Rock The Bells has to be the most important thing to happen to Hip-Hop concerts ever. The rap festival that started as a mid-sized park jam in San Bernardino, with some of the most loved hip-hop artist ever assembled on a line up, has turned into the international powerhouse, competing with other well know summer festivals and bringing old and new hip-hop music to the masses annually.
I have attended many of RTB's past shows and had an amazing time at all of them. I remember my first and how amazed I was that I had managed to pull off backstage press passes. I roamed the back trailers and backstage area, bumped into tons of rappers, B-Boys and other hip-hop heads, all while attending a musical milestone. RTB was responsible for bringing the Wu-Tang Clan back together onstage, and they had the honor of being the last show that the late O.D.B. would perform at. It has earned its stripes and is truly one of the leading rap shows!
I actually didn't plan on attending this years event. A good friend of mine gave me two tickets to the show. I tried to tell him that, while I appreciated the generous gift, Rock The Bells isn't the type of concert you want to miss out on. After he refused to take the tickets back, I decided not to look a "gift horse in the mouth", and took the tickets.
I arrived to the show a bit later than I should, as I ran into the usual traffic snarls heading up the 210. By the time I arrived at the general parking area and got settled, I could hear Raekwon The Chef rocking the crowd from the Paid Dues stage. The Wu Clansman is about to drop his eagerly anticipated follow up to Cuban Links, "Only Built For Cuban Links II", and has been the center of attention for the past few weeks. I'll get more into that in a bit, but for now Raekwon's songs were the backdrop for my walk up the hill to San Miguel Amphitheater.
Once inside we were greeted with the various promoters and vendors, passing out tons of flyers, CDs and assorted promo junk. I took my handfuls and continued up the ramp to our "seats". After being told to "keep walking up the hill" at every check point, I realized that our tickets were free because they were lawn seats. We strolled the lawn and listened to the sounds of The Roots as they rocked the house! I caught the last end of their set, caught up with a few friends of mine, and "upgraded" our seats! I realized that this upgrade meant that I would have to miss all the action on the Paid Dues stage or risk losing my new and improved seating, in real chairs! I made a decision that I regret a bit. More on this later as well.
Article comments
1 - A.d.
Good article big ups i was there too, i heard about the skuffel but i missed it ha. still this was my first rtb and surrley not to be my last
2 - BigLUU
Dayum missed CUBE to see that wack set- LAME. Wu Tang Clan Aint Nothin Ta F*** Wit