Guerilla Union, established in 2000, was formed to create artistic outlet during an “urban movement” in entertainment. Its concert showcased the cutting-edge in skateboarding, snowboarding and music, offering an experience that united music lovers and bands for the most unique festival around.
Rock the Bells, a colorful concert with a world-class bill of hip hop artists in the underground scene, premiered Saturday.
Angel Stadium’s parking lot in Anaheim was host to the two day exhibition of snow, skate and music extravaganza that was promoted as one of the most anticipated hip hop festivals in recent history, reuniting the group A Tribe Called Quest.
“It was so hot,” said Kourtney Brumfield, sophomore speech communications major and fan of hip hop music, “not only because I got to see my favorite artist (Mos Def) twice in a three week period but (the artists) made a good connection with their fans.”
Guerilla Union deviated from the average concert and offered an empowering experience for the performing artists and its audience, providing an immense space for a hip hop platform of entertainment.
Saturday’s playbill included big names like Xzibit, Cypress Hill and Jurassic 5 in addition to JayLib, MC Supernatural, North Carolina natives Little Brother, the CMA, Crown City Rockers and Self-Scientific.
Guerilla Union and its partners Dragon Festival, Moto Music Mayhem and Rock the Bells outdid itself from 2003 in providing a festive, memorable experience.
While the two day exhibition displayed everything from hot rods to skating apparel vendors like DCShoeUSA.com and Paperdoll Productions, the headlining performance was the reunion of members Q-Tip, Phife and Ali Shaheed Muhammad that made up A Tribe Called Quest with special guest Mos Def.
“It is a really enjoyable experience,” artist Supernatural said. “You’d think you were coming for a family reunion.”
Many of the performers were grateful of the array of talent Guerilla Union coordinated as well as the opportunity to network with music industry favorites.
“It’s always a good performance,” B-Real, member of the group Cypress Hill, said, who recently performed for Guerilla Union’s Smokeout Festival and Rock the Bells in 2003.
Rock the Bells’ talent electrified the audience that was especially elated to have been introduced to Universal Records’ hip hop violinist Miri Ben-ari whose stringing has been played over Twista’s “Overnight Celebrity,” Kanye West’s “The New Workout Plan” and Terror Squad’s “Lean Back.”
Crowd reaction to the not-so-mainstream group JayLib was not as responsive.
"It was cool for a young crowd,” James Yancey, known as Jay Dee, from the group JayLib said.
His partner, MadLib, said that a mature, overseas audience is more appreciative.
“If they don’t know, now they know,” he said.
Musical sets featuring Jurassic 5 was followed by an Xzibit performance, featuring a dynamic sample of songs from this album “Weapons of Mass Destruction” and hits like “Turn It Up” and “X” proved more than explosive for the crowd.
In addition to playing songs from their current album, Powers in Numbers, the sextet stayed true to the fundamentals of an onstage performance, rocking the crowd.
A group member, Zaakir known as Soup, said that experiencing a J-5 concert is funky, yet soulful representing on stage is a reflection of their record.
After giving reference to the recent death of Old Dirty Bastard, also known as Dirt McGirt, A Tribe Called Quest took captivity of the highly energetic crowd of Orange County performing their favorites “Buggin’ Out,” “Award Tour” and “Find My Way.”
“Oh my gosh,” Erica Pembleton said who attended Rock the Bells as her first hip hop concert.
Old school rappers such as Special Ed, Chino XL, Pharcyde and MTV news correspondent and radio personality Sway could not resist witnessing the reunion of such talented performers.
Sunday’s Holiday Havoc headlined a homecoming for the Offspring and also featured an all-rock bill of the Buzzcocks, the Distillers, Finch and Skinhead Rob.
Holiday Havoc was an exceptional display of music and its impact on the youth. Angels Stadium proved a fantastic venue for a combination of music, skateboarding and snowboarding. This winter exhibition will be talked about well into the New Year.
Rock the Bells continues its North American tour and releases a documentary on the series in 2005.
For more information, visit www.guerillaunion.com or www.rockthebells.net.
Adrianna Gardner can be reached at agardner@ulv.edu.