Rap legends Ice T, Ghostface Killah and Raekwon will hit the stage this summer at the Art of Rap Festival.

Created by Ice-T & Mick Bentson following the 2012 release of the Something From Nothing: The Art Of Rap documentary, the festival has grown to encompass some of rap's pioneering stars in the four years since its creation.

This year is no different. The festival has a stacked line-up, which pays homage to some of rap's greatest acts, including EPMD, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, Big Daddy Kane, Eric B. & Rakim, Naughty By Nature and more.

In effort to show respect to the core elements of hip-hop, graffiti, b-boying, and DJing will have a prominent spotlight throughout the festival.

“The Art Of Rap cares about break dancers, graffiti artists, MCs and DJs,” co-founder Mick Bentson told HipHopDX. “So while people are alive, The Art Of Rap will have you on the show. It’s not just for the classic artists. It’s for the art of rap — from beginning to today.

Bentson says it's the festival's mission to incorporate legendary acts into the show, as hip-hop has long been accused of casting its veterans to the wayside for the newer generation. However, a new era has arrived.

“The Art Of Rap is for the culture of Hip Hop. For those who really want to relive the times they remember this music and bring those who don’t understand this music, The Art Of Rap is the place to go," he says.

In the end, Bentson says it's really about honoring acts while they're still living. Mobb Deep's Prodigy performed his last show with the group during The Art Of Rap Las Vegas tour stop last year, before suddenly passing away in June. Bentson says for reason like that, he's intent on paying homage now.

“The Art of Rap works with artist while they are still living,” he told DX. “We do not wait until an artist passes way so we can talk about how great they were. BET waited until Prodigy passed away to do a tribute and they had never even invited them to a show or invited them to sit in the audience. Same with Craig Mack and Luvbug Starski who was one of the first people who said ‘Hip Hop’ before there was Hip Hop. We want to work with artists while they’re still here.”

Visit the theartofrap.net for more info.

 

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