Ice Cube felt larger than life at the AO Arena

Last week, Ice Cube promised that fans would feel the ‘California Love from the giants of the West Coast’. He proved to be a man of his word after a dazzling show at the AO Arena on Thursday (December 8).

The High Rollers Tour was billed as a spectacle of west coast legends with Cypress Hill, Cube and The Game advertised. Unfortunately, The Game couldn’t make it and has since been replaced by Detroit natives D12, best known for being Eminem’s childhood friends and rap crew.

Originally a group of six, D12 was more D3 with members Swifty, McVay and Kuniva flying the flag for the collective. Halfway through their set they were joined by Nasaan Holton, the son of Proof, who was a childhood friend of Eminem and the man responsible for forming D12.

As the opener to a modest but enthusiastic crowd they tore through some of the groups biggest hits like ’40oz’, ‘Fight Music’, ‘My Band’ and ‘Purple Pills’. In what turned into a touching tribute to Proof, Nasaan rapped his father’s verses for the songs while clips of the band’s old music videos were played on a massive screen behind them.

Swifty McVay performs at the AO Arena for the High Rollers tour
There was even a cover of Eminem’s ‘Lose Yourself’ which was elevated by the wicked riffs of their guitarist Jake Bass, who is the son of the song’s co-producer, Jeff Bass.

After D12’s short but accomplished and professional set, the levels went up another notch when Cypress Hill took to the stage. Scratch master DJ Lord, supreme percussionist Eric Bobo and rappers Sen Dog and the mighty B-Real had thousands in their palm of their hand as they ran through a medley of their greatest hits.

After DJ Lord won the crowd over with a brain busting mix of KRS-One’s ‘Sound of da Police’ and ‘Metallica’s Enter Sandman’, B-Real swaggered on to the stage smoking something that definitely wasn’t a vape, flanked by his rap partner Sen Dog.

B-Real rocked the crowd
B-Real posed the rhetorical question: “When Cypress come to town, we bring you an experience, yes?”. The crowd agreed, as not a single person sat or stood still as they performed tunes like Dr Green Thumb, I Wanna Get High and of course the trippy ‘Insane in the Membrane.’

Buoyed by the Manchester crowd, who they proclaimed “f***ed Birmingham up”, they finished the set with a cover of House of Pain’s ‘Jump Around’ which was produced by Cypress Hill member DJ Muggs.

At some point during his ferocious set, Ice Cube posed the question “After 35 years, can he still get on the mic and do what you like?”. Oh yes he can.

The longest set of the night, and deservedly so, Cube’s booming voice cut through the arena as he spat with vivid clarity. His stage presence was exemplary and the hard hitting 808’s that left your ribcage rattling made him feel larger than life on that stage.

Ice Cube didn’t miss a step during the show
Verses from hit songs like ‘Straight Outta Compton’, ‘Check Yo Self, Why We Thugs’, ‘No Vaseline’ and ‘It Was A Good Day’ sounded exactly like the recordings except this time with the backing of frequent collaborator and hype man Dub C. In between each song Cube would give a little backstory or teaser to remind old fans and educate new ones before rampaging into another verse.

The show was a long one, but well worth it and it was even more of a delight to see grown men and women relive their youth, captivated by rap legends who have paved the way for the great success of a genre that has taken over the world in just fifty years.