Rock The Bells 2008 Jones Beach, Long Island Review

[Deity Allah]

F*ck all the theatrics, let's just get into it.

1. Tribe Called Quest brought that bitch down last night Q-Tip came out did his solo thing for a minute with Mos Def playing the role as Hype-man for about 20 minutes or so before Ali, Jarobi & Phife came out to tear the roof off with of course Trevor coming out to do is verse from Scenario and Put Your Ears Where My Eyes Can See. Also, they had Consequence on stage with them as another hype-man Performance 10/10

2. Esco came out with a live band which in my opinion killed his set. Also, he was forgetting his lyrics and not finishing them off which was WACKKKKK!!! It was my first time ever seeing Nas live and I was definitely disappointed. If you all haven't heard by now, he brought Hov out to do his verse from both Success & Black Republicans which of course was the highlight of his set, but still didn't save it in my eyes. Performance 6/10

3. Meth & Red as always brought the energy. Reggie & Cliff went through all their classics and brought out Keith Murray, Slick Rick, DJ Kool & E.P.M.D. straight classic! Them niggaz get a 10/10 just off of that shit alone.

4. Mos Def & Talib Kweli. Well, it was really Mos Def's set, but of course he brought out the other half of the Blackstar Embassy to hold shit down with him. Them niggaz did they thing and held it down. Plus, Mos fell back on the singing and kept it straight hip-hop for the most part so that was a plus. They did bring out Pharoahe Monch who did Simon Says and tore it down as well. Performance 9/10

5. Raekwon & Ghostface. Now, I'm a Wu-Tang frantic just like the majority of you all on this site, but I'll keep it 100, them niggaz was the worst out of everybody. Not a lot of energy, suspect track selection (Ghostface's Be Easy & Celebrate), They sound was fucked up and just a bunch of other fuckery to coincide. The highlight of their set was when they performed The Watch & Rainy Dayz Remix, both not expected and out of left field. They brought out Biz who did a couple of old school joints, again, classic! Performance 5/10

6. The Pharcyde. One of my favorite groups ever. They were kinda at a disadvantage because they are a West Coast Group on a dominant East Coast Bill on the East Coast and not a lot of the crowd was to familiar with their stuff other than Drop, Runnin' & Passin' Me By. Tre & Fat Lip held it down but Amani's & Bootie Brown's mics were really fucked up. Plus, both Armani & Bootie Brown have really high pitched voices and with they mics and that sound system... But, when them niggaz performed Ya Mama... Them niggaz had me over there cutting on the nigga next to me mom's It was great to see the four of them back together (minus J-Swift) and the love they had on the stage together looked genuine. Performance 8/10

7. De La Soul. They were straight, but what killed their set was the sound system. I couldn't overstand a word they were saying. Plus, how are you going to do a show in Long Island, be from Long Island and not perform Wonce Again Long Island? That one really pissed me off. I'm a Connecticut nigga, but I was just ready to be shoutin' out "LONG ISLAND, LONG ISLAND FOR LIVE, LONG ISLAND" They brought out Dres from Black Sheep who I kid you not looks exactly the same now as he did 15 years ago. Of course he did The Choose is yours and Fever for the Flava, had the crowd go bonkas and slid off, classic! Performance 6/10

8. Immortal Technique. Honestly, I have one of his albums, but I'm not familiar with his material like that so I was kinda lost during his set. Plus, he was on during the dead of heat so I wasn't trying to study that Viva Revolution shit right then and there cause a nigga was Hot What was cool about his set though (no pun intended) was at the end he walked through damn their the entire crowd to greet everybody, that was real so I respected that. Performance 7/10 since the White Boyz were going crazy when he jumped on stage

9. Dead Prez. I got to the venue when they were on stage and apparently, they were the first to perform on the main stage. Honestly, I didn't get to really see their set because I had some drama with my tickets and had to go back to the box office to handle that, so I missed the majority of whatever they were talking about. But I did catch the end when they performed Hip-Hop which is always a "Crowd Pleaser". Won't rate because I didn't see their entire performance

Because I got their late, I didn't get to see nobody on the Pay Your Dues stage. I really wanted to see Murs & Jay Electronica performed, but I missed them. I heard out of all the people who performed on that stage, that country nigga B.O.B. held it down the most, but

Overall, it was a great show with a lot of surprises that pleased the appetite.

[Deity Allah]

Or yeah, no Rakim nor Little Brother, what was up with that?

[disposablearts]

no rakim??? damn.

[Osiris Of This Shit]

Y'all got those special guests and you're bitching about Little Brother and Rakim? I fucks wit them too, but come on!

[KZA]

i hope we get something awesome like that this sat

[Deity Allah]

Y'all got those special guests and you're bitching about Little Brother and Rakim? I fucks wit them too, but come on!

I'm from The East Coast, I'm spoiled In the words of my man Jada "I'm Sorry Tomorrow"

[Osiris Of This Shit]

I'm from The East Coast, I'm spoiled In the words of my man Jada "I'm Sorry Tomorrow"

Haha, I'm from NY too... I knew you guys would have the best show.

[RynMur]

Damn that's how you write a review. Good lookin.

Did the time sets stay on track as they were listed or was the show longer? (and how much longer)

[Deity Allah]

The show ended exactly at 12 by my watch. I made a mad dash to the parking lot when Q-Tip went into his final monologue as it pertained to the state of hip-hop to beat traffic.

The schedule was pretty much as on point and everybody stuck to the allotted time slots. The only that was different that I can remember from the set list was that Mos Def & Rae & Ghost were inverted. The schedule had Rae & Ghost going on after Mos Def but they ended up going on before him. All the sets though felt like the were timed perfectly. I don't remember a time where I had a "Damn, if this nigga don't get off the stage!" or "That's it?" moment.