Last Saturday’s Rock the Bells at Shoreline Amphitheatre paid tribute to 90s era rap and hip hop. The daylong, festival-style show rotated artists on one main stage and acts included Immortal Technique, Supernatural and Scratch (of The Roots), Ghostface Killah and Raekwon the Chef, De La Soul, Method Man and Redman, Mos Def, Nas and A Tribe Called Quest.

Angry and oft-offensive Peruvian political activist Immortal Technique performed tracks from all three of his albums. Appropriately dressed in army fatigue pants and black boots, he was one of many artists to articulate his political views between songs. However, unlike other artists, his articulation was extremely well informed and philosophically seeded. He attempted to connect with his audience by comparing the “vertical slums” of his New York to the “horizontal slums” of the West Coast, a move the man who released Revolutionary Volume 1 in 1998 may not have made. Though still radical — saying things like, “If your dad’s a cop, fuck your dad” — he stood out as a talented lyricist and performer.

Wu-Tang’s Method Man and long-time partner Redman stole the show. Security guards seemed frustrated as they followed Method Man through the audience and could only watch as he, on multiple occasions, attempted to crowd-surf vertically while rapping down to the riotous audience beneath him. Redman stood atop onstage speakers between songs, grinning widely as he led the audience in chants of “Fuck you, Redman,” and “Fuck you, Method Man.” Musically, the highlight was a cover of Wu-Tang’s “M-E-T-H-O-D Man.” Upon its completion, the obligatory 20-person Wu-Tang entourage, including one man in an electric wheelchair, celebrated wildly.

De La Soul’s high-energy performance helped the group stand out in a show full of early 90s success stories. While headliner Q-Tip, of A Tribe Called Quest, attempted to adopt the onstage persona of a later generation of artists (a Jay-Z/Nas/Kanye West-style strut), De La Soul bounced all over the stage as they would have 20 years ago. Their high energy and authentic “old-school” performance balanced out the festival and contributed an important dimension to the show.