Rage Against The Machine's Zack de la Rocha performs at Rock The Bells on Saturday
Photo: Bryan Bedder/ Getty Images

NEW YORK — Backstage at the Rock the Bells show on Randall's Island felt like a live version of the MTV News show "The Greatest Hip-Hop Groups of All Time."

Several acts mentioned on the program popped up. You spotted Public Enemy's Flavor Flav walking around with his family, shaking hands and hugging people like he was Barack O'Flava on the campaign trail. Later, you saw ?uestlove of the Roots talking to P.E.'s Chuck D, followed by Wu-Tang Clan's RZA and Masta Killa milling about by the food tent, while Erick Sermon, Parrish Smith and DJ Scratch of EPMD sat inside munching on some post-show snacks. The Clan are the co-headliners of the hip-hop-heavy bill, along with rock and roll gods Rage Against the Machine.

Ten years ago, the two groups joined forces for a groundbreaking trek: the biggest rap group in the universe touring with a collective that had just as much standing in the rock universe. Rock the Bells not only marks a reunion of the two camps but of the groups themselves. By now, we're used to the Clansmen's M.O. of separating and re-forming every few years. In fact, they headlined Rock the Bells three years ago, before the untimely death of one of their most popular members, Ol' Dirty Bastard, in 2004 (see "Ol' Dirty Bastard's Death Stuns And Saddens His Peers"). Rage, on the other hand, went through an old-fashion breakup. Their revolutionary lyrics and battleground beats have been sorely missed by fans.

Saturday was the first of two shows on Randall's Island, with a myriad of MCs fattening up the lineup: Mos Def and Talib Kweli, Poison Pen and Immortal Technique, the Roots, Supernatural, David Banner and Cypress Hill.

"Sawed-off shotgun, hand on the pump," Cypress' B-Real and Sen Dog rapped from "Hand on the Pump," with the crowd yelling along.

"If that felt good," Real said after the song. "This should feel incredible!

"Here is something you can't understand," he continued, a cappella.

"How I could just kill a man!" the audience responded.

This, of course, signaled the start of Cypress' "How I Could Just Kill a Man," which was followed by "Insane in the Brain." "Insane" definitely had the biggest jump factor of the night.

Chants of "Wuuuuuu-Taaaang, Wuuuuuu-Taaaang, Wuuuuuu-Taaaang" were thick in the air as the stagehands prepared for the Clan's set. The group's catalog is so deep that every song in their concert is a fan favorite — they have no time for anything obscure. "Wu-Tang Clan Ain't Nuthing ta F--- Wit" started the musical melee, followed by "Da Mystery of Chessboxin'."

The excitement surrounding Wu-Tang was tempered by the absence of ODB and the knowledge that he'll never perform with the group again. Various members and the fans had to rhyme his part on that song ("Here I go, deep type flow/ Jacques Cousteau could never get this low") and on "Shame on a N---a."

As with most Clan shows, Method Man was undeniably the most energetic, bodysurfing and even standing on top of the crowd during records such as "Method Man" and "Bring the Pain."

Redman came out to join Meth on "Da Rockwilder," while Ghostface Killah took the spotlight on "Fish." The Wu ended with a full-team effort: "Triumph."

When Rage came on, it was as if a mushroom cloud had come over the Island — their presence was just so powerful. Zack de la Rocha is so commanding, and sonically the music overshadows what the band has done on wax. One kid said it best: "This is a f---in' concert." And that was only two songs in. The young crowd gave a respectable response to the rap acts, but there was no doubt that they had come to see Rage.

"Come wit it now," de la Rocha yelled, inciting his fans during "Bulls on Parade." "People of the Sun" came next, further increasing the energy.

"Yeah, never forget that the whip snapped ya back," Zack rapped. "Ya spine cracked for tobacco/ Oh I'm the Marlboro man/ Our past blastin' on through the verses/ Brigades of taxicabs rollin' Broadway like hearses/ ... This is for the people of the sun! It's comin' back around!"

The guitars on "Bullet in Your Head" were cutting and deadly. "Just victims of the in-house drive-by," the audience sang along. "They say, 'Jump,' you say, 'How high?' "

Although Rage were performing hits from years ago, their militant sensibilities still hold true today. De la Rocha addressed the crowd, telling them not to believe what they may have seen and heard on "fascist" television station Fox News. He said his group was wrongly quoted as saying they think the president should be assassinated.

"Nah," he said. "What we said was he should be brought to trial as a war criminal and hung. That's what we said.

"This system has become so brutal and cruel it needs to profit from wars so it could survive as a world power," he added.

He urged American citizens to stand up to the government "with the same force the Iraqi youth are fighting with every day and bring these mutha----ers to their knees. Wake up! Wake up!"

After dropping the mic and leaving the stage with the band, Zack and the rest of Rage returned for the closer, "Killing in the Name."

On Sunday, Rock the Bells continued with a slightly different lineup of supporting performers: Rakim, Slick Rick and Erykah Badu were all added to the bill. Down the road, acts such as Nas will be taking spots on the roster.

Been to a cool show lately? Wanna share? Check out MTV News' You R Here blog to find concert reviews and submit your own reports, pictures and video.

• Rage Against the Machine
• Wu-Tang Clan
• Cypress Hill

The "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" soundtrack album
Photo: Rockstar Games

2Pac, Cypress Hill, Rage Against the Machine, Public Enemy, Bell Biv DeVoe and other artists who dominated the airwaves in the late 1980s and early 1990s will add the musical accompaniment to "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas."

As was the case with the last edition of the popular video-game series, the music will be available independent of the game, this time as both a double album and an eight-disc box set.

To complement the game's setting in the era when films like "Boyz N the Hood," "Juice" and "Colors" were at the forefront of pop culture, gangsta rap weighs heavily on the soundtrack, but other genres play their part, too. James Brown's "The Payback" and Rick James' "Cold Blooded" embody funk, while Rage Against the Machine's "Killing in the Name" and Faith No More's "Midlife Crisis" take care of the hard-rock set. Country (Willie Nelson), classic rock (Heart, Eddie Money) and reggae (the Maytals) are also represented.

AFI's cover of Nine Inch Nails' "Head Like a Hole," recorded exclusively for "San Andreas," is the only new track in the set.

In the game, whenever the main character, CJ, carjacks a ride, the music heard is determined by which station the car's radio is tuned to. Players can listen to more than 150 tracks on eight fictitious, genre-specific stations. Besides the 23 music tracks, the double album also features a DVD component that tells CJ's back story and serves as a prologue to the story that unfolds in the game (see " 'Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas' — Beware Of Hostile Hippies, Hare Krishna Gangs").

Both releases are due November 23, nearly a month after the game hits stores on October 26.

The seven CDs that comprised the box set for the last installment in the GTA series, 2002's "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City," which was set in the '80s, were also released independently.

Track list for the "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" double album:

Disc 1:

• "The Theme From San Andreas"
• Rage Against the Machine - "Killing in the Name"
• 2Pac - "I Don't Give a F---"
• James Brown - "The Payback"
• Ronnie Hudson - "West Coast Poplock"
• Guy - "Groove Me"
• Eddie Money - "Two Tickets to Paradise"
• Cypress Hill - "How I Could Just Kill a Man"
• The Maytals - "Pressure Drop"
• Slick Rick - "Children's Story"
• Rick James - "Cold Blooded"
• Raze - "Break 4 Love"

Disc 2:

• Ohio Players - "Funky Worm"
• Heart - "Barracuda"
• Compton's Most Wanted - "Hood Took Me Under"
• Lyn Collins - "Think (About It)"
• Public Enemy - "Rebel Without a Pause"
• Faith No More - "Midlife Crisis"
• Bell Biv DeVoe - "Poison"
• Max Romeo & the Upsetters - "Chase the Devil"
• Eric B. & Rakim - "I Know You Got Soul"
• Willie Nelson - "Crazy"
• AFI - "Head Like a Hole"

• Tupac
• Public Enemy
• Rick James
• Cypress Hill
• Rage Against the Machine

Eminem (file)
Photo: John Shearer

• D12
• Foxy Brown
• LL Cool J
• Canibus
• Cypress Hill

Cypress Hill's B-Real
Photo: MTV News

With work under way on Cypress Hill's seventh annual Smoke Out festival, two names keep popping up in B-Real's brain.

"We've been wanting to get Eminem," said the rapper, who shares his manager, Paul Rosenberg, with the Detroit icon. "And the Chili Peppers. They're a hot band. It'd be great for them to play the gig, but we'll make it a fun festival for everybody regardless."

Plans are in the early stages, but B-Real said the show will go down in the Los Angeles area in October or November.

In the meantime, Cypress Hill will continue to promote their March release, Till Death Do Us Part (see "Cypress Hill Bring It Back Home With Till Death Do Us Part"), with one-off performances.

On August 14, the group will share the stage with Kid Rock, Ludacris, Lil Jon, Nickelback and Our Lady Peace at the Coors Light Mountain Jam at Red Rocks Amphitheatre near Denver. Atlanta's Aquafina on the Bricks and San Diego's Street Scene festivals are also on the itinerary. "Summertime in the States, there ain't nothing like it," B-Real said.

Later in the summer, the group will release "Busted in the Hood" as the follow-up single to "What's Your Number." The song uses the same beat and storytelling style of the Beastie Boys' "Paul Revere."

" 'Paul Revere' was a pretty big song for me back in the day; they were a pretty big influence on us and everything," B-Real said. "And that particular story I wrote within the style that they wrote. It was a true story, and at the time of that particular story, the Beasties were a big part of all our lives. ... So it's kinda to pay tribute, and basically to tell a story."

In between concert dates, B-Real also hopes to finally put the finishing touches on Kush, his much-talked-about side project with members of Fear Factory and Deftones (see "B-Real Finishing Up Kush LP, Going Grimmer For Next Cypress Hill Album").

"Everybody's labels have released everybody for that particular record, so it's just a matter of us getting back into the studio and finishing it up," B-Real said. "But there's some very heavy material there just waiting to be put on the grill."

When not in the studio with Cypress or Kush, B-Real is working on material for other friends. "I'm just trying to develop as a producer," he said. "I spend a lot of time writing."

• Eminem
• Red Hot Chili Peppers
• Cypress Hill

Cypress Hill's B-Real (file)
Photo: Jason Squires

It took Cypress Hill six albums and more than a dozen years to get back to their roots.

The title of B-Real, Sen Dog, and DJ Muggs' seventh and latest album, Till Death Do Us Part, released Tuesday, is a testament to the group's longevity, while its songs highlight the foundation upon which their 15-year-long career has been built.

"We kind of just let it flow," B-Real said. "We didn't really think about any sort of direction. If anything, we wanted to capture the essence of what the group is, and that's the hip-hop side of who we are. That's what got us into this; that was the one thing on our mind. Everything else just fell into place."

Rather than furthering the inroads into hard rock and heavy metal hybrids they paved on their last two studio albums, 2000's Skull & Bones and 2001's Stoned Raiders, Cypress Hill fully embrace their hip-hop roots on the dark, gangsta raps "Another Body Drops," "Street Wars" and "Money," while "Till Death Comes" and "Never Knows" are ruminations on thug life. As its title hints, "Latin Thugs" honors their ethnic background with a horn loop, peppy percussion, lyrics spit in Spanish, and a guest appearance by Latino MC Tego Calderón. "That track is obviously for the Latin cats out there who've been representing and putting it down for us for the longest," B-Real said.

But most prominently, Cypress Hill's proclivity for a particular plant is represented by the reggae and dancehall vibes woven through songs like "Ganja Bus," which features an appearance by Damian Marley (yes, one of Bob's sons), "Bong Hit," and the album's first single, "What Is Your Number?," which lifts a riff from reggae-flavored punk pioneers the Clash's "Guns of Brixton."

"We're always trying to evolve and make the sound grow," B-Real explained. "And [reggae] is one thing that we never touched on, which has been a big influence on us. So it made sense to put a reggae vibe behind [the album]. I don't think people were expecting something like that" (see "Cypress Hill Tap Into Reggae For New LP — What Took Them So Long?").

Fans of the Beastie Boys, especially, will be perplexed by "Busted in the Hood," a track that takes the Boys' 1986 classic "Paul Revere," adds a pinch of bouncy reggae flavor, and alters the lyrics into a story about a drug dealer caught by the cops, rather than a tale of rhymin' and stealin' in the old West.

"It's our story told to their style," B-Real said. " 'Paul Revere' was big in pretty much all the neighborhoods in Los Angeles, as far as ganstas go. The gangstas took that song and came up with their own sh--. It took me back to those days when I was out in the street with those guys listening to that song."

While Till Death Do Us Part refers to the core trio, the album boasts several guests. Besides Calderón and Marley, "What's Your Number?" features an appearance by Rancid's Tim Armstrong, and "Last Laugh" finds rapper Twin and Mobb Deep's Prodigy lending a hand. "Whenever I walked into the studio, Muggs had a different collaboration going," B-Real said.

Cypress Hill kick off a four-week tour with Blink-182 April 29, after which B-Real said the group may take off for Europe. And in between working on his much-talked about side project Kush, with members of Fear Factory and Deftones (see "B-Real Finishing Up Kush LP, Going Grimmer For Next Cypress Hill Album"), he can be found splattering his rivals with paintballs on a team, the Stoned Assassins, he formed with Everlast (see "Everlast Battles Will Smith, Takes Out White Trash"). Still, further collaborations are not out of the question.

"I'd like to work with Busta [Rhymes]," B-Real said. "He's always been someone that I wanted to work with because our voices are so different. He's always been one of my good friends. Maybe Eminem, Jay-Z ... I like Jay-Z a lot. I hope that if he [actually retires from music] that he's happy and fulfilled with what he wants to do with his career. But at the same time, as a fan, I definitely would like him to keep making hot records."

Cypress Hill tour dates, according to Columbia Records:

• 4/25 - Seattle, WA @ Showbox
• 4/29 - Nampa, ID @ Idaho Center  
• 4/30 - West Valley City, UT @ E Center 
• 5/1 - Englewood, CO @ Coors Amphitheatre 
• 5/3 - Dallas, TX @ Smirnoff Music Centre 
• 5/4 - Selma, TX @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre 
• 5/5 - The Woodlands, TX @ C.W. Mitchell Pavilion 
• 5/7 - Atlanta, GA @ HiFi Buys Amphitheatre 
• 5/8 - Orlando, FL @ TD Waterhouse Centre 
• 5/9 - West Palm Beach, FL @ Sound Advice Amphitheatre 
• 5/11 - Charlotte, NC @ Verizon Wireless Amp. Charlotte 
• 5/12 - Raleigh, NC @ Alltel Pavilion at Walnut Creek 
• 5/14 - Columbus, OH @ Germain Amphitheater 
• 5/15 - Maryland Heights, MO @ UMB Bank Pavilion 
• 5/16 - Bonner Springs, KS @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
• 5/18 - Minneapolis, MN @ Target Center

• Cypress Hill

Usher (file)
Photo: Arista

Get ready for revenge of the N.E.R.D. This week, super-producers the Neptunes put the spotlight on their rock outfit, N.E.R.D. Their second album, Fly or Die, features the single "She Wants to Move" and a guest appearance by Good Charlotte's Benji Madden on "Jump."

Next up is Usher's Confessions. The hit "Yeah!" features cameos by Ludacris and Lil Jon, but the album isn't all good times. Usher gets dark on "Confessions Part II," "Burn" and "Caught Up."

Eagles of Death Metal, the hard-rock band featuring Queens of the Stone Age's Josh Homme's drumming alter ego, Carlo Von Sexron, release Peace Love Death Metal this week alongside the Vines' new one, Winning Days. On the follow-up to the ubiquitous Highly Evolved, frontman Craig Nicholls noisily expresses touching sentiments like "F--- the World."

As we all know by now, Now That's What I Call Music! puts popular current hits on one album. The 15th edition features "Toxic" by Britney Spears, "Holidae In" by Chingy, "I Don't Want You Back," by Eamon and "With You" by Jessica Simpson. In other compilation news, Ruben Studdard and Simple Plan appear on the "Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed" soundtrack.

Two live classic-rock double-disc sets will be released this week. The Allman Brothers Band's One Way Out was recorded at the Beacon Theater in New York, and Lou Reed's Animal Serenade was taped at the Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles.

Cypress Hill's Till Death Do Us Part finds the rappers waxing poetic about their favorite subject on such songs as "Ganja Bus" and "Bong Hit." Meanwhile, ethereal Alpha go Stargazing and Carl Thomas says Let's Talk About It. If he meant the rest of the new releases, he's onto something.

Out Tuesday, March 23:

• 7 Sons of Soul - 7 Sons of Soul (Verity)
• Allman Brothers Band - One Way Out (Peach/Sanctuary)
• Ben Arthur - Edible Darling (Bardic)
• Avion - Avion (Console/Image Entertainment)
• Bonnie Prince Billy - Greatest Palace Music (Drag City)
• Blockhead - Music by Cavelight (Ninja Tune)
• Borialis - What You Thought You Heard (Capitol)
• Joyce Cooling - This Girl's Got to Play (Narada Jazz)
• Cypress Hill - Till Death Do Us Part (Columbia)
  Buy Now: Till Death Do Us Part (Columbia)
  
• Angel Dean & Sue Garner - Pot Liquor (Diesel Only)
• Descendents - Cool to Be You (Fat Wreck Chords)
• Die Form - InHuman (Metropolis)
• Cara Dillon - Sweet Liberty (Sanctuary/Rough Trade)
• Wasis Diop - Everything Is Never Quite Enough (Artemis)
• DJ Sh--bird/Revenge - Welcome to the Party (Narnack)
• Eagles of Death Metal - Peace Love Death Metal (Ant Acid Audio/Rekords Rekords)
  Read: "Queens Frontman Takes Passenger Seat In Eagles of Death Metal"
• Eyedea and Abilities - E&A (Epitaph)
• Lorraine Feather - Such Sweet Thunder (CMC Int'l/Sanctuary)
• Mimi Fox - She's the Woman (Favored Nations)
• Eliza Gilkyson - Land of Milk and Honey (Red House)
• Sarah Harmer - All of Our Names (Zoë/Rounder)
• Joni Harms - Let's Put the Western Back in the Country (Wildcatter)
• RJ Helton - Real Life (Jive)
• Honeydogs - 10,000 Years (United Musicians)
• Ellis Hooks - Uncomplicated (Artemis)
• The Hurt Process - Drive by Monologue (Victory)
• Hyper - Wired (Thrive)
• Iron and Wine - Our Endless Numbered Days (Sub Pop)
• Jackass - Plastic Jesus (BYO)
• The Kite-Eating Tree - Method: Fail, Repeat (Cowboy Versus Sailor/Suburban Home)
• Bernie Leadon - Mirror (Really Smart)
• Leftover Salmon - Leftover Salmon (Compendia)
• Levinhurst - Perfect Life (Full Contact)
• Lowgold - Welcome to Winners (Sanctuary)
• Madison Park - Boutique (BasicLux)
• Ian McLagan & the Bump Band - Rise & Shine (Gaff)
• James McMurtry - Live in Aught — Three (Compadre/RED)
• Bruce Molsky - Contented Must Be (Rounder)
• David Lee Murphy - Tryin' to Get There (Audium)
• N.E.R.D. - Fly or Die (Virgin)
  Read: "N.E.R.D. Step Up Their Game On Fly Or Die, Reminisce About Teen Years"
  Buy Now: Fly or Die (Virgin)
• Andy Narell - The Passage (Heads Up)
• Joanna Newsom - The Milk-Eyed Mender (Drag City)
• Onelinedrawing - Volunteers (Jade Tree)
• Panurge - Throw Down the Reins (Nettwerk America)
• Particle - Launchpad (Or Music)
• Pastor Troy - By Any Means Necessary (Universal)
• The Rasmus - Dead Letters (Interscope)
• Jon Rauhouse - Steel Guitar Rodeo (Bloodshot)
• Lou Reed - Animal Serenade (Reprise)
• The Riddler - Dance Mix NYC 5 (Tommy Boy)
• Curtis Salgado - Strong Suspicion (Shanachie)
• Langhorne Slim - Electric Love (EP, Narnack)
• Smugglers - Mutiny in Stereo (Lookout!)
• Soil - Redefine (J)
• The Standard - Wire Post to Post (Yep Roc)
• Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band - Tour 2003 (Koch)
• Start Trouble - Every Solution Has Its Problem (Columbia)
• Sticks and Stones - Shed Grace (Thrill Jockey)
• The Hiss - Panic Movement (Sanctuary)
• Carl Thomas - Let's Talk About It (Bad Boy)
• Nestor Torres - Sin Palabras (Heads Up)
• Usher - Confessions (Arista)
  Read: "Usher Lets Skeletons Out Of The Closet On Confessions"
  Buy Now: Confessions (LaFace)
• Vines - Winning Days (Capitol)
  Read: "Vines Saddle Up And 'Ride' To End Of The World"
  Buy Now: Winning Days (Capitol)
  
• Peter White - Confidential (Columbia)
• Widespread Panic - Night of Joy (Sanctuary)
• Wumpscut - Bone Peeler (Metropolis)
• Various artists - Bring You to Your Knees: A Tribute to Guns N' Roses (Law of Inertia)
• Various artists - Now That's What I Call Music! 15 (Capitol)
• Various artists - "The Punisher" soundtrack (Wind-Up)
• Various artists - "Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed" soundtrack (Warner Bros.)
• Various artists - Sing Along with Putumayo (Putumayo)
• DVD: Harry Connick Jr. - Only You (Columbia)
• DVD: Andy Cooper - Hot Jazz Festival (Music Video Distributors)
• DVD: Iggy and the Stooges - Live in Detroit 2003 (Music Video Distributors)
• DVD: Kelly Osbourne - Live at the Electric Ballroom (Sanctuary)
• DVD: Switchfoot - Live in San Diego (Columbia)

March 30:

• Aerosmith - Honkin' on Bobo (Sony)
  Read: "Aerosmith Blues Album Inspired By Bike Crashes And Funny Phrases"
• Bob Dylan - Bootleg Series 6: Concert at Philharmonic Hall (Sony)
• Janet Jackson - Damita Jo (Virgin)
  Read: "Janet Jackson Making Sexiest Album Yet, Producer Says"
  Buy Now: Damita Jo (Virgin)
• Various artists - Music From "The O.C." Mix 1 (Warner Bros.)

April 6:

• Barry Manilow - 2 Nights Live (BMG)
• Paul Oakenfold - Greatest Remixes (Topaz)
• Tamia - Still (Elektra)

April 13:

• Various artists - "Kill Bill 2" soundtrack (Maverick)

April 20:

• Hanson - Underneath (3CG)

May 4:

• Kimberley Locke - One Love (Curb)
  Read: " 'American Idol' Finalist Kimberley Locke Is Radio's '8th Wonder'"

• Usher
• N.E.R.D.
• Eagles Of Death Metal
• Cypress Hill
• The Vines

• Cypress Hill
• Hatebreed
• Xzibit
• Superjoint Ritual
• Papa Roach

• Cypress Hill
• Hatebreed
• Xzibit
• Superjoint Ritual
• Papa Roach

Cypress Hill's B-Real
Photo: Jason Squires

SAN BERNARDINO, California — Despite torrential rain, fickle acoustics and delays caused by the grossly tardy rapper DMX, Saturday's Smoke Out festival still lit up the NOS Events Center, where Ice-T licked female flesh and X delivered a short yet spiritual performance.

"I know it's wet out there," Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda said to 21,000 soaked tokers waiting for X, "but bounce with us!" Led by the Jell-O-fingered beats of DJ Joseph Hahn, audience members, many wearing black hoodies and plastic marijuana leis, slammed their bodies to nü-metal anthems "Faint" and "Crawling" before joining the singer on a melodic, bloodthirsty "In the End."

Linkin Park stirred up the crowd even more by inviting Ice-T of Body Count and surprise 4:20 artist Xzibit — who was greeted with a sea of pumping fists and X-crossed arms — onstage for some rap-metal ecstasy. It was the peak performance of a genre-smashing night that included appearances by Body Count, Obie Trice, Hatebreed, Papa Roach and Pennywise, among others.

Toking onstage next to a 25-foot, golden pot-leaf-bellied Buddha, Cypress Hill also stepped in for DMX. "This is tradition," said Smoke Out organizer B-Real, taking a puff before launching into the legendary "Hits From the Bong." "For y'all who don't smoke," he said smiling, "just enjoy the smell."

Earlier in his trailer, B-Real reiterated his sentiments about the festival he started six years ago to celebrate all things herb. Outside, punk-rock girls chanted along with a vodka-chugging Obie Trice, and later cholos cut a rug in the arena to the hypnotic rhythms of DJ Doc Marten.

"It's all good," said B-Real. "That's what this day is all about. Come out, enjoy the show and have some fun. It's a day for people who want to partake and all, but it's mainly about exposing people to different kinds of music."

On the same stage, Ice-T led Body Count in one of Smoke Out's most talked-about performances, exceeding his set time and setting off a chain of delays with the angry, gnash-your-teeth rap and metal of "KKK Bitch" and later "The End Game" off the band's upcoming album, Murder for Hire.

"No way, Ice! Keep going, baby!" one fan shouted when the stage crew threatened to shut him down. Instead, Ice broke into "There Goes the Neighborhood," igniting a chorus of wild fans who chanted every word and went nuts when Ice booty-slapped a leather-clad dancer before peeling off her top. Forget about inhaling. Ice licked her and the audience roared some more.

Shortly after, mini mosh pits formed when hardcore thrashers Hatebreed, taking the night off from their Jägermeister Tour with Slayer, hit the stage. "Everybody's too high!" Hatebreed singer and "Headbanger's Ball" host Jamey Jasta yelled at the irie audience members. Taking his cue, guitarist Sean Martin whipped them into shape with the thunderous, machine-gun licks of "Empty Promises."

Poppier material proved the most crowd-pleasing when Papa Roach tested out new songs like "Done With You" and "Getting Away With Murder," a funky, rump-shaker that got the electronica peeps up and gyrating. With piercing eyes and a wild grin on his face, frontman Jacoby Shaddix crowd-surfed his way through "She Loves Me Not" and "Last Resort" while fans thrust their fists in the air at his urging.

By the time DMX showed up, the audience had thinned to a dedicated few thousand. Still, they tossed umbrellas aside to dance to thumping bass lines and snippets of the legendary rhyme slinger's "We Right Here" and "X Gon' Give It to Ya." "I'm f---in' with this audience," DMX said to his homie, Bazaar Royale, when he'd cut a song short.

The last thing out of the New York MC's mouth was not a hardcore rap, but a curse-free prayer to God. A final pair of crossed arms shot in the air before the sound of sloshing shoes drowned out X's cries.

For more sights and stories from concerts around the country, check out MTV News Tour Reports.

• Ice-T
• DMX
• Linkin Park
• Xzibit
• Cypress Hill

B-Real
Photo: MTV News

In their 14 years together, Cypress Hill have blended a couple of genres — most notably hard rock — with their hip-hop. On their forthcoming seventh album, they're tapping into a style that, given their well-known penchant for pot, they should have explored long ago.

"I've been into reggae since I was a child," DJ Muggs said. "It's a natural progression for us as a band. I see us more as an international band than a North American hip-hop group. Growing and maturing, we're always looking to find ways to keep the music flowing in a way that's still in tune with Cypress Hill."

Cypress Hill's follow-up to 2001's Stoned Raiders isn't all about toasting, relaxed rhythms, and rhyming with "mon," however. Muggs says the album, titled Till Death Do Us Part, will have four or five reggae-derived songs, while 10 or 11 of the other tracks will be straight hip-hop.

"What's Your Number," the one song that is tied back to the guitar-based sounds of Stoned Raiders and the double-album before it, 2000's Skull & Bones, features a sample of the Clash's "Guns of Brixton" and Rancid's Tim Armstrong on guitar. The Bay Area punk lent his talents to the track after meeting the band through an introduction by Matt Pinfield, the former MTV VJ who's now an A&R rep for Columbia Records, Cypress Hill's label. While Cypress were in the studio, Pinfield and his friend Armstrong dropped by. After playing them the track, the group thought, "It would be ill if Tim played the guitar parts."

Other guests on the album, featuring production by the Alchemist (Nas, Fat Joe) and expected to drop in March, include Puerto Rican rapper Tego Calderon on "Latin Thug," Mobb Deep's Prodigy on "Last Laugh" and Damian Marley on "Ganja Bus."

Despite the crossover mainstream attention dancehall artists Sean Paul and Wayne Wonder have recently received, Cypress Hill, who are performing Saturday at the sixth annual Smoke Out festival, aren't leaning toward Jamaica to be en vogue. Just as they combined heavy riffs with their hip-hop before rap-rock was institutionalized on the backs of bands like Limp Bizkit, Muggs, B-Real, Bobo and Sen Dog are just doing what comes natural.

"We ain't trying to trend chase," Muggs explained. "We just have to build off the band's successes and the band's strengths. Personally, I wasn't really into metal, but it was just time for the band to grow. Cypress Hill was outgrowing hip-hop, so we needed to let it blossom, and the fellas wanted to do some rock. So, boom, we tap into that a little bit. Then, boom, we're stickin' and movin'. It's just a way to keep evolving and changing.

"Roots reggae and marijuana and the whole feel has always been synonymous with Cypress Hill."

• Cypress Hill

Stars Descend On The VH1 Hip Hop Honors Red Carpet

• Busta Rhymes
• Kid Rock
• Cypress Hill
• De La Soul
• Eve

The Voodoo Music Experience in New Orleans, LA October 31- November 2, 2003

• 50 Cent
• A Perfect Circle
• Godsmack
• P.O.D.
• The White Stripes

Projekt Revolution Tour Launch, Colorado Springs, CO 01.30.02

• Linkin Park
• Cypress Hill
• Adema