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5 Unforgettable Rock The Bells Festival Moments

5 Unforgettable Rock The Bells Festival Moments

Published Fri, March 14, 2025 at 10:45 AM EDT

1. Queen Latifah - 2023

Queen Latifah held court a the 2023 Rock The Bells Festival. Arriving in regal attire which punctuated her royalty, the Queen ripped through fan favorites such as "Latifah's Had It Up To Here", "Wrath Of My Madness", "Just Another Day", "Dance For Me", and "Come Into My House".

The highlights of her energetic set included bringing out Big Boi of Outkast, Zhanè, Naughty By Nature (who opened with a power packed rendition of "Uptown Anthem"), and Monie Luv for "Ladies First". Rapsody, Remy Ma, Yo Yo, and MC Lyte also joined the Queen of royal badness for her perfect set.

2. Rakim - 2023

The God MC rolled through with Technician The DJ and effortlessly ran through classics like "Paid In Full", "Don't Sewat The Technique", "Juice (Know The Ledge)", "My Melody", "Move The Crowd", "It's Been A Long Time", "Mahogany", "Microphone Fiend", "Eric B. is President", "I Know You Got Soul", and "I Know You Got Soul". The God showed and proved that his catalog remains bullet proof almost four decades after his debut.

3. Lil Kim - 2022

The Queen Bee entered with "Queen Bitch", and rocked her '97 anthem "Crush On You" with special guest Lil Cease,"Get Money", "I Can Love You Better", "Quiet Storm" featuring Havoc of Mobb Deep, "Lighters Up", and "All About The Benjamins". Kim showed that she still rules the stage. Check out her performance below.

4. Run-DMC - 2023

The Kings from Queens gave a master class in live performance at the 2023 Rock The Bells Festival. Setting things off with their '84 game changer, "Rock Box", Run & D ran through "Sucker MC's", "It's Like That", "It's Tricky", "Here We Go", "Beats To The Rhyme", "Mary, Mary", King Of Rock", "Run's House", and "Down With The King".

After "Down With The King", the group was instructed that they needed to leave the stage, and a defiant Run told the crowd that he refused as this was a "Queens thing". An energetic performance of "Peter Piper" followed, as Run continued to defy time warnings. "My Adidas" followed, then the seldom performed "Raising Hell" followed by the career changing "Walk This Way". The Kings of Rock remain iconic stage performers, with one of the dopest catalogs in the game.

5. The Trill Mealz Food Court - 2022

The first-ever HIp-Hop food court experience, Trill Mealz Food Court was featured at the 2022 Rock the Bells Festival which took place in Queens, NY on August 6.

Curated by rap legend Bun B, the court included a selection of food and beverage vendors from legendary Hip-Hop artists including Nas (Sweet Chick ), E-40 (Goon With The Spoon), Jadakiss and Styles P (Juices for Life), Ghostface Killah (Killah Koffee), and Mia X (Team Whip Them Pots). The "fully immersive experience" also included local Queens-based restaurants and NYC favorites.

“Food and Hip-Hop are both forms of entertainment and self-expression,” says Rock the Bells founder LL COOL J. “Food has always been a theme within Hip-Hop and are uniquely connected. Hosting the Trill Mealz Food Court at the Rock The Bells Festival at Hip-Hop’s birthplace of New York City, allows us to really connect fully with the community and create a fully immersive way to experience Hip-Hop.”  

The food court was a huge success, with Bun B's Trill Burgers attracting a line that didn't subside for the entire event. Rock The Bells made history, once again.

JayQuan/Rock The Bells

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