Exclusive: Black Hippy, Tech N9ne, RiFF RaFF, Common, Talib Kweli, Earl Sweatshirt, Pusha T and more help start 2013's Rock the Bells.

Yesterday (September 7), Rock the Bells kicked off its first day in San Bernardino, California with performances from Black Hippy, Common and Kid Cudi. The festival also featured a hologram-like virtual performance of Eazy-E during Bone thugs-n-harmony's set. When the virtual performance was announced, Rock the Bells organizer, Guerilla Union's Chang Weisberg, spoke about the plans.

"I've talked to Bone Thugs-N-Harmony and Tomica Wright," Weisberg said in an exclusive interview with HipHopDX in June. "I shared with them the vision and the knowledge and it was after those discussions that they entrusted me with the responsibility."

The performance also marked one of Layzie Bone's final showings with the group following his decision to step away from Bone thugs-n-harmony. Layzie has announced that he will no longer be a member of the group after fulfilling obligations. Recently, Krayzie Bone spoke about Layzie's decision to step down from the crew.

“It is what it is,” Krayzie said in an exclusive interview with HipHopDX. “He has his reasons. We’re still going to support him and everything he does. He’s actually going to be performing with us at Rock The Bells. I guess he needs to step away because there are some things he wants to do as a man, and as men, we can’t do nothing but respect that. We’re going to continue as a team and keep moving forward with this grind.”

A video of the hologram-like performance of Eazy-E can be seen below via Revolt.

Black Hippy & Kid Cudi Close Rock The Bells' Day 1

Kid Cudi closed Rock the Bells on the main stage after a showing from Black Hippy. The TDE crew performed individual cuts with a surprise appearance from Danny Brown during Ab-Soul's portion of the show. Kendrick Lamar ended Black Hippy's set, thanking the Southern California crowd for continued support.

Cudi's set included selections from his Man on the Moon series of albums and from his last effort, Indicud. Following his performance, Cudi thanked fans via Twitter. 

Brother Ali Comments On Rock The Bells' Diversity

The festival's Day 1 lineup also featured artists from various regions and generations, a theme that can be found throughout the Rock the Bells run, which is slated for three more stops in San Francisco, Washington D.C. and New York. 

"It's dope," said Brother Ali, who performed on Rock the Bells' HipHopDX stage. "It's such an important thing that we don't make the same mistake that was made in Rock and Jazz and other types of music before, where they were created as folk art forms and then the industry came and fractioned them up, sectioned them off into different fanbases. I think it's really important within Hip Hop that we understand that we all are under the strata of Hip Hop. That's one of the things I love about Rock the Bells...That you really get to see a sample of all that Hip Hop has to offer."

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