Photos by CarlosShoots/HellaDecent/Remedy.
In order to properly celebrate the Rock the Bells festival’s tenth year in existence, you’d have to show that the hip hop culture is steadily running through your veins. Guerilla Union pulled out all the stops to commemorate the 20-year anniversary of Wu Tang Clan’s formation complete with virtually-created holograms to honor the lives and legacy of Ol’ Dirty Bastard and Eazy E. On the first day of Rock the Bells, Bone Thugs had the honor of presenting one of their valued mentors in hologram form on the first day of Rock the Bells during their set time. It was as if Eazy was rocking the crowd in the flesh, even with the call-and-response factor. As “Straight Outta Compton” began, you’d swear it was one of the hottest records of 2013 from the way the crowd cheered and recited the lyrics word for word. On day two, all of the Wu (aside from Raekwon and Ghostface Killah) showed that they still aren’t nothing to f*ck with when they performed some of their classic cuts prior to resurrecting Big Baby Jesus for even more Wu-themed greatness with “Shimmy Shimmy Ya” and “Shame on a N*gga” featuring his son Young Dirty Bastard. There were dozens of great performances over the weekend including Black Hippy, A$AP Mob, Pusha T, Curren$y but it seems that the hip-hop holograms stole the show.
In between Rock the Bells’ range of performances, people would kill time by breaking out into dance, starting up rap cyphers, hitting up the nearest food truck to satisfy their munchies and soaking up the rest of what Rock The Bells has to offer. Maybe one of the most random things that the festival had up their sleeve was having Deebo (yes, that Deebo) ride around on a Monster energy drink bike around the Shoreline Amphitheater. Apparently, it was to promote a contest to win that bike but everyone mobbed Deebo for Instagram pictures as soon as he tried to ride by. Congrats to Guerilla Union for not only hosting a successful event, but also to 10 years doing it well.