Rock the Bells Festival - San Bernardino CA
Location: Orange Show - San Bernardino CA
Author: Arturo Perez
Photography: Arturo Perez
Rock the Bells is a brand new hip hop festival that combines the star power of the Wu-Tang Clan and Redman with underground hip hop legends like Chali 2na from Jurassic 5 and the Dilated Peoples, as well as up and coming stars, Eyedea & Abilities and Sage Francis.
Though the show is varied, the fans are clearly here for one reason: the return of the Wu, and their first performance together in over 10 years. And while the Wu fans have always been real hip hop heads, the crowd is not much in the mood for experimentation today.
Eyedea & Abilities have the responsibility of being the first up at the bat, and while some of the crowd is highly enthusiastic, many are straight out skeptical at seeing a couple of white boys get up on stage and start rapping. Eyedea twitches like a schizophrenic while he busts out his philosophical lyricism, while Abilities manages to shut up all the DJ critics with his masterful offbeat remixes and heavy dose of hand trickery. As a new fan to their music, this duo does not dissappoint me but it is off putting to see them stick almost strictly to their more recent album, E&A, rather than bust out some tunes from their first classic Lost Born. But what they lack in playlist selection, they make up in stage innovation, with high energy and a new approach to hip hop: intense self absorbed lyrical flow and dense DJ beats that leave those with open ears thinking about deeper things. Not bad for a short hip hop set.
Up next at the bat is Sage Francis, another white boy who has been making a name for himself for his poetic style and personal approach. But there is one other thing that Sage is known for, and that is throwing broccoli out at the crowd, the crowd that kept yelling Wu! Wu! Wu! sporadically throughout the set. Sage is either loved or hated, but either way, everyone likes his personality. His passion for music comes through and absorbed even the haters, and his quick witty retorts to Wu fans yelling for their idols to get up on stage and replace the white boy, is simply supreme, and has raised his respect within the crowd. This is one cat to check out when the whole audience is there to see him.
Chali 2na comes in with a short solo set with the help of J5's DJ, Nu-Mark, who recently released his solo album. While the white newcomers experienced some adversity from the crowd, 2na gets nothing but love. His unique flow and style clearly show that he is the head of J5, and hearing him do solos is nothing short of a great treat. 2na announced the upcoming release of his solo debut, Fish Market as well as a new Jurassic 5 album coming out early in 2005. While the set is quick, with only a few songs, his friendliness, well delivered flows and energetic reception by the crowd made this set a definite highlight.
And as the day progressed, the sky darkened and the Wu fans got larger: the atmosphere of the place had changed. Now on stage were Dilated Peoples and Redman; the fans were no longer mellow, the vibe was no longer personal. The Rock the Bells festival had officially gotten up in high gear with fans bopping up and down, MC's passionately delivering their rhymes and weed smoking going on in every corner.
As to be expected, there was the inevitable delay by the Wu Tang in coming out. As I waited backstage for their arrival, I suddenly found myself lumped in with a small group of select photographers, and without complain, I moved on towards the stage, having been confused for an MTV camera man. It is here, within the sweaty and conglomerated side stage that I got to see the Wu Tang's reunion, with my camera trying hard to get some decent shows in the foggy, hot and energetic stage, with RZA, GZA, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Method Man, Ghostface, Raekwon, Inspectah Deck, Masta Killa, U God and Cappadona rapping away all the classics. It was a total success; and the Wu made no mistake in the playlist; every classic was played. "C.R.E.A.M.," "Reunited," and of course, "Triumph." Method Man and ODB got to do their thing too, playing some of their own classics, and a special tribute to the Old Dirty Bastard was given by the crowd and the crew, having been his first official comeback when he is actually supposed to be free.
The crowd loves every moment, it doesn't matter what the Wu plays or how they flow; the energy of the house is a unique experience within itself, it is a star studded stage with too many songs, too many bars and too much talent for one mind to absorb. As I flicker away with my camera I come to recognize that this is a true legendary moment where one of the best hip hop groups in history is making one of its greatest performances.
Rock the Bells is an ongoing festival that is sure to come back next year bigger and more refined, but more than a festival, this year, it was a Wu reunion; a tribute to a hip hop group that went mainstream without losing their true roots in the process. Let's just hope Method Man gets back on his groove and gets off the comedy and back into the passion. And let's hope Rock the Bells continues picking its excellent mix of acknowledged hip hop stars that have stuck to their roots, well known underground and up and comer new hip hop heads with talent.
Kludge brings you music and politics
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Reader's Comments:
Inga :: 23:25 Monday 24 JanI was there at Third Eye Gathering.. It was wonderful. Thank you for writing this article.
daniel :: 17:48 Monday 20 Sepnice article!
:: 19:00 Tuesday 14 Sep:D