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Sunday offered younger emerging talent that moved crowds.
#COMPTON HAT EAZY E PRO#
Reunited iconic groups such as Wu-Tang Clan shared space with younger collectives such as Black Hippy, ASAP Mob and Pro Era.
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This year, the bill included everything from hip-hop outliers to revered rap statesmen to the new class of rap wunderkind. Still, Rock the Bells has cemented itself as the preeminent showcase for hip-hop in the country, also reaching San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and New York during its annual run. However, it didn’t escape concert industry woes such as declining ticket sales - promoters began to downsize to a smaller cluster of markets in 2010, going to fewer stops. Over the years, the festival transformed into a cross-country tour, traveled as far as Europe and continued to attract a formidable lineup of hip-hop luminaries, current chart-toppers and buzzy, emerging rhyme-slayers. With lofty ambitions of being a prime destination for fans of hip-hop, its first year anchored acts such as Redman, Supernatural and a fully reunited Wu-Tang Clan over a day. Rock the Bells staged its inaugural outing in 2004. It happened often and across all three stages Saturday, testing the crowd’s patience. Two-day general tickets went for $165, while festival organizers offered one-day tickets for $99.īut nothing agitated crowds more than the acts starting their sets late. It was a much-needed lift for the crowd after a day of temperatures in the triple digits and logistical bumps in the form of snarled lines into parking lots and at the will-call ticket pickup. Many people appeared awestruck at the “ghost” that sauntered slowly across stage, often stopping to address the audience with prerecorded banter. “What’s up, my thugs,” Eazy asked, albeit much more profanely, as the audience was aglow with thousands of smartphones documenting the moment. The younger concertgoers stood next to the older brothers and fathers who introduced them to the genre.Īs the lights dimmed midway through Cleveland rap posse Bone Thugs-N-Harmony’s set Saturday, a lighting rig lowered onto the stage and, to the tune of 1988’s “We Want Eazy,” the rap legend was beamed onto a well-hidden screen set up on an elevated platform in the middle of the stage.Ĭlad in his signature Dickies and Compton hat, Eazy shuffled through “Straight Outta Compton” and “Boyz in Da Hood” and was joined by Bone Thugs for “Foe Tha Love of $.” The hologram-like performances introduced the two revered greats - Eazy-E from N.W.A fame, ODB from the Wu Tang Clan - to a new generation of rap fans.