One of the coolest and most diverse hip-hop package tours is ready for you to lace up your Adidas and bounce on over: Rock the Bells 2008 (which last year featured a reunion of Rage Against the Machine) will showcase the music of A Tribe Called Quest, Nas, Mos Def, De La Soul, Rakim and a reunited Pharcyde. Other acts on the bill include Method Man and Redman, Raekwon, Immortal Technique, Dead Prez, Spank Rock, Jay Electronica, Murs and more. Supernatural, B-Real (Cypress Hill) and Scratch will serve as MCs on the main stage. There are only a few female artists on the bill, but they’re all earning attention for their work and are pushing boundaries of hip-hop: Santogold, DJ Amanda Blank, and, freshly signed to Downtown Records, Kid Sister.
Kids, tell your parents that this hip-hop tour should be fun and only fun. Murs was quoted on rollingstone.com as saying, “Some people don’t want to give hip-hop tours a chance, thinking it’s a violent art form. But Guerilla Union found a way to make a real nice, peaceful, hip hop festival that is like Heaven on Earth.”
Check out these angels in America (and one Canadian date) later on this summer. For tickets and other info, visit guerillaunion.com
July 19 - Chicago, IL @ First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre
July 20 - Toronto, ON, Canada @ Molson Amphitheatre
July 26 - Boston, MA @ Tweeter Center
July 27 - New York, NY @ Jones Beach Amphitheatre
Aug 2 - Miami, FL @ Cruzan Amphitheatre
Aug 3 - Philadelphia, PA @ Susquehanna Bank Center
Aug 9 - Denver, CO @ Coors Amphitheatre
Aug 16 - San Francisco, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheatre
Aug 23 - Los Angeles, CA @ Glen Helen Amphitheatre
Aug 30 - Vancouver, BC, Canada @ Venue TBD