Ice-T is preparing to host his inaugural Art of Rap Festival. According to Rolling StoneIce is referring to the event as "the most prolific and essential hip-hop festival ever" and it will be held over the course of two days in California. Ice-T and The Game will co-headline the July 18 date at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Irvine, Calif., while the T takes on day two at the Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, Calif. by himself.

There will be a total of 25 artists performing, all of whom will represent a different angle of hip-hop history. Other acts include Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Afrika Bambaataa, Big Daddy Kane, Biz Markie, Doug E. Fresh, EPMD, Kurtis Blow, Mack 10, Slick Rick, Grandmaster Melle Mel, King Tee, tha Alkaholiks, Too $hort, Xzibit, Rakim, and more.

In addition to artists, the festival will also celebrate other aspects of hip-hop culture, including spray-paint murals by Self Uno, freestyle battles and performances by b-boys and b-girls, among other things.

Ice-T got the name for his new festival from his 2012 documentary, Something from Nothing: the Art of Rapa film that portrays the positive aspects of rap culture. Tickets for the Irvine location go on sale on Friday (Apr. 24) at 10 a.m., while tickets for the Mountain View show will be made available on May 1 at the same time.

Check out the Art of Rap website for more details on the festival and check out the trailers below.

Related: Ice-T and His Wife Coco Are Getting Their Own Daytime Talk Show
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