Every year, I count down the days until Rock the Bells. I constantly check Guerilla Union for updates and postings about who may be coming. When I originally saw the list of performers that Chang Weisberg was nice enough to give us, I was not pleased. The concert poster had Wu-Tang headlining with The Street Sweeper Social Club set to be on the main stage. Luckily, the good folks at Guerilla Union came through and added a bunch of different people to the list that made this year’s show set to be the best yet. And, that’s exactly what happened.

Unlike years past, the New York leg of the tour was staged at Governor’s Island, and as any New Yorker knows, getting there isn’t easy. After landing on the island, it was easy to tell that this year’s festival was more like a festival than in years past. Upon entering the gates, we were flooded with tables and tables of t-shirt and food vendors. After spending the first twenty minutes of festival, I reached a table where they were selling original copies of The Boogie Down Production’s Criminal Minded which features songs like Throwback Tuesday’s own 9mm Goes Bang. Sitting behind the table, was no other than the legend himself KRS-One who was nice enough to sign a copy for me.

Once the show started, with an opening Dj set from DJ Premier of Gangstarr, the crowd started shuffling in. After what was a short and subpar set from Premo, it was time to hit the smaller Paid Dues stage where the young Alabama kid, Yelawolf was set to hit the stage. Bringing his unique hair style and classic southern sound to the stage where he performed a bevy of songs off his Trunk Muzik mixtape. While many in the crowd did not really know his work, they seemed to feed off his intense energy for what was a successful set. What made the set even more successful was the fact that Murs decided to join the crowd and listen to Yelawolf for the first time.

Back on the main stage, the list of legends performing was beginning with Slick Rick who was set to perform “The Adventures of” straight through. After listening to him for five minutes, I had had enough. While I understand that he is no longer in his prime and he may be old, he brought zero energy on stage with him, not once hyping the crowd up and standing straight and tall in one spot for his ENTIRE set. After I made the wise decision to leave Slick Rick’s set. I wandered over to see Detroit’s Big Sean.

You may be surprised to hear this, but Big Sean was hands down the best performer at Rock the Bells 2010. His incredible control of the crowd, his ability to keep himself amped the entire time, and his cameo in the crowd made it everything the crowd wanted. He only performed his top songs and even did a sneak peak off his Finally Famous Vol. 3 mixtape, entitled Memories, which at this point you have probably heard.

Big Sean rocking the stage

Next up, the god Rakim, who like Slick Rick was nothing special. Throughout the set, I expected to hear some spectacular stuff from Slick Rick who only performed about half of “The Adventures of”. I was also expecting to see some special guests do their thing on stage, and maybe even at Eric B. tribute. None of this occurred and the god was ungodly.

After being disappointed, I decided to stick around the Paid Dues stage for awhile because all of the main stage artists were letting me down. I was lucky enough to see Murs perform some classics with 9th Wonder on the tables, and finally, a guest experience from Skyzoo. While Murs rocked the stage, with songs like L.A., Bad Man and Can it Be, he failed to do the one song I was hoping for, Lookin’ Fly. Yet, the biggest question of the festival was still to be answered.

Where the hell was Clipse? After arriving at the festival and grabbing the set times, I noticed that the Thornton brothers were nowhere to be found. As disappointing as it was, I was ready for a break. Sitting up against the fence for The Street Sweeper Social Club was a great move. Their unique sound rivals that of The Roots and The Band Eclypse. Their cover of Paper Planes was hands down their best song, and it was nice to see Boots Riley and Tom Murillo. It only got me very excited to see the final set on Paid Dues, and of course, they saved the best artist for last.

The success of Wiz Khalifa’s latest mixtape, Kush and OJ is what led him to such a strong fan base. He came out to the tune of We’re Done, and then spent the next 5 minutes talking about how good the weed in New York is. Khalifa used that to segway into his next song, Still Blazin’. After his weed anthem, he of course, took a short smoking break bring a rolled joint on stage to smoke. He continued with The Kid Frankie, a song no one expected to hear, but one Wiz says he loves. He finished with a staple, This Plane. Need I say more?

Lastly, it was off to the main stage for the final three acts, A Tribe Called Quest, The Wu-Tang Clan and Snoop Dogg. They all performed their top albums, Midnight Marauders, Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers and Doggystyle, respectively. Special guests from these sets only included Busta Rhymes during Tribe. My favorite part of these last three acts was Boy Jones, the oldest son of deceased Wu-Tang member ‘Ol Dirty Bastard performing in his father’s place. He even brought back the popped up corn rows that made his father so famous.

It is always nice to see artists who are somewhat out-dated relive their music. For the Wu-Tang Clan, it was somewhat of a reunion tour because of the fact that each of the 9-members is always out doing some solo stuff. Seeing them on stage together was an epic event and one that any hip-hop fan should relish. As for next year, let’s hope that Guerilla Union can land some big name artists.