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Rock The Bells is an ironman rap music marathon. There’s no way I can go from 12noon to midnite listening to rap music and walking what might amount to be 26.2 miles without having a bump of cocaine. Seeing just how that worked out for many in the crowd of thousands is what keeps me sneedles-free.

Think of Rock The Bells as this grab-ass buffet of multi-genred rap music, old to young, hard to soft, dumb-smart to downright ig’nant. All taking place within the confines of several football fields. It’s mind numbing when you look at the performance schedule and imagine how you will negotiate the time to see every act on every stage.

What’s also mind-numbing is standing within twenty yards of any of the headliner stages. The sound was deafening to the point where you could tell you weren’t losing just hearing but years of your life. You do it anyhoo tho’, because the music being played is the soundtrack to your life

You hear anthems which described the city around you to a tee. How it was all so simple back then. You could walk down the street with an el and a 40oz. in your hand and it wasn’t nothing. How you could slap a pulley into an ignition collar and then use a screwdriver as a car key. You hear the songs that remind you of when the world was yours.

Rock The Bells isn’t all about reminiscing tho’. If you wake up early enough you might could see some of the up and coming and should’a been-could’a been talent who’s still crazy enough to hold onto the microphone. Rock The Bells isn’t really for testing out talent tho’. I told you before its a marathon and the performers are all people who have been running the game for at least a decade.

The Paid Dues stage was reduced to a platform called ‘Grind Time’ [ll]. There were three(3) serious soundstages set up in the venue. The main stage featured NaS, Lauryn Hill and Erykah Badu. The intermediary stage hosted Raekwon and Ghost, Childish Gambino, Mobb Deep and BlackMoon BCC. The tertiary stage had SlaughterHouse and Souls Of Mischief.

There were other acts like Blackstar, Random Axe, Common and Big KRIT but I missed those due to my arrival on the island at 5pm. Like I said earlier, only cocaine could keep you on your feet for the entire afternoon/evening of performances. There is simply too much of a good thing at the Rock The Bells festival.

With all that said, there isn’t a thing I would change about the Rock The Bells festival. The energy of the entertainers was in the right place despite NaS forgetting lyrics, Ghostface calling for a soundcheck mid-performance, or Lauryn Hill doing her magnum opus at 45rpm. Big Noyd in the Hennessy (H.N.I.C.) jersey was the perfect throwback attire to a day of throwback rap.