Lauryn Hill and hip-hop royalty play Rock the Bells

Rock the Bells, which began as a one-shot festival in 2004 - with the goal of reuniting legendary Staten Island hip-hop collective Wu-Tang Clan - has grown into a touring enterprise attracting some of hip-hop's biggest names. This year's installment of Rock the Bells, which takes its name from LL Cool J's 1985 single, is heavy on hip-hop pioneers, many of whom will perform seminal albums from their back catalogs in full; Lauryn Hill, who's billed as a special guest, will also be there. The tour comes to Governors Island Saturday. Here's a look:

Snoop Dogg

WHERE YOU KNOW HIM If you left your house this summer, you probably heard this Los Angeles MC's hazy drawl; he gave Katy Perry the assist on her chart-topping "California Gurls," which shot to the pinnacle of the charts almost immediately after its release. In the years since he first burst on the scene as a protege of Dr. Dre, Snoop has himself become an elder statesman.

WHAT HE'LL BE DOING In keeping with the classic-album theme, Snoop will perform his funk-influenced, Dr. Dre-produced debut "Doggystyle" in its entirety - the first debut to top the charts in its first week out. He'll be assisted by the guests who appeared on that 1993 record, including "Regulate" singer Warren G.

A Tribe Called Quest

WHERE YOU KNOW THEM The Queens hip-hop act's music brought hip-hop and jazz together; laid over those beats were incisive, smart lyrics delivered by the twosome of the slyly monotoned Q-Tip and the hyperactive Phife Dawg. They had a fair amount of crossover success, with Q-Tip guesting on Deee-Lite's discofied hit "Groove Is in the Heart" and the group traveling with the 1994 installment of the alt-rock package tour Lollapalooza.

WHAT THEY'LL BE DOING Tribe will perform its 1993 album "Midnight Marauders" in full; that record was a critical and commercial success for the group, with tight grooves and even tighter rhymes.

Wu-Tang Clan 

WHERE YOU KNOW THEM The group's 2004 performance was the final live appearance of the larger-than-life MC Ol' Dirty Bastard before his death that November. The Clan's blend of starkly matter-of-fact lyrics, grimy soul-influenced beats and indelible personalities has led to them being one of the most acclaimed groups in hip-hop history.

WHAT THEY'LL BE DOING Wu-Tang is slated to perform its lean 1993 debut, "Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers." It's unknown who will perform ODB's verses, although in an interview RZA hinted he might bring in guest MCs to take over those pieces of the songs.

Street Sweeper Social Club

WHERE YOU KNOW THEM Led by Boots Riley, lead MC of the politicized Oakland hip-hop act The Coup, and Tom Morello, guitarist for Rage Against the Machine, Street Sweeper Social Club specializes in what it calls "revolutionary party jams." As one might expect from a project with Rage's DNA, the music blends metal, hip-hop, funk and rock, while the lyrics are clarion calls to nothing less than revolution.

WHAT THEY'LL BE DOING SSSC formed in 2006 and has one album (released last year) under its belt, so the group won't be participating in the re-creating-classic-records portion of the day. But SSSC will probably throw in its cover of M.I.A.'s "Paper Planes," which appears on the group's just-released EP "Ghetto Blaster."

Lauryn Hill

WHERE YOU KNOW HER Hill burst into the pop consciousness as one of the members of The Fugees. The band, which was rounded out by Wyclef Jean and Pras, welded together elements of hip-hop, soul and Caribbean music, a platform that proved to be well suited to Hill's expressive voice and matter-of-fact rapping. Her 1998 album, "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill," was a confident, endlessly listenable debut that won her accolades and Grammys. But it's been her only studio recording as a solo artist.

WHAT SHE'LL BE DOING The promotional materials for the show promise an "exclusive Rock the Bells performance" from Hill that will likely feature material from "Miseducation." In a recent interview with NPR she mentioned an interest in expanding the "context" of her music so that people could hear how her voice has expanded since her Fugees days.

Also on the bill 

The tongue-twisting Alabama MC Yelawolf, the brotherly Virginia duo Clipse, and the exceptionally skilled Long Island MC Rakim, who'll perform his 1987 album with Eric B, "Paid in Full."

WHAT Rock the Bells, with Snoop Dogg, A Tribe Called Quest, Wu-Tang Clan, Rakim, KRS-One, Lauryn Hill and others

WHEN | WHERE Doors open at noon Aug. 28, Governors Island

INFO $99-$409 (ticket price includes ferry to Governors Island); rockthebells.net