Last Sunday, we hit up Washington DC for Rock the Bells, a touring festival featuring this summer’s hottest hip-hop line-up. The day started off with disappointing news: co-headliner Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley would not be performing due to a family illness. Fortunately, K’Naan, Tech N9ne, Reflection Eternal (Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek), Common, The Roots, and Busta Rhymes almost made us forget that Marley was a no-show.

Tech N9ne stood out with a powerful set. They thought through every aspect – including blocking, delivery, costumes, make-up – and it showed in their performance. The skill and speed of their rapping was unreal and they even threw in some popping and locking.

It wasn’t until Nas took the stage that we were reminded of Damian Marley’s absence. Not to say that Nas wasn’t great, but the main draw of the tour was the collaboration between the two artists and a preview of their upcoming album, Distant Relatives. To his credit, Nas did his best to make it up to the crowd, bringing in pal AZ (who, along with Nas and Foxy Brown released 1997’s The Firm), Styles P and Pharoahe Monch to help carry the show. Still, I can’t help but feel like we missed out on something major.

Despite Marley’s absence, the show was stellar and everyone on the tour more than delivered. If you’re a fan of hip-hop, we highly recommend that you check it out this weekend. Tickets are still available for shows at the Comcast Center in Boston on July 18 and at the Jones Beach Theater in New York on July 19.

Check out some photos from the show below and watch a preview of Distant Relatives after the jump…