Another West Coast OG for the #staywinning team: Ice T Curating the “Art of Rap” Hip Hop Festival to carry on the legacy of all the eras in Hip Hop to date!…and the list of performers is bananas!!!
If you’re a fan of the culture and you’ve never seen Ice T’s Art of Rap documentary—you may not really be a fan! But priorities aside, Ice T Curating the “Art of Rap” Hip Hop Festival continues the mark made by the freestyles, stories, interviews and coast to coast coverage of lyrical craft in the well received 2012 film. Now as the rapper, actor, rocker, director and business man preps for his summer gig as a day time talk show host, he’s gathering a ridiculous all-star list of notables together.
Rolling Stone reports Ice T Curating the “Art of Rap” Hip Hop Festival which will co-headline Ice T himself and The Game, but features a slew of acts over a 2-day period in Irvine and Mountain View, California. The rap legend says it’s “the most prolific and essential hip-hop festival ever,” and with a roster like this—he ain’t lying:
“The festival will take place on two stages and feature more than 25 artists representing different points in hip-hop history. Other artists performing at both dates include Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Afrika Bambaataa, Big Daddy Kane, Biz Markie, Doug E. Fresh, EPMD, Kurtis Blow, Mack 10, Slick Rick, Grandmaster Melle Mel, King T, tha Alkaholiks, Too Short and Xzibit, among others. Rakim, Warren G and Naughty Nation, featuring Naughty by Nature members Treach and Kaygee, will perform at the Irvine date.”
…surely you can’t find that line-up anywhere else! The events will also feature celebrations of all “the elements” as well as a car show, freestyle battles and live art murals by Self Uno. Ice T Curating the “Art of Rap” Hip Hop Festival is definitely a good look especially since it’s for Hip Hop, by Hip Hop.
While newer artists like Kendrick Lamar and Earl Sweatshirt stake their claims, and OGs like LL Cool J and Common take over mainstream, and rappers like Chamillionaire create success in other industries, and milestones like the birthday of DJ Kool Herc and the 20th anniversary of Mobb Deep’s “The Infamous” pass us everyday, it’s important to see our ownership of the now billion-dollar-global industry that is this culture we love. A culture that was originally ‘for us, by us’ and which no one believed in once upon a time.
We “pledge allegiance to the Hip Hop.” Check the gallery up top for more info!
