an offshoot of organizer Guerilla Union's Rock the Bells gathering that was co-created eight years ago by Living Legends rapper Murs.

The event, held as usual beneath the blazing hot sun in San Bernardino County, adopted a familiar formula, with tons of the genre's top-tier old- and new-school acts spread across three stages. That included standout sets from Kendrick Lamar and his Top Dog Entertainment fellowship Black Hippy; upstarts Macklemore & Ryan Lewis; fest vets Tech N9ne, Immortal Technique and Talib Kweli; long-running trio De La Soul; Murs' collaboration with Fresno rapper Fashawn; plus the Grouch and Eligh (also repping Living Legends) and the Hieroglyphics crew's core quartet, Souls of Mischief.

There was one welcome difference: the bash was moved from the unsightly NOS Events Center to the much larger– not to mention grassier, gustier and overall more accommodating – San Manuel Amphitheater in Devore's Glen Helen Regional Park.

That's really saying something given that most artists slated for this year's fest comprised group acts – Dipset, Odd Future (OFWGKTA), Living Legends, Hieroglyphics, Dilated Peoples, Boot Camp Clik and Wu-Tang Clan, among others, all of them ranging from three to a dozen members in some cases.

Throughout the day, however, there were also plenty of worthy solo acts. One of those – female rapper Psalm One, from Chicago – opened the small Monster Energy Stage, reminding the audience throughout her set to support any female MCs they saw later on. In that category, none were stronger than Dessa, who delivered some of the fiercest verses for Minneapolis crew Doomtree,