After this year’s star-studded Rock the Bells lineup was announced, fans were excited but that may just be the beginning. On the night of the press conference, Guerilla Union president Chang Weisberg spoke with HipHopDX to talk about why fans can still expect more, saying he’s “still working.” He also discussed the importance of this year’s show, saying fans will never get to see a tour like this again.
Over the years, Rock the Bells had a tradition of reuniting Hip Hop groups, but that focus has gone to recreating classic albums to be performed on stage in their entirety. When asked what sets this bill apart from those of previous years, Weisberg noted that this was just “a great start.”
“From the topline view, 10 classic records, just like boom, and then, the hottest new Hip Hop performers in the country, hands down,” he said. “That’s it. It’s just that combination. It’s not the year of some crazy reunion but I think it’s a great start
to it. I already know, people are going to ask, ‘what else are you going to announce? What else is next?’ It’s cool, I get it.”
Understanding this, Weisberg also explained that he’s still working on getting other acts to join the bill. During the press conference, he acknowledged that he would love to have Jay-Z, Kanye West, Eminem and others join the tour, something he also expressed to us.
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“I’m still working on it,” he said. “Everybody knows I’m working on it. I would love to put an ad out, a big takeover campaign on HipHopDX that reads, ‘Rock the Bells Wants Dr. Dre! We Want OutKast!’ They know it. I’ve talked about it every year. I hope that Rock the Bells is around long enough to realize what everybody wants. I hope they also appreciate what they’re given this year. I can guarantee this: you will never see what you’re about to see this summer again.”
B-Real, who Weisberg said this event could never have been done without, expressed the importance of topping every year.
“That became the question: Can these guys top this show? And every year, they end up putting a show together that everybody talks about like, ‘Are they going to top this one?’”
Souls of Mischief’s Opio also explained why this event is special to him.
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“The crowd that comes to this event,” he said. “I’ve been to the one in L.A. and the one in the Bay, so I can’t really speak from experience on everywhere else, but the crowd that comes here is knowledgeable about music. Every time you have a conversation about Hip Hop with someone, they kind of have to be in the same mind frame…All of those people come to these shows. The true Hip Hop fan is there. So, it adds to the magic of the moment.”
For more information on this year’s lineup, stay tuned.
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