Cream of Elite

Public Enemy: Aging prophets of rage bring the noise. Photo courtsey of Slamjamz Records.

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More About

• Ol' Dirty Bastard
• Chang Weisberg
• Nas (Rapper)
• Underground Hip-Hop
• Hip-Hop and Rap

Another remarkable return is that of Nas, once known in the Queensbridge projects as Nasty Nas. While his 1994 debut, Illmatic, is a classic, Nas has struggled to remain relevant with each subsequent album. After getting served on Jay-Z's "Takeover," Nas finally seems to be improving on his one-hot-album-every-10-years average—though 2006's Hip-Hop Is Dead was tight, unfocused, open-eared and overblown. Even so, the title does suggest a possible new motto for Rock the Bells: Hip-hop is dead; long live hip-hop.

ROCK THE BELLS AT HYUNDAI PAVILION AT GLEN HELEN, 2575 GLEN HELEN PKWY., SAN BERNARDINO; WWW.ROCKTHEBELLS.NET . SAT., 11 A.M. $76-$151. ALL AGES.