Pioneering Hip-Hop collective De La Soul is touring Australia in celebration of their 20th anniversary.

De La will be joined by popular DJ Cut Chemist on the tour, which
will see the grew run through their deep catalog, backed by an 10-piece
band.

The group will perform 10-dates while touring Australia, starting in
Perth at Metro City and winding down at the Groovin the Moo Festival on
May 16.

In addition to Pos, Dave and Maseo, Black Sheep frontman Dres will perform on each date except the tour’s finale.

In June, the Grammy Award winning group will take their 20th
Anniversary to Europe, where they will perform 11-dates throughout
England.

De La Soul released their groundbreaking first album 3 Feet High and Rising in 1989.

Since then, the group has released a number of Hip-Hop classics, including De La Soul is Dead, Buhloone Mindstate, Stakes Is High, Art Official Intelligence: Mosiac Thump, AOI: Bionix, The Grind Date and others.

Full tour dates are listed below:

Friday, May 1 - The Esplande Hotel - Melbourne
Saturday, May 2 - Groovin The Moo Festival - Lou Lister Park, Townsville
Sunday, May - 3 Brisbane Big Top - Brisbane
Tuesday, May 5 – Metro Theater - Sydney
Friday, May 8 – The Shores Complex - Adelaide
Saturday, May 9 – Groovin The Moo Festival- Newcastle Showgrounds, Newcastle
Tuesday, May 12 - SFBH - Wellington
Wednesday, May 13 - Lake Kawana Center - Queenstown
Thursday, May 14 – The Bedford - Christchurch
Friday, May 15 – The Power Station - Auckland
Saturday, May 16 - Groovin The Moo Festival - Bendigo Show Grounds, Bendigo
Tuesday, June 2, 2009 - Lemon Grove (Exeter University) - Exeter
Wednesday June 3 -The Junction [J1/ J2/ J3] - Cambridge
Thursday, June 4 - Academy - Bristol
Friday, June 5 - Picture House - Edinburgh
Saturday, 6 - The Arches - Glasgow
Monday, June 8 - Rock City - Nottingham
Wednesday, June 10 - The Assembly - Leamington Spa - Warwickshire
Thursday June 11 - Camden Centre - London
Friday, June 12 - Concorde 2 - Brighton
Thursday, June 16 - Ritz Ballroom - Manchester

Organizers for The Rock The Bells 2009 Festival Series announced today that Busta Rhymes, The GZA and The Knux have been added to the roster of major Hip-Hop artists taking part in this year’s touring concert.

In addition to Busta, GZA and The Knux, this year’s Rock The Bells Festival will be hosted by KRS-One and features performances by Nas and Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley, Common, The Roots, Big Boi, Reflection Eternal, M.O.P., Tech N9Ne, RZA, Raekwon and others.

The Rock The Bells 2009 Festival will hit 10 major markets this year starting on June 27 at the First Midwest Bank Amphitheater in Chicago.

Stops include Detroit, Boston, Toronto, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington D.C. , New York and other major markets.

“Rock The Bells has always strived to be the world-class platform dedicated to Hip-Hop culture,” Chang Weisberg of Guerilla Union said. “This year we are excited to announce that KRS-One and the Temple of Hip Hop will be producing unique fan experiences dedicated to cultivating Hip-Hop culture by hosting guest speakers, workshops, art displays, lectures, book signings and more. Plans are still being finalized, but expect a unique Temple of Hip-Hop area to be built in each city. We are going to reach out to all artists on this year’s line-up to contribute their efforts to help educate and expand perspective on Hip-Hop culture.”

Tickets for the Rock The Bells 2009 Festival go on sale May 2.

Dates and venues are listed below:

Chicago - Saturday June 27th First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre
Detroit- Sunday June 28th DTE Energy Music Theatre
Toronto- Sunday July 5th Molson Amphitheatre
Washington DC - Sunday July 12th Merriweather Post Pavilion
Boston- Saturday July 18th Comcast Center
New York -Sunday July 19th Jones Beach Amphitheatre
Vancouver- Saturday August 1st Deer Lake Park
Denver- Thursday August 6th Red Rocks Amphitheatre
Los Angeles - Saturday August 8th San Manuel Amphitheatre
San Francisco- Sunday August 9th Shoreline Amphitheatre