On July 29th, 35,000 hip-hop fans gathered at Downing Stadium, Randall’s Island, right off of Manhattan for Rock the Bells, a full day festival featuring some of the biggest names in mainstream and underground hip hop.
One of the first artists on the main stage, who came on with the first rain of the day, was Immortal Technique. Introduced as the “Che Guevara of this hip-hop era,” his politically charged lyrics have gained him a strong following in the underground scene. He started with a furious version of “The Point of No Return.” He shook the crowd with his gruff voice and heavy bass lines from the enormous speakers of the main stage. He then performed “Peruvian Cocaine,” a series of narratives detailing the corruption and human suffering in the South American cocaine trade, from the impoverished worker on the coca fields to the dictators who profit from them. The lyrics makes one imagine the backstage conversations that must have took place between Immortal Technique and the members of Rage Against the Machine. He ended his short set by stating that “Hip hop started with the DJ’s” and giving the floor to DJ GIJOE allowing him to scratch and cut to the audiences delight
At the smaller but equally intense Paid Dues Stage across the muddy field, independent artists performed to dedicated fans
The self proclaimed Natalie Portman stalker, Sage Francis, came out in the mid afternoon dressed in a camouflage tank top, yellow shorts and a golden beret. He stomped back and forth across the stage making vulgar gestures, pumping his fist and serenading the audience with his bizarre and intense lyrics ( “she learned all the words and she works it baby, dangerously catchy and she feels it in her cervix lately, cuz the rhythm is a cancer”). He performed the song “Makeshift Patriot” which he had released as a free MP3 on the internet on October 11, 2001 ominously predicting the political and social climate that would follow the attacks of 9/11 ( “There’s a desperate need of blood for what’s been uncovered under the rubble
Some of them dug for answers in the mess…but the rest were looking for trouble”). He then transitioned into “Slow Down Gandhi”, a fan favorite. Abruptly switching moods, he placed a black sock on the microphone stand, spit on it and then, sucked his own phlegm right back into his mouth. He then exploded into a rapid-fire version of “Civil Obedience” off his new album “Human the Death Dance”. He managed to avoid breathlessness when repeated the chorus: “Typically cyclical simple civil obedience.” Other songs performed during his short set were “Dance Monkey” and “Rewrite.” He ended his show by performing frantic dances of the rotund around the stage which included “the worm”.
As twilight enveloped the crowd at the main stage, thousands of hands were in the air, forming the letter “W”. The chant of “WU, TANG, WU, TANG” started low but was at full volume a few minutes after 8 pm when the collective of Staten Island MC’s came on stage in front of a giant tapestry of a Shaolin temple. Thousands bobbed their heads and sang along to classic hip hop tracks “C.R.E.A.M. (Cash Rules Everything Around Me),” “Da Mystery of Chessboxin’,” and “Shame on a Nigga.” The eight members of Wu-Tang stomped around the stage to heavy beats. Behind them stood a DJ stand with the words “R.I.P. ODB” on it. In tribute to the most bizarre member of the group, who has become a legend since his death in 2004, they performed a song of Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s first solo album “return to the 36 chambers,” “Shimmy Shimmy Ya.” After sundown Wu-tang left to chants and cheers setting the stage for the main event.
After 12 hours of standing, rain, overpriced sustenance, and treading in mud that smelled suspiciously like the port-a-potties the crowd’s energy level was low. But explosive cheers rocked through the crowd the moment a giant black flag with a five pointed red star in the middle, representing the Zapatista movement, was displayed on the backdrop of the stage. It became clear who everyone had come to see. Rage Against the Machine came on stage for only the third time since they broke up 7 years ago. Zack de la Rocha said ” We are Rage Against the Machine from Los Angeles, California” and immediately jumped headfirst into “Guerrilla Radio.” The slightly more grizzly looking frontman and co. brought the intensity as if the whole band had had their eyelids taped open in front of continuously streaming episodes of the “O’Reilly Factor” for the past seven years. As they went into the thumping, rhythmic bass of “Bulls on Parade” the crowd undulated with furious moshing. No matter how far you went back in the front area, there were circles of people letting out the fury that no other band can release. Overheard between songs: “I forgot how much better they are than Audioslave.” Other songs included “Bullet in the Head,” “Bombtrack,” “Sleep Now in the Fire” and ” Freedom.”
The full day of nearly nonstop intensity channeled through 26 artists, came to a close with 30,000 fans, middle fingers in the air screaming “F_CK YOU I WON’T DO WHAT YOU TELL ME.”
