Cuban Linx), Immortal Technique, Dead Prez, Murs and Kidz In The Hall, the ROCK THE BELLS 2008 INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL SERIES POWERED BY SANDISK once again is marked by the leading hip-hop line-up seen on one bill this year. This year will be highlighted with an unexpected reunion of The Pharcyde. But it does not stop there, as fans will also see performances by the brightest names in the emerging electro-hip hop scene including Spank Rock, Santogold, Kid Sister, Wale, Flosstradamus, Jay Electronica and The Cool Kids with hosts B-Real of Cypress Hill and the world renowned Supernatural.
De La Soul, The Pharcyde, A Tribe Called Quest, Wale (pronounced wall-a, apparently) and Jay Electronica were all on hand to chill and answer some questions about Rock The Bells. To be honest, the answers to questions on what they were looking forward to, how they felt about RTB and really anything else weren’t as important as the wave of gratitude, humility and positivity that I saw. Hip Hop has developed this rep as being violence, drugs, pimps and hoes, and what I saw today was a call for solidarity, positive change and everyone telling everyone else how much they looked up to each other.
Jay Electronica summed it up: “I’m just…speechless.” To which Jarobi White of Tribe replied: That’s really funny that Jay’s speechless, because he’s really lyrical.”
So, go add one of the following dates to your concert calendar, it’s going to be epic.
And, since it’s a tour, here’s the dates:
ROCK THE BELLS INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL SERIES POWERED BY SANDISK DATES:
Sat 7/19 – Chicago, IL
Sun 7/20 – Toronto, ON
Sat 7/26 – Boston, MA
Sun 7/27 – New York, NY
Sat 8/2 – Miami, FL
Sun 8/3 – Philadelphia, PA
Sat 8/9 – Los Angeles, CA
Sat 8/16 – San Francisco, CA
Sat 8/23 – Denver, CO
Sat 8/30 – Vancouver, BC
