"Rock The Bells" with Tha Pharcyde

My own personal "Wonder Years" theme song

I just got my press credentials for Rock The Bells this weekend, but regardless, I'm pretty 'cited about the whole thing.

Rock the Bells is an annual hip-hop concert festival, put on by Guerilla Union promotion company. It has gained a pretty solid reputation as a no frills hip-hop music and culture showcase. It's also been a gathering grounds/coming out party for reunited acts. A Tribe Called Quest, Wu-Tang Clan, and Rage Against the Machine have all used the tour to promote re-united fronts.
This year, ATCQ re-joins the travelling circus, but it's the arrival of a newly reunited The Pharcyde that has me particularly geeked. ATCQ is tied for my greatest rap group of all-time (along with De La Soul), and I plan on doing a more extensive column on my anticipation of their show later in the week. But The Pharcyde is equally gratifying in terms of their reunion and the mark they left on me growing up.
Back when I was a teenager (before I had status and, well, you get the point), The Pharcyde was the first west coast hip-hop crew that broke through commercially and spoke to me personally. "Bizarre Ride II Tha Pharcyde" was a soundtrack to my youth, the kind of album that I could press play on and everybody would nod along in approval.
When the group broke up, I was taken back. I thought they hung it up too soon, before realizing their full potential. Now that they're back, and I get to relive my youth for one afternoon. Thankfully, I never feel too old for this type of stuff.