Rock the Park, formerly known as Hawk Rocks the Park, is an annual music concert held at Harris Park in London, Ontario, Canada. From 2004 to 2008 it was primarily a classic rock concert sponsored by radio station "103.9 The Hawk". In 2009, the three-day concert was sponsored by three radio stations: The Hawk, rock station FM96 and country music station BX93.
The purpose of the event is to raise money for "Bethany's Hope Foundation" for MLD Research and over $850,000 has been raised.
The festival has attracted criticism for being too loud and violating city noise bylaws. The 2008 and 2009 editions both breached the noise limits, so per city law, the 2010 festival should have been prevented from happening. City council recommended that the festival be allowed to occur if organizers paid a $5,000 penalty. However, the organizers were later exempted from having to pay the fine.
The first Rock the Park was held July 22–24 in 2004. Its main function was to raise money for Bethany's Hope Foundation and it raised more than $110,000. It featured several musical groups:
[ODB]
Yeah, youknowhatI'msayin, to you?
I was in Riker's Island, youknowhatI'msayin?
High impact, youknowhatI'msayin?
They they had me pickin cigarettes (SLAM!)
A thousand cigarettes up off the floor
Doin push-ups, all that bullshhhh
Yo I'm tryin to (SLAM!)
I just wanna give a shout, to all the jails everywhere
Cause you know, I know it's a game (Just SLAM!)
YaknowhatI'msayin? The government got a game
Get all the brothers locked down
(This one, is a hit, it's called SLAM!)
But it ain't like that baby!
Knahmsayin? I'm not havin it no more
(Doin it at the park)
Me personally, knowhatI'msayin?
(Doin it LAH-Lah-LAHHH!)
Yo, check this out
(Ohhh yeah, rock the park)
This is the jam called SLAMMMMM
(Ohhh yeah, rock the park)
(Doin it at the park)
(Doin it LAH-Lah-LAHHH!)
(Ohhh yeah, rock the park)
(Ohhh yeah, rock the park)
Yo, yo bust thissssssss! Yo white boy don't you got a shadow?
Black boy don't you got teeth, what the fuck is the beef?
Some tame buck nigga in the movie, said a little poetry
Had some problems with the cops, cause his man gun was hot
And of course, fuck that red tape
[gavel pounds three times* "Guilty!!"]
[Coolio]
I gotta spit at y'all, they runnin some shit on y'all
Or should I say yes, cause I'm still on the bus
So y'all is really me it's just, y'all is already you
I hereby do declare, all of us is we
Quit your silly-ass games and, petty-ass dirts see and put
greed to the side for good
for your heart it's like a court minus time divide
(Doin it at the park)
(Doin it LAH-Lah-LAHHH!)
(Ohhh yeah, rock the park)
(Ohhh yeah, rock the park)
(Doin it at the park)
(Doin it LAH-Lah-LAHHH!)
(Ohhh yeah, rock the park)
(Ohhh yeah, rock the park)
(A-dubba-dubba-dah!)
[Coolio]
We live in a society created by an empire
that's based on terror, welcome to the One World Era
A complete interruption to your lil' paultry ass life
that you thought you was livin, and what you been given
No more Benzes to roll in, fat-ass stacks of money
Cause ain't no such thing as money
I bet y'all niggaz think it's funny
Put your money where your mouth or where your mouth used to be
Cause ain't shit on this planet, or in this life for free
We gonna do it like Osirus and The Warriors in the dark
Get your niggaz and my niggaz and some mo' niggaz
and have a meeting in the park!
[ODB]
Lost in the sauce, cause you think you got force
Get this across, there is only ONE boss
A NUH got it locked down, while NUH be dumbfound
and got alllll on the surrounnnnnd!!
Who you think own the ships planes and trains?
Now you got a white man's name!
(Doin it at the park)
(Doin it LAH-Lah-LAHHH!)
(Ohhh yeah, rock the park)
(Ohhh yeah, rock the park)
(Doin it at the park)
(Doin it LAH-Lah-LAHHH!)
(Ohhh yeah, rock the park)
(Ohhh yeah, rock the park)
[C] Yo whassup son?
[O] Yo whaSSUP lOC?
[C] You ready to heat it up at make this system smoke?
[O] BLAOW, BLAOW, BLAOW
[Coolio]
We want knowledge, we want wisdom
Y'all want bars, Cristal and bitches
[ODB]
We want off shore bank accounts, property
We wanna show you how to do it, properly
[Coolio]
Fuck your friends, stack your ends
The next time somebody tryin to run game, then pretend
that they runnin game then, run game back and
[O] Yo let him let him roll off in his Cadillac
[C] Cause real players play the back
[O] Old schooL FLAVA!!!!
(Doin it at the park)
(Doin it LAH-Lah-LAHHH!)
(Ohhh yeah, rock the park)
(Ohhh yeah, rock the park)
(Doin it at the park)
(Doin it LAH-Lah-LAHHH!)
(Ohhh yeah, rock the park)
(Ohhh yeah, rock the park)
(Doin it at the park)
(Doin it LAH-Lah-LAHHH!)
(Ohhh yeah, rock the park)
(Ohhh yeah, rock the park)