(Photo via www.photobytone.com)Rock the Bells has been a part of my vocabulary for years. So when my hubby surprised me with near front row seats for my birthday, I was ecstatic!!! Being at Rock the Bells is like being at Hip-Hop school and all the wack acts (Souljah Boy, Hurricane Chris, etc. etc.) need to come and sit in the audience with a pen and notepad to take notes.
First and foremost, I want to address the fact that there were no ladies on the bill this year. Until the tour came to NYC and had a contest about winning an opening performance spot hosted by Ed Lover. Many were called but the chosen was one and SHE (yes I said she) did the damn thing. The winner of the contest was a female DJ/rapper by the name of Jasmine Solano (
@jasminesolano).
She has been on the scene for a while now and can be found spinning for various spots in NYC, including the popular Monday night “Electric Punanny” party at Sway. When she’s not manning the turntables, she’s on the mic, performing “That’s Not It” or “Coco Puff”. My personal favorite is “That’s Not It”. Wearing some cool ass leopard black tights, she worked the stage at Rock the Bells and made her presence known. My only gripe is that the crowd wasn’t as big as it should’ve been for her. She was the only chick on the bill. That deserves kudos in itself.
The line-up this year was impressive. I am not going to get into all that but…
I was thoroughly impressed with the Wu-Tang performance. It was only supposed to be RZA, GZA and Ghostface Killah. We were pleasantly surprised when the other members of the Wu stepped out and blessed the stage, right down to my man Meth!!! Yes, Method Man blessed the stage, ran through the audience and the whole bit. Needless to say, my love for the Wu was rekindled and I cannot wait to see what they bring next. In memory of Old Dirty, they reincarnated his performance in his eldest son who had the look, knew the lyrics and had the spirit of his father (may he R.I.P.). That was definitely a good look for the Clan!
In the wake of all this wack ass music I am forced to listen to on the radio, Rock the Bells and the BHF (Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival) have helped me get through it. There are still more performances to be seen and I wish I could hit them all up. I urge you to support REAL hip-hop and all that these artists bring to the table…
Check out Jasmine Solano -
www.myspace.com/jasminesolano
