Rock the Bells 2009

Yesterday I ventured down to the Toronto harborfront to see a little music festival called Rock the Bells. Hip Hop superstars graced the Amphitheatre stage with sunny rays all day and a full moon at night. The lineup was incredible, even though some big headliners never made it to the Toronto show (The Roots, Busta Rhymes and Common were scheduled to play but cancelled, and Cypress Hill is only playing in the states!!).

Tech N9ne put on an incredibly entertaining show - not to mention they rap almost as fast as Twista which is always fun to listen to. Slaughterhouse (which consists of Joe Budden, Royce Da 5′ 9″, Joell Ortiz and Crooked I) came on a bit strong, but won me over when Joe Budden took it back and played "Pump it Up". RZA and GZA played an ODB song in tribute to him; while Mos Def, Talib Kweli and Nas all made shoutouts to the late Michael Jackson.

Somehow I managed to spot a security guard handing out wristbands for the floor, right before Nas and Damian Marley were playing. They played an amazing show incorporating stuff from their new album Distant Relatives (release date still unannounced) and some of their own stuff - you know, the crowd pleasers. While we were on the floor I managed to get a few great videos of their performance. I especially like the video I took of Damian singing his version of daddy's "One Love". Check it out below:

The official set times for yesterday's show:

THE KNUX 2:00 - 2:20 PM
SLUM VILLAGE 2:30 - 3:00 PM
M.O.P 3:10 - 3:40 PM
SLAUGHTERHOUSE 3:50 - 4:20 PM
TECH N9NE 4:30 - 5:00 PM
KNAAN 5:15 - 5:45 PM
REFLECTION ETERNAL 5:55 - 6:25 PM
RZA 6:35 - 7:05 PM
EPMD 7:15 - 7:45 PM
BIG BOI 7:55 - 8:25 PM
MOS DEF 8:40 - 9:25 pm
NAS & DAMIAN MARLEY 9:45 - 11:00 PM