hiptics.com

As some of you may know, I was invited to represent Hiptics.com at Rock The Bells summer hip hop festival this summer. I requested a press pass for the show in Washington, D.C. (technically Maryland) and happily drove from Atlanta to D.C to see Nas, Busta Rhymes, Wu Tang Clan, Slaughterhouse, Big Boi, Common, The Roots, and many more perform. A big shout out is due to Ben F, Andrew G, Nicole P, and Elliot for their hospitality.

This wasn’t my first time attending Rock The Bells. In the summer of 2007 I caught the show in my home state, specifically in Miami, Florida. It was a great experience, and I was thrilled (no homo) to see Nas live for the first time. However, this year was the first time I walked up to the ticket booth at any concert and received a free ticket and a press pass. For that reason alone, it was a special experience.

Instead of writing out a long-worded review of my experience, I’m going to give you a different type of concert breakdown. Let me know if you like this style of review.

Highlights

-Common’s performance was really good. I arrived mid way through the Chicago MC’s set. He kicked a live freestyle, and put so much energy into his performance that it looked like someone poured ten gallons of water on him.

-Seeing Big Boi (1/2 of Outkast) perform live for the first time was really cool, especially when he kicked off the show with some classics. I needed sunglasses to stare at his diamond necklace, though.

-I only caught the end of Slaughterhouse’s performance, but managed to film Joe Budden spit his verse from “Microphone” that the crowd interpreted as a Jay-Z diss. My video got picked up by some major sites and was viewed over 22,000 times in two days. I wonder if Jigga watched?

-I dapped Joell, Crooked I, and Royce Da 5′9” as they exited the stage. Royce remembered me from our phone conversation this summer, so that was cool. Joe Budden was all gloomy compared to the rest of the group. I said, “Nice show, Joe.” Budden looked back at me, nodded his head, and slowly touched his fist to his heart. I’ve been a supporter of his since the Cutmaster C mixtapes, but I referred to him as Emo Budden for the rest of the day.

-Murs was the MC of the Paid Dues Stage (Stage 2) at Rock The Bells. He was nice enough to do a drop for Hiptics.com. Murs called me “sir.” I found that a bit funny, especially since I’m 21.

Me: What’s good, Murs? I’m with Hiptics.com and…
Murs: How you doing, sir?

-Alchemist was backstage at the Paid Dues Stage getting ready for his set. I gave him a handshake and told him I’m a fan of his work as he was leaving. He shook my hand, but said nothing. I’m assuming he was blazed out of his mind. After all, it’s the Alchemist.

-Evidence is a cool guy. He was just wandering around backstage, talking to random people. I approached him and told him how I caught his performance in Amsterdam this past fall. My favorite coffeeshop in Amsterdam, Grey Area, sponsored a show of his during the week of Cannabis Cup. He was real down to earth, and thought it was pretty cool that I knew about Grey Area. Here’s a tribute video I made about Grey Area while I was living in A-Dam.

-Raekwon arrived with what looked like his entire extended family. Shout out to Rae, though. I approached the legendary MC after his set, and he was more than willing to do a drop for Hiptics.com. Watch my footage of Raekwon’s performance.

-Peter Rosenberg (Hot 97) using his Flip Cam to record Raekwon’s performance.

-Busta Rhymes live > any rapper live. I’ve never seen a rapper put so much energy into one performance. Check out the video I recorded of Busta Rhymes bringing out M.O.P. to perform “Ante Up.”

-The Roots live = phenomenal. Ask Jimmy Fallon.

-KRS-One freestyling.

-The best part of Nas’ performance was the surprise guests he brought out. First, AZ comes out to rap his verse from “Life’s A Bitch” before going into “Sugar Hill,” “Phone Tap,” and more. Later, Styles P surprises the crowd and goes through some of his most popular songs. When Styles hit the stage I got hype! I’m a big fan of the Ghost and had always wanted to see him perform live. As the instrumental for Styles P’s “My Life” came on, Pharoahe Monch hit the stage to sing the hook. Then Pharoahe did a few of his more famous songs. “Simon Says,” anyone?

Let-Downs

-Damian Marley was unable to make it because of a family emergency.

-I expected Nas would bring Wale on stage to perform “Chillin.” Wale wasn’t listed as a performer for any of the RTB dates, but he should have been included as a surprise guest in his hometown. The crowd would have loved it.

-Nas had trouble remembering some of his words. There were a few times when he would just stop rapping. I’m sure he had to adjust his set since Damian wasn’t there, but I expected more from one of my favorite rappers of all time.

-DJ Green Lantern, who served as DJ for Nas, kept f’in up. Nas kept correcting him on his transitions, and at one point had to yell “Green!” into the microphone to get the Evil Genius’ attention. Weak sauce.

If you have any specific questions about Rock The Bells, leave them for me in the comment section. I’ll update the review if any more thoughts come to me. Shout out out Ryan M. for reminding me to write this review on Hiptics.com’s Facebook wall.

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