A mix of genders, ages, races, and characters stand together, huddled in one massive source of energy with eyes eagerly perched on the stage in front. The old airport hanger provided the perfect shelter from the storm, and as the rain beat outside, the beat continued to reign inside.

The event which was promoted by Guerilla Union at the International Centre/Arrow Hall was a tremendous success. July 20th was definitely a watershed marker, with Supernatural’s supernatural rhymes, and the enigmatic abstractness of Tribe’s persona, hip-hop was redefined. The audience of the show was a channel for the vibes and rhymes being released on stage. As such, the aim of the all-day festival; to ‘rock the bells’ was realized. At one point in the day Supernatural asked the audience, “Does your heart beat hip hop?” Anyone who was there can attest; our bells rang loud, and our hearts beat hard.

The day saw performances from some of the most respected artists in the industry: A Tribe Called Quest, Rakim, Nas, Mos Def, The Pharcyde, De La Soul, Method Man and Redman, Murs, The Cool Kids, Jay Electronica, Wale, Kidz in the Hall, DJ Scratch, with Supernatural hosting the epic showcase.

Kidz in the Hall were one of the first groups to kick it off, and the crowd responded with blazing energy, despite the late-morning time spot. They started the day right with their smash single Drivin Down the Block. One thing was clear, Kidz in the Hall had fun on stage. They joked with the audience, laughed, and had a good time. Their upbeat poppy beats mixed with hard drums solidified their signature sound. Their raps were passionate and energetic. By the time they got around to their new song Love Hangover the drums were reverberating in the lungs of the audience, making everyone beat their head to the tune.

Supernatural came on stage shortly after and did an absolutely unreal freestyle. True to his name, he rocked a Spiderman shirt and kicks, but neither matched his own lyrical superpowers. His power is lyricism, words are his weapon, and while the audience is his tool, his spell is mysticism. When he was commanding the stage, those in attendance stood paralyzed in a trance. Supernatural unleashed the nihilistic supremacy of words themselves and confirmed it by calling himself the “human dictionary”. The audience watched intently, amazed at his grasp of the English language, responding with bewildered “OHHHs!” throughout his freestyles.

Supernatural also had supernatural presence. His command of the audience was unparalleled. No one made a sound while he spoke, and as an audience, one of the greatest signs of respect is creating that silent trance, bobbing your head and waving your arms, creating a perfect vessel for the rhymes to pass through. Supernatural kept the audience engaged, taking their suggestions and adlibbing with individual members. When energy levels were down between acts, he was there to motivate. Truly, one of the best artists to hit that stage.

The Cool Kids were super cool. Their image, as their name suggests was definitely cool. They looked like an updated version of Fresh Prince back in Will Smith’s colorful days. Their sound was cool too; mixing hip-hop with rockabilly to create funky beats. The Cool Kids were like a black version of the Beastie Boys, but not quite as cool. What was missing was the carefree air of the Beasties, their parody and fun sense of self-mock. The Cool Kids took themselves a little more seriously but managed to create a dynamic sound, different from mainstream hip hop today.

Rock The Bells did experience some trouble with the stage sound. Jay Electronica had some words for the sound crew and heard a couple ‘boos’ from offstage. He addressed the audience directly, and pulled them back. He even threw his mic stand into the audience. Once the sound was tightened he was free to push his performance to the limit. His whole performance reflected his style; electrically charged beats mixed with a pulsating current of energy. He might have started off rocky but he ended with a bang. Before he got off stage he reminded the audience of the purpose of ‘Rock the Bells’; for everyone to join together beyond differences and allow music to do its thing.

Although Jay Electronica was electric, Murs absolutely exploded on stage. His performance was probably the most high-energy of the day. The light show during his set, mixed with him jumping around on stage rocked the audience, who became a passionate mob during his set. You can imagine the quality of his music if Tribe themselves has quoted him as their influence. His first song Better than the Best was an instant success with the audience who sang along almost intuitively. Towards the end of his set he asked the stage crew to stop adding so much stage smoke (not that kind of smoke) which showcased his down-to-earth style. Murs is definitely not into shallow appearances and special effects. His lyrics are organic and deviate away from aesthetic hip-hop; you won’t hear him rapping about crystal.

In Rakim’s absence, De La Soul was happy to take the stage by storm. As soon as they appeared on set, people who were scattered around the vast airport hanger rushed the stage to hear some old school beats. Thousands of hands shot up in the air in support of De La’s beats. They took some time before performing to send a shout out to the late J Dillah and gave him a “moment of music, not silence”. The crowd responded with heads down and hands up and before long the electric jazz melodies superimposed themselves over hard driving bass drums. De La Soul has been around for almost 20 years, but even after two decades they still know how to hold it down.

Pharcyde was another old school group who came back to rock out with instrumental beats. This created a more unified sound than some of the previous acts. Next to Mos Def, Nas, Q-tip and Meth and Red, the crowd reacted strongest to Pharcyde who amplified the whole venue with their signature sound. They came back to put on a killer performance. Their sound surged through the hall, and their lyrics leaped off stage.

The energy of the audience remained high for Mos Def’s performance which was more energetic than his sometimes mellow nature. Mos Def also joined Q-tip on stage collaborating on old school hits, which the audience soaked up with pleasure. The crowd went crazy for Ms. Fat Booty screaming the words with nostalgic rage. Mos Def also performed some tracks off his most recent album True Magic which the audience responded to with the same intense energy. On stage he had a kind of regal presence; this is a guy who has been nominated for 2 Grammys, a Golden Globe and an Emmy! The audience could feel his intelligence which shone in his peaceful yet passionate demeanor.

However, peaceful is not the word to describe Method Man and Redman who unleashed a fury of hard rock over their hit Da Rockwilder. They (literally) lit up the stage, and performed consistent hits through a hazy fog of smoke. Appropriately, the crowd went crazy for How High raising their lighters and letting clouds of smoke escape between hands raised high in the air.

After a long delay, the audience burst into cheers as Rakim finally appeared on stage. As if plagued by Murphy’s law, Rakim had yet more difficulties on stage than he did off stage. The sound crew was responsible for yet another sound conflict but this time Rakim was royally pissed off. His mood was exacerbated by the audience who could not complete his rhymes when he extended the mic out to them. Rakim threatened to leave the stage but was convinced against it by an explosion of protest from the audience. Finally, when things settled down he was able to showcase his passionate raps and aggressive style.

The audience built up even more excitement as Nas took to the stage accompanied by thunderous beats off his latest album Untitled. He took command of the stage almost instantly, and his cocky, self proclaimed ‘King of New York’ ego thrived on the excitement. With DJ Green Lantern backing his beats, Nas persisted with tracks off his new album, but it was clear the audience was thirsty for his classic material. He finally gave in with If I Ruled the World and Hate Me Now. During Nas’ set, the audience stored even more pent up excitement and energy, eagerly awaiting the recently reunited Tribe Called Quest. But catharsis never came for many fans who left under the pretense that Tribe would never come out.

But of course Tribe pulled through and burst on stage to the beginning of Buggin Out. The crowd roared with applause and cheers as the long awaited group joined Q-tip on stage for an unforgettable set. The crowd was a frenzy during Oh My God rapping to the beat, chanting and screaming for more. Tribe delivered as promised with another crowd favourite; Check the Rhyme. The highlight was their updated version of Find My Way which transformed the crowd into a choir, amplifying Tribe’s words with their own, and echoing loud and strong. The wait for Tribe was well worth it.

Tribe Called Quest was rewarded by the audience for sticking to their signature sound; jazz infused melodies over soulful rhymes. The revered group blasted through their set with vibes heavy with bass lines and put out a positive and passionate energy which was the perfect ending note to ‘Rock the Bells’. Tribe was the most fitted group to close the show not only because of their popularity but because they were most relevant to the cause. They have been ‘rocking the bells’ since the group was formed in 1985. Confronting social issues and taking a stand for just causes, Tribe took the nihilistic and aggressive path Hip Hop is currently on and spun it in a new direction. Their message coincides with the motivations of ‘Rock The Bells’ and resonates deep in the soul of all who witness their performance; music is the weapon of the future