Behold, Hip Hop aficionados – it is officially Rock The Bells Season! With the buzzing excitement upon the release of the line-up, it’s not a question of who’s going to Rock the Bells, it’s who isn’t? From Wu-Tang Clan and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, veteran rhymers representing the Golden Era of Hip Hop, to up and coming rappers such as Big K.R.I.T. and Tyler the Creator, paving their way towards musical greatness, the hefty and impressive line-up has gotten people gleaming with enthusiasm. Last night in Los Angeles, the legendary House of Blues on Sunset, had hip hop supporters shoulder to shoulder to celebrate the Tenth Year Anniversary of Rock the Bells at the 2013 Press Conference Launch Party, which announced the official line-up of what to expect come September.
Hosted by the creative engineering corps, Guerilla Union, the public and the media came early in arrival to witness how the people at Rock the Bells could possibly improve their mega-don status in order to ensure a memorable celebration for the ten years of history and memories made.
From The Source to Hypebeast, to yours truly, ILLSOCIETY, the media was eager with energy to get the party started. In true rhythm and poetry motion, MC Supernatural, upheld the Rock the Bells tradition and freestyled the line-up, which includes: Big K.R.I.T., Black Hippy, Bone Thugs N Harmony, Brother Ali, Common, Danny Brown, Dilated Peoples, E-40 & Too Short, Jurassic 5, Talib Kweli,
Chang Weisberg, the genius behind the Rock The Bells, was in attendance to make a surprising announcement that the Rock the Bells stage will also include “virtual” performances from deceased legends Ol’ Dirty Bastard of Wu-Tang Clan and Eazy-E of N.W.A. Weisberg mentioned how monumental the experience will be, noting that, “it will be 20 years of Wu-Tang history meeting 10 years of ours, in a performance that’s going to be exclusively handcrafted by the members onstage, especially RZA.”
Inspired from Coachella’s reincarnated Tupac appearance, those in attendance can expect the godfather of gangsta rap, Eazy-E, to appear alongside Bone Thugs-N-Harmony in an “original virtual performance”. With blessings from Eazy-E’s wife, Tomica Wright, and Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s mother, Cherry Jones, Chang ensures that the experience “will blow people’s mind.” Who said hip-hop was dead, if it can be resurrected? Welcome to the future.
Post-announcement, the crowd was treated to live performances by Tech N9ne and Krizz Kaliko while Bone Thugs-N-Harmony rocked the arena with classics such as “Crossroads” and “Foe Tha Love of $”. Electric excitement rippled through the crowd with hands in the air swaying back and forth, an evident reminder that the traveling hip-hop festival known as Rock the Bells will be enriching memories and hip hop history for many more years to come.
Mark your calendars and save those dolla, dolla bills, here are the official location and dates for the Rock the Bells 2013 festival that will kick off during the fall:
San Manuel Amphitheater – San Bernardino, CA – September 7-8, Pre-sale: Thursday, 5/13 @ 10AM PST – Friday, 5/14 @ 10PM PST
Shoreline Aaphitheater – Mountain View, CA – September 14-15, Pre-sale: Thursday, 5/13 @ 10AM PST – Friday, 5/14 @ 10PM PST
RFK Festival Grounds – Washington, DC – September 28-29, Pre-Sale Info Coming Soon
New Meadowlands Racetrack – East Rutherford, NJ – October 4-5, Pre-Sale: Thursday, 5/13 @ 10AM PST – Friday, 5/14 @ 10PM PST
Enter The Password: 10Years
Fifteen additional artists will be announced during the New York Launch Party on June 24th.
-Elainne Dizon
All photos taken by Tatsu
To see rest of the photos click here.
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