By Liz Nord and Kristin Grimmett

DENVER — If hip-hop and Barack Obama were on Facebook, their relationship status would be: "It's complicated." So when the ladies of Choose or Lose descended upon the Mile-High City Saturday to cover the Democratic National Convention, where Obama will officially be named the Dems' presidential candidate, we went backstage at the Denver Rock the Bells show — where we saw so much Obama gear that you'd have sworn it was an Obama concert — and talked politics with everyone from Ghostface Killah to the Pharcyde, and even got a special message for Obama from Wu-Tang Clan's Raekwon. Read more...

A Tribe Called Quest, the Pharcyde, De La Soul. The date is ... last Saturday?!

The 1994 — excuse me, 2008 — Rock the Bells Tour is well under way, and I was there at the Los Angeles installment to catch up with a truly epic bill of hip-hop greats, both old and new. This year’s lineup is no joke, combining the aforementioned, fully reunited legends with contemporary, sure-to-be-hall-of-famers like Nas and Mos Def, and of course several up and coming “kids" (Kids in the Hall and Cool Kids, to be exact) to form a monumental trifecta of hip-hop’s past, present and future. Laugh it up, you lucky New Yorkers, but the rest of the country will be just fine without Jay-Z.

Hip-hop artists are genuinely the hardest workers in showbiz, as every artist we spoke with had all sorts of projects in the works. Expect more from Murs, Rakim, De La Soul, Method Man, Ghostface and Raekwon (but don’t let all the other reunions get your hopes up for catching a glimpse of Wu-Tang).

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Going four years strong, the annual Rock the Bells has really stepped up the competition for similar hip-hop festivals like Atlanta’s Birthday Bash and Hot 97’s Summer Jam. Featuring all-star lineups, first-string secret guests and A-list reunions, Rock the Bells has quickly become the latter-day Woodstock of hip-hop, the lyrical Lollapalooza, the Coachella of “C.R.E.A.M.”

While this year’s show hosted much-anticipated reunions from celebrated groups the Pharcyde and A Tribe Called Quest, as well as a high-profile performance from the controversy-laden Nas backed by a full live band, the night’s secret guests stole the show. No questions asked. Needless to say, New York was more than well represented, as virtually every headliner and guest hailed from the East Coast, constantly reminding fans of the true birthplace of hip-hop.

The first headlining slot went to the renowned De La Soul, who after two decades in the game proved their much-deserved place in hip-hop history with ease. Digging deep into their catalog of hip-hop classics (but surprisingly skipping “Me, Myself and I”), De La Soul drove the crowd wild when they brought out Black Sheep for an animated, participatory performance of “The Choice Is Yours.”

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Plus check out a full report on MTVNews.com ...