New York artist Jay Shells has teamed up with Rock the Bells to make a sign for each of the artists performing at the Rock the Bells Festival taking place in Queens, NY on Aug. 6.
Shells has made waves in both the art and Hip-Hop world with his innovative project, "Rap Quotes," which features the lyrics of various artists that he places on signs and hangs at the exact location mentioned in the lyrics. Over the years, he's brought the project to numerous cities around the country, including Atlanta, Philadelphia, and L.A., featuring the lyrics of artists like Biggie, OutKast, Killer Mike, Kendrick Lamar, Dom Kennedy, DJ Quik and many more.
Now, he's partnered with Rock the Bells to shine a light on all of the artists who are slated to perform during the return of the anticipated festival: LL COOL J, Ice Cube, Rick Ross, Lil’ Kim, Cam’ron, Jim Jones and Juelz Santana from The Diplomats, Fat Joe, Remy Ma, Jadakiss, Scarface, Trina, N.O.R.E, Ladybug Mecca & Butterfly Digable Planets and Roxanne Shanté.
"The internet makes [the lyrics] visible for everyone but for the average person walking around, I want it to be kind of a double-take moment where you see it and you're like, 'What does that say?' and you stop and look," he says. "And then hopefully it's just this small moment of delight when you see this is something unique."
The Rock the Bells Festival will take place in Queens, NY at Forest Hills Stadium on Aug. 6. For tickets, visit RockTheBells.com/Festival.