DO YOU know the importance of a Skypager? If you're a young hip-hop fan, the answer is probably "no," even if you've heard A Tribe Called Quest's "Skypager," which glorified the popular and, at the time, cutting edge paging technology. The song dates The Low End Theory, the album on which it appeared, more vividly than any actual date could.

But rapping about the actual lives they were living, rather than some hyped-up or thugged-out fiction, was one of the things that distinguished A Tribe Called Quest from other early-'90s rappers. They paved the way for other so-called conscious or alternative hip-hop acts to be themselves without shame and do whatever they want to do.

After five full-length albums and 10 years as A Tribe, Q-Tip, Phife Dawg and Ali Shaheed Muhammad broke up, only to reunite for a short tour in 2006. They're together again to headline the 2008 Rock the Bells tour. At a press conference announcing the event, Murs (Living Legends) emphasizes the historic quality of the show.

"There wouldn't be hip-hop without these guys ... hip-hop was dying, you know what I mean?" says Murs. "And just to see everybody here, man, and some back together or some still doing it like De La, it's amazing, it encourages, you know, a young man like myself to think I could do it."

The easiest way to find out what the lineup is for this year's Rock the Bells tour is to read the next paragraph. But probably the most impressive way is to jump on YouTube, search for "Rock the Bells 2008 Lineup Freestyle" and watch MC Supernatural rhyme his way through the entire lineup off the top of his head without ever missing a beat. Virtuosic displays of skill like Supernat's reinforce the fact that hip-hop is, despite numerous pronouncements to the contrary, a living, vibrant art form.

This year's Rock the Bells lineup highlights a golden era of alternative hip-hop defined by De La Soul and headliners A Tribe Called Quest and the Pharcyde. Both Tribe and Pharcyde are sporting all their original members for the tour, and are joined by a deep pool of talent, including Nas, Mos Def, Rakim, Method Man & Redman, De La Soul, Raekwon & Ghostface, MF Doom, Immortal Technique, Dead Prez, Murs, Wale, Spank Rock, Jay Electronica, B.o.B., Kidz In the Hall, Amanda Blank, Dirty Heads, Afrika Bambaataa, and hosted by B-Real (Cypress Hill), Supernatural & Scratch and DJ Green Lantern.

A Tribe Thing

Even with such a strong lineup, it's no surprise that the A Tribe Called Quest performances are the most highly anticipated on the tour. The Queens-based Tribe released their first full-length album, People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm, on Jive Records back in 1990. Influenced by De La Soul's 1989 masterpiece of quirky innovation, 3 Feet High and Rising, Tribe's output was playful and smart, with a distinctive emphasis on jazz and bebop samples. It wasn't music to dance to, it was music to chill to and think about. They skewered the rap game on tracks like "Show Business" and chronicled urban life in "Everything Is Fair," a song built around P-Funk hook, chanting "Everything is fair when you're living in the city."

Their 1993 release, Midnight Marauders, was more polished and danceable, "with an average bounce meter in the area of 95 bpm," according to the album's so-called tour guide. And while "Electric Relaxation" proved that neither Tip nor Phife is squeamish about explicitly clever lyrics about sex, they also proved they could turn alternative hip-hop into commercial success.

Midnight Marauders was their top-selling record, but qualitywise, their follow-up, Beats, Rhymes and Life, shares the peak. The production is dark and slithery-smooth, even causing Q-Tip to dance noticeably different while performing the songs. They took on the East Coast/West Coast rap feud in "Keeping It Moving," and spread pathos all over the record, manifesting in song titles like "The Pressure" and "Stressed Out," but it pops so hard that it never wilts. On "Word Games," Phife manages a glimpse of how it all worked for so long: "Ego. I'm on my own jock skill/ Cuz if I don't say I'm the best, tell me who the hell will?"

  ROCK THE BELLS 2008 happens Saturday (Aug. 16) at 11am at Shoreline Amphitheatre, 1 Amphitheatre Pkwy., Mountain View. Tickets are $35.50–$75. (408.998.TIXS)

Send a letter to the editor about this story.