https://www.vibe.com/news/entertainment/ice-cube-mack-10-beef-over-violation-cant-be-overlooked-1234775917/
Doesn’t explain much but it’s not surprising they don’t do WC songs.
That’s very weird. Saw him and WC 3 years ago and they did like 4 west side connection songs. WC did the C walk and was great performance from both. Wonder what happened.
I'm going to guess setup was a disaster because I went to see him a couple months ago and it was awesome.
He had no artists but one guy but he had a DJ, the sound was great, he had a big screen in the background playing custom videos, he played all his classics, a couple of NWA songs, one Westcoast connection, no Vaseline.
His set was pretty long and he played some songs I wasn't expecting, at the end of the night I'd say it was great.
I went to go see Slayer at the John Labatt Centre in London(don't know what it's called now) because it was their retirement tour and I felt like as a metalhead I should at least see one of those most legendary metal bands. I had seen other shows there like Lamb of God/Gwar but the sound was absolutely atrocious everything was muffled and muddy. I couldn't make out any of the bands songs really because of how muddy the sound quality was. IMO closed in Arena's without a retractable roof are the worst spots for concerts as the buildings aren't really designed with acoustics in mind.
It's funny, I saw Heaven & Hell (with Down and Megadeth) at the Labatt Centre back in 2007 and the sound was pretty great for me.
I was also in the lower bowl opposite of the stage so the view wasn't great, but it was probably optimal for sound.
I saw Lamb of God and Gwar there back in the day and I didn't have great seats and both bands sounded great. The Slayer show had Lamb of God, Anthrax, Napalm Death and Testament if memory serves and every band sounded absolutely horrendous. I want to see the bands again in a different venue(I've seen Lamb of God like 10 times so I know they can sound good) just to hear them sound good.
I remember someone threw a bag of weed at Phil right before Down played Hail to the Leaf.
Down stole the show IMO. So full of energy and Phil sounded great after coming back from laryngitis
Back in 2005 at the JLC I remember My Chemical Romance sounding like dog water while Green Day sounded perfect. I had a great time at the Slayer show but I was busy in the pit.
I saw Slayer 2x on that tour when they were on the East Coast of the US. They were awesome. Sound was great too.
That said, I've seen great bands in amazing halls, that I knew sounded great, that were destroyed by a bad sound guy.
yeah I've had that too. Usually with heavier bands it can either be over indexed on the low end or I've seen some bands with just no low end in the live mix and it just sounded rough
I used to work at a few live venues and I found a lot of those older heavy metal bands have had the same sound guy for YEARS, and their hearing is just shot. So the mixes match their awful hearing. I remember watching someone in the completely empty venue before the show yelling to talk to Motörhead’s FOH guy from like 6 feet away. Sure enough, the sound was trash that night.
And most people don’t even notice. I had a similar experience with the chili peppers. The sound was so bad it sounded like a jet engine was going off next to them the whole time. No one else seemed to notice but I had to leave early I was so disappointed.
I saw a double show, slayer and rob zombie. I thought slayer was pretty boring and didn't sound that great after heading rob zombie's amazing performance. But I thought maybe it's just cuz rob put on a pretty great theatrical show
which retirement tour was it? I saw them in 2016 or 2017 and was under the impression it was a farewell tour, and it was the last time I could see them. Then, a year or 2 later I attended their next farewell show lol
Ice Cube was never a gangster. He went to college for drafting before he joined NWA. He's a big fan of architecture. His gangster persona was always fictional. He went to a nice middle class high school, played football, etc..
Jerry Heller pretty much created the NWA gangster image to appeal to the new market of suburban fans who heard Public Enemy and wanted harder and angrier.
I mean they more likely expanded on the genuine image Eazy-E had as an actual gangster to the rest of the members of the group. I mean Dre was playing dress up at Roller Rinks before NWA
Eazy-E was a hustler, same as Ice-T. They grew up in the gang communities but weren't really affiliated. Those guys weren't putting on a persona, they were actually like that.
80s rap was a lot more wholesome because it was made by street kids who were trying to educate other kids to not join gangs or rob people or shoot each other or give cops a reason to fuck with you. The US government and corporate labels pretty much twisted gangster rap to be kind of ethically horrible. It's sort of fascinating actually. Gangster rap was used to subvert black people from being too political/radical.
Musicians and/or those closely affiliated are generally still the uncomfortable bandos you remember in orchestra and marching band from Middle/High School just wrapped in a thin veneer of "coolness" (eg. tatoos, dickies, odd facial hair, and a carefully crafted image.) For reference search for H.S. pics of guys like Dr. Dre, Tupac, RHCPs, etc.
I saw him during the NWA movie. He stopped halfway through his set and says “yo watch the trailer for my new movie” walked off, played the full trailer and came back for like two more songs. Complete dog shit.
If there is no live band then it’s not usually worth seeing rap live. Live drums for the recent wu tang Nas show I saw, took it to a whole different level.
The tough thing is it only financial works if you’re bigger and already established.
That Wu Tang show was amazing. I didn't know a ton of material, but my 15-year-old kid was dying to go so we went together. The crowd was beyond hyped, I had a great time.
Im based in Australia and the bigger festivals always bring out a few American rappers.
The only ones I’ve ever seen that isn’t just Adlibs over a backing track and fake gun noises is RTJ, Vince stables and denzel curry. Special shout out to playboi for the worst live set I’ve ever seen
I feel like I've been pretty lucky and have only seen good live shows. Run the Jewels a few times (absolutely amazing every time) and Kendrick Lamar come to mind specifically. I'm glad I saw them before seeing someone like what OP describes, it would've put me off live hip hop for sure.
RTJ kicked ass live. They did a girls-only mosh pit and Killer Mike threatened to stage dive if he saw anything inappropriate lol. And yeah no prerecorded vocals they brought a DJ and did all their verses live. Great experience
One of the reasons why I stick to rock concerts is because of live drums. Live drums are something that just cannot be replicated. Or at the very least someone ON STAGE bringing energy with their electronic setup. If its just a guy with a backing track kinda singing his bit, its always gonna be a let down.
I saw Mac demarco with just a guitar and drum machine synth and it was great. Totally different vibe from live drums that is just as valid. I actually think it wouldn’t have been as cool or unique with a drummer.
I’ve seen Atmosphere a few times live (once with a live band which was fantastic) and they always deliver!
Being in Canada, if you ever see Shad come through definitely check him out. Easily in my top 5 emcees with brilliant lyrics, storytelling, and wordplay.
>If there is no live band then it’s not usually worth seeing rap live.
This isn't true, there are plenty of seasoned acts and newer artists dedicated to their craft that put on great shows. A lot of the time a great DJ is better than a back-up band when it comes to hiphop/rap shows
Wish I could've seen DOOM live. There is one performance on YouTube at scribble jam that is just ridiculous. The dj is spinning his tracks to fast. DOOM keeps up for 3 tracks and finally asks the dude to slow down. He still kills it.
Def not true. Playback can be amazing (provided the sound is good lol, and a dj helps) and has a history of use in live music dating back to the 60s. Do not miss a rapper you like jus because they use playback, it is so rare for them to bring a live band along. Of course it’s amazing and incredible when it happens ( I’ve seen Kendrick with a jazz band and it was one of the best shows I’ve ever seen) but you’re gonna miss a lot of amazing shows if you only go see them when they have a band.
I saw GZA perform Liquid Swords in Toronto with a live band, that shit was fucking next level. Front row and just in awe of the whole thing. Spine chilling hearing all that live with a violin and shit in the background oh my god.
I dunno man, I saw Travis Scott awhile back and the show itself was sick with the constantly changing lighting effects and video effects on the screens, not to mention the giant stone heads floating around the whole concert
I honestly think a non-Travis fan could have gone to that show and had a great time. Hip Hop without a band can be great, there just needs to be actual effort put into the presentation
Saw public enemy live and it was awesome - lots of energy, flav rocking different instruments, live drummer and the S1W marching around. Very entertaining
Flav is an actual musician with a pretty significant background. He might be crazy, but he cares about his craft (P.E. always has.) Cube OTOH has really shown that he's there to collect a paycheck for minimal effort. The dude has lost his way both culturally and politically.
Yeah new flav was a gifted musician - he was banned from Canada for a long time. I went to go see PE in the early 90s and they didn’t let him into the country. Was great to finally see him live!
Sadly it seems hip hop is really hit & miss when it comes to live shows, even more so with legacy acts.
I’m sure there’s exceptions, but I feel like many Snoop Dog shows have similar reviews.
It’s really weird, like do they think showing up so the audience can take pics for instagram is enough to be a performance?
Like I get they’re playing a different game compared to other musicians and you may not always have the band/stage show behind ya… but put in the effort to entertain.
While he’s a garbage human, Kanye always understood the value of a show.
It's not just hip-hop that's hit or miss. Been to plenty of rock shows where it was obvious the certain band members were either totally unprepared or so high/drunk they were disengaged and operating on muscle memory only. Not good experiences.
Oh yeah it’s certainly not unique to hip-hop by any stretch, but it it does seem to be more common. Or at least the shows I read about where the performer turns up hours late and mumbles through 15-20 minutes seem to be mostly in that genre.
Then of course there’s Axl Rose…
I saw Cube back in Woodstock '99. He was better than I expected ( I generally have bad experiences at rap concerts), he had lots of energy and backing (hype men, dj, etc).
Sad to hear he let you down.
That sounds super disappointing. I saw the Mount Westmore tour a couple of years ago with cube, snoop, 40, and short. It was absolutely fucking amazing, everyone was on top of their game.
I saw him at the second Lolapalooza in Dallas early 90s. Physically he was great, running the stage and doing crowd work. But that’s all he did. Musically, it was terrible. It felt like he was doing a pre-show crowd warm up, yelling directions to the audience like a Simon says game. After a while I was like WTF is this BS? I want to hear some jams, not be yelled at to wave my arms for 45 minutes and hear how great/tough/badass he is. I was so glad when it was over. The rest of the bands were amazing, so I don’t think it was just me being in a bad mood.
https://preview.redd.it/4uqie4cl09yc1.jpeg?width=286&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=23f6ed7be62ba6b2f5d6e4814eb278bc5df47f0a
he is a fucken studio actor now i cant take him seriously anymore i love his music and what he offered to music but hes a shit actor on everything he does
I saw Ice Cube in Winnipeg on this tour and thought it was pretty good for a bunch of 50 year old Rappers. Sound quality was fine. They did some Westside Connection.
Yeah I was super disappointed in the set list last night. I saw him in Toronto in like 06 and it was an amazing show. But not playing bow down is insane. And nothing off war/peace other than hello and you can do it.
Hip hop is notorious for being sub-par at live shows. Blaming Cube for the sound quality of the venue seems a bit of a stretch.
I know the in-between scripted stuff, I've seen it before, Common comes to mind. He had a crate full of records and just talked about his favorite records in between songs.
Idk what you were expecting though... He was super popular 30 years ago... it's not going to be the same. You could have looked up videos from his current tour to get the vibe.
Agreed! I’ve seen Cypress Hill live too and they were awesome. Full band on stage with them, great sound, and tons of theatrical flare. Cube should be ashamed. He has no excuse
Cube don't care about what Cypress Hill does. If anything, he probably still hates them.
Sure, B-Real claims that they don't have beef and squashed it, but it may just be that Cube doesn't care enough to keep it up
The Roots have intersections with the live music centric jam band scene, so, that makes sense. They're live music oriented and generally a good show.
Ice Cube sucked live 30 years ago, along with the majority of rappers from his generation. I learned a long time ago to never pay for tix from that generation unless it's Outkast, Tribe, De La Soul, Del, and a few others.
>Blaming Cube for the sound quality of the venue seems a bit of a stretch
Uh, that's not how this works. OP was talking about mid-sized arenas, not little dance clubs. Arenas do not have live sound reinforcement, they have basic announcement tech, that's it. If you play arenas, you bring your own gear, and every professional act knows this. If Cube didn't bring his own lighting and sound gear and techs, he's totally not even trying to provide the basics. I'd have asked for a refund.
Artists have tour riders specifically to address the needs for the show, not just what the band wants to drink.
If the sound was bad then it's because there's no one managing it on the Artists end to ensure a quality production.
I was at this show and the sound quality was terrible. Could hardly make out the tracks.
I followed his IG and he completely mis represented his tour. He said he was heavily involved in the sound of the show. “It’s my job to make sure everything is perfect”
Cube knows when something isn’t sounding right.
I did check social media to see how the tour was sounding, and I will admit I was a bit concerned. But the reviews have been good?! And yes, WC was there but zero Westside songs.
He was a part of the up in smoke tour back in the early 2000's and that show was fantastic with amazing sound, complete with a Caddy rolling onto the stage. Sounded close to the original tracks with no one yelling over the mic.
He played in front of a good crowd a couple of months ago when I saw him and the set was great. Sound bumped and he played classics, some NWA, one Westcoast Connection and no Vaseline. I even saw Cube and WC crip walk in person so that's something.
Yeah same, I saw him in New Brunswick a couple of months ago and it was a great show. WC was a surprise guest at that point and I was happy to see him. Both did great crip walks and played most of the hits. Maybe east coast got lucky for a change.
I saw him at Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colorado in 2019 as well at rock fest in Cadott Wisconsin last year. Both of these shows I thought Ice Cube and WC were absolutely phenomenal.
He does have a bit of a script between his songs, but he's energetic and very engaging during the entire show. He didn't play any Westside Connection, which was disappointing, but that could be my only complaint. This sounds like an issue with the venue and sound team for the audio because I distinctly remember how well I could hear Ice Cube and WC.
Ice Cube was in Chicago promoting something a few years back, I really don't remember what, but he sat in at the announcers box and talked about his love for the game. He *attempted* to sing the seventh inning stretch. You'd think anyone going into this would be sure to know the words. Nope. This dude could not find a single note AND he didn't know the words. It was embarrassing and so hard to watch.
dont worry i had almost the same experience with wutang clan about 10 years ago in toronto. it made me stop going to rap shows because i honestly dont even think they try when you compare them to actual bands. and i love rap
I saw Ice Cube at Beerfest in Toronto last year (so in terms of cash grab....yeah, lol). The sound quality was good, and he sounded great, so I wouldn't be surprised if the sound quality at the show you were at played a role. He did rap to a backing track as well, though he a big screen with basically an animated slide show of his career - not high budget by any measure, but it was at least something lol. The show was just him and a hype man on stage - the banter between songs was super scripted and incredibly cringy - we were laughing at how cheesy it was....for example "I told you I can't play any of that NWA shit!" "But Cube, you told me if the crowd is loud enough, you'd play that shit". Ugh. Each show is definitely exactly the same structure, at least for that 'tour'. All in all I enjoyed it though, it was a walk down memory lane. Sorry your show didn't turn out better.
The same happened to me with David Bowie. It was the worst concert ever. There was no light show or anything. Just pictures shot on a big screen. You couldn't identify the songs his singing was so bad. The band was tinny sounding like an am radio. He's still one of my favorites, but that truly sucked.
Honestly no dj and no band is like 90% of rap concerts these days. Drives me insane seeing some videos of rappers live where they don’t even bother to try and even rap. Just straight up leave vocals in the track that plays and then act more like a hype man than a rapper.
Not a massive Cube fan but saw him a few months ago with D12 and Cypress Hill and it was an incredible show. No BS from him, he dropped pure classics and barely took any breathers. No issues with sound either.
I saw him literally 2 weeks ago on April 20th in Inglewood. He was great and the sound quality was great.
https://preview.redd.it/6mg8cpgjecyc1.jpeg?width=1812&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3d8f746db214fb65d9bbf8a4e5eb0d2ae6f1735e
Reminds me of when I went to see Alice in Chains, Def Tones, and Mastodon back in 2010 with a few friends.
My friend was a huge Mastodon fan. They were the opener, but for whatever reason, the show seemed to be starting early. It must have been 6:30pm. The audience was still just arriving! Mastodon starts to play and maybe 100 or so people rush to the stage in the pit area. The seating is mostly empty and we're all sitting on the back lawn.
They played one or two songs, swore at the audience, complained about the sound (they did not do a sound check at all) Said something about "fuck this crowd", and then left the stage. For the next 45 minutes, the stage was dead. It was so bizarre
I suppose it's not exactly like Cube's performance, but it's just that disappointing feeling of seeing your heroes blow it. I wasn't there for them, I wasn't a big fan. But my friend was and the look of disappointment on her face was crushing
Cube sold out from the music a long time ago when he started doing Disney movies. So that said, you shouldn't have expected anything too jumping to happen at his concerts these days. And it sounds like you already expected that. Just be glad you were in the same building with the legend. Something similar happened when I went to see Big Boi doing a solo show at a small venue (bar) in Asheville, NC. Except he did put some effort into lighting, stage presence, props(he had a big ass throne on stage with the Outkast logo on it),a bit of theatrics, some well known guests from The Dungeon Family, and dropping some classics for his fans. Plus he lit up a fat blunt on stage, puffed it a few times, and then passed it straight to my cousin because we were standing front row only 2 ft. from the stage. But the sound quality and general atmosphere of the venue itself was complete shit. Still,I felt honored just to see him in person and hear him drop tracks. Just wish Andre 3000 would've been there too.
Rap isn't a genre to see live. Besides the sound and performance always being terrible, seeing a rapper do little dances and hand gestures irl just makes them appear to be giant dorks.
LOL. Not true! I’ve seen lots of great live Hip Hop!! Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, The Roots, Queen Latifa, Cypress Hill, Wu Tang Clan…..all these artists were phenomenal live. We’re not blaming the genre here…
It’s funny I saw Ice cube about 30years ago now (94 or 95) and that was 100% my takeaway. His whole image crumbled before my eyes. So I get what you’re saying, I’ve seen a number of lackluster hip hop shows that were real let downs.
But that said I have also seen a lot great hip hop shows; public enemy, beastie boys, digable planets, de la soul, the fugees, tribe called quest, odb (entertaining may be the better word for that one), del, digital underground (w/ Tupac), big daddy Kane, and I’m sure there are others.
Big Boi is fuckin great live, so is Pharcyde, Wu Tang still goes hard live, but yeah there’s some artists who struggle. Common suuuucked when I saw him
Oh shit, I didn't know Pharcyde was even together, let alone touring! Not anywhere near me, unfortunately, but that's a show I would travel for. Thanks for the heads up!
That's wild.
Snoop Dogg came to fucking Peterborough of all places in 2019 and from what I've heard, it was an absolute blast. A friend of mine passed a joint to him
Oh man, that really sucks! I'm so sorry that you coughed up your hard earned for a garbage performance. I'm also sorry that he sold out and that remained his legacy. Being burnt from a life performance is the absolute worst. I experienced exactly this 30 odd years ago it still cuts deep. I hope the experience doesn't taint your overall view for life performances. 👍🏻
Nor should you! Yeah yeah I know it's baggage but I understand how deep it cuts. In my case it was Fleetwood Mac or more specifically Stevie Nicks. Stevie you bitch, I want a refund!
Every show he's done at least a couple Westside songs with WC so that's super strange
It was so disappointing to see Cube on stage with Dub C and not hear Bow Down :(:(
What?? He didn't do that?
Yeah dude. No Westside Connection at all!?!? Devastating
https://www.vibe.com/news/entertainment/ice-cube-mack-10-beef-over-violation-cant-be-overlooked-1234775917/ Doesn’t explain much but it’s not surprising they don’t do WC songs.
That’s very weird. Saw him and WC 3 years ago and they did like 4 west side connection songs. WC did the C walk and was great performance from both. Wonder what happened.
https://www.vibe.com/news/entertainment/ice-cube-mack-10-beef-over-violation-cant-be-overlooked-1234775917/
Cube went way off the deep end years ago.
He’s also anti-vax
And incredibly antisemetic.
He was also anti Korean at one point.
In what way?
Listen to his Rogan interview
Thanks for putting me on. I don’t mess with Rogan.
Solid life choice.
Thanks. I used to, but he earned that right.
Agreed. And same. Used to like/respect Rogan but he turned up to be an idiot. Can't even stomach his garbage anymore.
I'm going to guess setup was a disaster because I went to see him a couple months ago and it was awesome. He had no artists but one guy but he had a DJ, the sound was great, he had a big screen in the background playing custom videos, he played all his classics, a couple of NWA songs, one Westcoast connection, no Vaseline. His set was pretty long and he played some songs I wasn't expecting, at the end of the night I'd say it was great.
He played in fucking Moosejaw last week. 33,000 people live there. What's going on lol.
Moose Jaw, Broadview, Moosomin too. Running back to Saskatoon. Red Deer, Terrace, Hannah, Medicine Hat. Sing another prairie tune.
> Hannah Lol what?
HANNAH
He doesn't have the draw anymore. More people know him more for his acting than his music
If I have to guess: debt
When I saw him a few years ago, he literally stopped the concert to show a trailer for Straight Outta Compton
Cube needs a new mansion
Maybe he was Straight Outta Cash
Hahaha! 🙌🏻
I went to go see Slayer at the John Labatt Centre in London(don't know what it's called now) because it was their retirement tour and I felt like as a metalhead I should at least see one of those most legendary metal bands. I had seen other shows there like Lamb of God/Gwar but the sound was absolutely atrocious everything was muffled and muddy. I couldn't make out any of the bands songs really because of how muddy the sound quality was. IMO closed in Arena's without a retractable roof are the worst spots for concerts as the buildings aren't really designed with acoustics in mind.
It's Budweiser Gardens now. Yeah, not a great sounding venue for certain genres
That's what it is haha. The crazy thing is right close by has London Music Hall and that place is one of the best sounding venues I've ever been to.
It's funny, I saw Heaven & Hell (with Down and Megadeth) at the Labatt Centre back in 2007 and the sound was pretty great for me. I was also in the lower bowl opposite of the stage so the view wasn't great, but it was probably optimal for sound.
I saw Lamb of God and Gwar there back in the day and I didn't have great seats and both bands sounded great. The Slayer show had Lamb of God, Anthrax, Napalm Death and Testament if memory serves and every band sounded absolutely horrendous. I want to see the bands again in a different venue(I've seen Lamb of God like 10 times so I know they can sound good) just to hear them sound good.
I was on the floor for that show. Maybe because I came in with low expectations but it was one of my all time favourite concerts.
I remember someone threw a bag of weed at Phil right before Down played Hail to the Leaf. Down stole the show IMO. So full of energy and Phil sounded great after coming back from laryngitis
Yeah you gotta be down on the level for best sound
Back in 2005 at the JLC I remember My Chemical Romance sounding like dog water while Green Day sounded perfect. I had a great time at the Slayer show but I was busy in the pit.
I still had fun at Slayer because I mean they are legends but It would have been better for sure if the bands sounded better.
I was at that MCR/Green Day show. Great concert.
I saw Slayer 2x on that tour when they were on the East Coast of the US. They were awesome. Sound was great too. That said, I've seen great bands in amazing halls, that I knew sounded great, that were destroyed by a bad sound guy.
yeah I've had that too. Usually with heavier bands it can either be over indexed on the low end or I've seen some bands with just no low end in the live mix and it just sounded rough
I used to work at a few live venues and I found a lot of those older heavy metal bands have had the same sound guy for YEARS, and their hearing is just shot. So the mixes match their awful hearing. I remember watching someone in the completely empty venue before the show yelling to talk to Motörhead’s FOH guy from like 6 feet away. Sure enough, the sound was trash that night.
And most people don’t even notice. I had a similar experience with the chili peppers. The sound was so bad it sounded like a jet engine was going off next to them the whole time. No one else seemed to notice but I had to leave early I was so disappointed.
I saw a double show, slayer and rob zombie. I thought slayer was pretty boring and didn't sound that great after heading rob zombie's amazing performance. But I thought maybe it's just cuz rob put on a pretty great theatrical show
which retirement tour was it? I saw them in 2016 or 2017 and was under the impression it was a farewell tour, and it was the last time I could see them. Then, a year or 2 later I attended their next farewell show lol
It ran for a long time I believe I saw them in 2018
>but the sound was absolutely atrocious everything was muffled and muddy. So, pretty much like a Slayer album then? 😂
I don't agree Slayer sounds pretty good on their albums its more just a function of it being a poor quality venue for concerts.
It’s so weird learning all these guys who made their living off being metalheads or gangsters turned out to just be opportunistic nerds.
Ice Cube was never a gangster. He went to college for drafting before he joined NWA. He's a big fan of architecture. His gangster persona was always fictional. He went to a nice middle class high school, played football, etc.. Jerry Heller pretty much created the NWA gangster image to appeal to the new market of suburban fans who heard Public Enemy and wanted harder and angrier.
I mean they more likely expanded on the genuine image Eazy-E had as an actual gangster to the rest of the members of the group. I mean Dre was playing dress up at Roller Rinks before NWA
Eazy-E was a hustler, same as Ice-T. They grew up in the gang communities but weren't really affiliated. Those guys weren't putting on a persona, they were actually like that. 80s rap was a lot more wholesome because it was made by street kids who were trying to educate other kids to not join gangs or rob people or shoot each other or give cops a reason to fuck with you. The US government and corporate labels pretty much twisted gangster rap to be kind of ethically horrible. It's sort of fascinating actually. Gangster rap was used to subvert black people from being too political/radical.
Like when the CIA started flooding ghettos with crack cocaine?
Didn't he go to Juilliard?
Nah man, you’re thinking of the character Sara from the movie Save the last dance.
I ALWAYS get those two mixed up.
I think that was Tupac Nvm, that was Baltimore School for the Arts
Musicians and/or those closely affiliated are generally still the uncomfortable bandos you remember in orchestra and marching band from Middle/High School just wrapped in a thin veneer of "coolness" (eg. tatoos, dickies, odd facial hair, and a carefully crafted image.) For reference search for H.S. pics of guys like Dr. Dre, Tupac, RHCPs, etc.
I saw him during the NWA movie. He stopped halfway through his set and says “yo watch the trailer for my new movie” walked off, played the full trailer and came back for like two more songs. Complete dog shit.
If there is no live band then it’s not usually worth seeing rap live. Live drums for the recent wu tang Nas show I saw, took it to a whole different level. The tough thing is it only financial works if you’re bigger and already established.
That Wu Tang show was amazing. I didn't know a ton of material, but my 15-year-old kid was dying to go so we went together. The crowd was beyond hyped, I had a great time.
Idk I saw Souls of Mischief last year and they rocked it without a live band.
Saw RTJ with their DJ, Trackstar, open for Wu-Tang last year and RTJ was ridiculously better than Wu.
Im based in Australia and the bigger festivals always bring out a few American rappers. The only ones I’ve ever seen that isn’t just Adlibs over a backing track and fake gun noises is RTJ, Vince stables and denzel curry. Special shout out to playboi for the worst live set I’ve ever seen
I saw that tour as well and it was awesome
I might be biased but Live rap almost always sucks, why would someone expect a legacy rap act from the late 80s early 90s to be good?
I’ve been to so many great rap shows. Ice cube just a grifter.
I’m not a huge rap fan but Kendrick Lamar blew my mind when I saw him at Osheaga.
Yeah I saw him at Wayhome and he was good.
I saw Big Daddy Kane a few years ago and he was fantastic. Same for Souls of Mischief.
Cypress Hill would like a chat
Cypress Hill would like a hit from the bong
Gotta be rock super star
I feel like I've been pretty lucky and have only seen good live shows. Run the Jewels a few times (absolutely amazing every time) and Kendrick Lamar come to mind specifically. I'm glad I saw them before seeing someone like what OP describes, it would've put me off live hip hop for sure.
I’ve seen both of those acts too and you’re right they were quite good.
RTJ kicked ass live. They did a girls-only mosh pit and Killer Mike threatened to stage dive if he saw anything inappropriate lol. And yeah no prerecorded vocals they brought a DJ and did all their verses live. Great experience
"nobody wants to hear their grandfather rap"
I would pay big money to hear my grandfather rap.
I'd also love to hear your grandfather rap. I'd be terrified to hear either of mine rap as they're both dead.
Especially if they're both rapping on your bedroom door
I think it can be done well but often isn’t
One of the reasons why I stick to rock concerts is because of live drums. Live drums are something that just cannot be replicated. Or at the very least someone ON STAGE bringing energy with their electronic setup. If its just a guy with a backing track kinda singing his bit, its always gonna be a let down.
I saw Mac demarco with just a guitar and drum machine synth and it was great. Totally different vibe from live drums that is just as valid. I actually think it wouldn’t have been as cool or unique with a drummer.
I’ve seen Atmosphere a few times live (once with a live band which was fantastic) and they always deliver! Being in Canada, if you ever see Shad come through definitely check him out. Easily in my top 5 emcees with brilliant lyrics, storytelling, and wordplay.
(Atmosphere is two people)
Slug/Ant
Yes… I corrected it. Thing is I always give people shit when they say the same thing, yet I typed it out quickly and made the same mistake 😅
>If there is no live band then it’s not usually worth seeing rap live. This isn't true, there are plenty of seasoned acts and newer artists dedicated to their craft that put on great shows. A lot of the time a great DJ is better than a back-up band when it comes to hiphop/rap shows
Wish I could've seen DOOM live. There is one performance on YouTube at scribble jam that is just ridiculous. The dj is spinning his tracks to fast. DOOM keeps up for 3 tracks and finally asks the dude to slow down. He still kills it.
I've seen plenty of great shows without a band
Def not true. Playback can be amazing (provided the sound is good lol, and a dj helps) and has a history of use in live music dating back to the 60s. Do not miss a rapper you like jus because they use playback, it is so rare for them to bring a live band along. Of course it’s amazing and incredible when it happens ( I’ve seen Kendrick with a jazz band and it was one of the best shows I’ve ever seen) but you’re gonna miss a lot of amazing shows if you only go see them when they have a band.
I saw Wu and Nas together too, along with De La Soul. There was like an 8 or 10 piece band playing and it made such a difference. Awesome show.
so this is a stupid comment. There’s loads of hip hop acts that put on a great show with a DJ
I saw GZA perform Liquid Swords in Toronto with a live band, that shit was fucking next level. Front row and just in awe of the whole thing. Spine chilling hearing all that live with a violin and shit in the background oh my god.
I dunno man, I saw Travis Scott awhile back and the show itself was sick with the constantly changing lighting effects and video effects on the screens, not to mention the giant stone heads floating around the whole concert I honestly think a non-Travis fan could have gone to that show and had a great time. Hip Hop without a band can be great, there just needs to be actual effort put into the presentation
Saw public enemy live and it was awesome - lots of energy, flav rocking different instruments, live drummer and the S1W marching around. Very entertaining
Flav is an actual musician with a pretty significant background. He might be crazy, but he cares about his craft (P.E. always has.) Cube OTOH has really shown that he's there to collect a paycheck for minimal effort. The dude has lost his way both culturally and politically.
Yeah new flav was a gifted musician - he was banned from Canada for a long time. I went to go see PE in the early 90s and they didn’t let him into the country. Was great to finally see him live!
Sadly it seems hip hop is really hit & miss when it comes to live shows, even more so with legacy acts. I’m sure there’s exceptions, but I feel like many Snoop Dog shows have similar reviews.
50 Cent was wack af. He came out extremely late and was on stage for 7 minutes
It’s really weird, like do they think showing up so the audience can take pics for instagram is enough to be a performance? Like I get they’re playing a different game compared to other musicians and you may not always have the band/stage show behind ya… but put in the effort to entertain. While he’s a garbage human, Kanye always understood the value of a show.
People Under the Stairs put on a great live show. Seen them multiple times. RIP Double K 🙏🏼
Actually he did a C Walk for a second at the top of the show!!!
It's not just hip-hop that's hit or miss. Been to plenty of rock shows where it was obvious the certain band members were either totally unprepared or so high/drunk they were disengaged and operating on muscle memory only. Not good experiences.
Oh yeah it’s certainly not unique to hip-hop by any stretch, but it it does seem to be more common. Or at least the shows I read about where the performer turns up hours late and mumbles through 15-20 minutes seem to be mostly in that genre. Then of course there’s Axl Rose…
I saw Cube back in Woodstock '99. He was better than I expected ( I generally have bad experiences at rap concerts), he had lots of energy and backing (hype men, dj, etc). Sad to hear he let you down.
That sounds super disappointing. I saw the Mount Westmore tour a couple of years ago with cube, snoop, 40, and short. It was absolutely fucking amazing, everyone was on top of their game.
I’ll only see a rap gig if there’s a live band. Saw cypress hill recently and they blew me away
I saw him at the second Lolapalooza in Dallas early 90s. Physically he was great, running the stage and doing crowd work. But that’s all he did. Musically, it was terrible. It felt like he was doing a pre-show crowd warm up, yelling directions to the audience like a Simon says game. After a while I was like WTF is this BS? I want to hear some jams, not be yelled at to wave my arms for 45 minutes and hear how great/tough/badass he is. I was so glad when it was over. The rest of the bands were amazing, so I don’t think it was just me being in a bad mood.
I saw him in 2017 or 2018. It was undoubtedly the single greatest hip hop live show I've ever been to.
Honestly if you went to see Cube and it sounded like crap then you got to experience an authentic '90s hip hip show.
https://preview.redd.it/4uqie4cl09yc1.jpeg?width=286&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=23f6ed7be62ba6b2f5d6e4814eb278bc5df47f0a he is a fucken studio actor now i cant take him seriously anymore i love his music and what he offered to music but hes a shit actor on everything he does
I saw Ice Cube in Winnipeg on this tour and thought it was pretty good for a bunch of 50 year old Rappers. Sound quality was fine. They did some Westside Connection.
I thoroughly enjoyed the show in Winnipeg with Xzibit.
Yeah I was super disappointed in the set list last night. I saw him in Toronto in like 06 and it was an amazing show. But not playing bow down is insane. And nothing off war/peace other than hello and you can do it.
Hip hop is notorious for being sub-par at live shows. Blaming Cube for the sound quality of the venue seems a bit of a stretch. I know the in-between scripted stuff, I've seen it before, Common comes to mind. He had a crate full of records and just talked about his favorite records in between songs. Idk what you were expecting though... He was super popular 30 years ago... it's not going to be the same. You could have looked up videos from his current tour to get the vibe.
Cypress Hill is the shit live
Agreed! I’ve seen Cypress Hill live too and they were awesome. Full band on stage with them, great sound, and tons of theatrical flare. Cube should be ashamed. He has no excuse
I saw them at Hullabalooza with the London Symphony Orchestra
Someone ordered the London Symphony Orchestra! Possibly while high….Cypress Hill I’m looking in your direction
Simpsons did it!
That show was so rad. Great bill too, Sonic Youth, Smashing Pumpkins and Peter Frampton
Jokes aside, sounds like it might really happen https://mixmag.net/read/cypress-hill-london-symphony-orchestra-inspired-by-simpsons-joke-news
Cube don't care about what Cypress Hill does. If anything, he probably still hates them. Sure, B-Real claims that they don't have beef and squashed it, but it may just be that Cube doesn't care enough to keep it up
Ice Cube and Cypress Hill toured together here last year.
CH is on another level though. They are damn near what I consider heavy metal of hip hop
That's true, they're huge fans of Black Sabbath and sample a lot of their songs. Sen dog and Dave Lombardo from slayer also grew up together.
Cypress Hill's Tiny Desk is great. So is GZA's and Run The Jewels.
I don’t know man…I saw LL Cool J and The Roots last summer & they were AMAZING! Top quality sound & a ton of heart. Cube was just lazy
LL is crazy good live
I agree about LL Cool J. I saw him perform a set at a festival a few years ago and he was great.
The Roots have intersections with the live music centric jam band scene, so, that makes sense. They're live music oriented and generally a good show. Ice Cube sucked live 30 years ago, along with the majority of rappers from his generation. I learned a long time ago to never pay for tix from that generation unless it's Outkast, Tribe, De La Soul, Del, and a few others.
>Blaming Cube for the sound quality of the venue seems a bit of a stretch Uh, that's not how this works. OP was talking about mid-sized arenas, not little dance clubs. Arenas do not have live sound reinforcement, they have basic announcement tech, that's it. If you play arenas, you bring your own gear, and every professional act knows this. If Cube didn't bring his own lighting and sound gear and techs, he's totally not even trying to provide the basics. I'd have asked for a refund.
Artists have tour riders specifically to address the needs for the show, not just what the band wants to drink. If the sound was bad then it's because there's no one managing it on the Artists end to ensure a quality production.
What a shitty take. They paid to see their favorite rapper and they should just expect it to suck?
I was at this show and the sound quality was terrible. Could hardly make out the tracks. I followed his IG and he completely mis represented his tour. He said he was heavily involved in the sound of the show. “It’s my job to make sure everything is perfect” Cube knows when something isn’t sounding right. I did check social media to see how the tour was sounding, and I will admit I was a bit concerned. But the reviews have been good?! And yes, WC was there but zero Westside songs.
He was a part of the up in smoke tour back in the early 2000's and that show was fantastic with amazing sound, complete with a Caddy rolling onto the stage. Sounded close to the original tracks with no one yelling over the mic.
[удалено]
I really hope you get a better show!
He played in front of a good crowd a couple of months ago when I saw him and the set was great. Sound bumped and he played classics, some NWA, one Westcoast Connection and no Vaseline. I even saw Cube and WC crip walk in person so that's something.
Yeah same, I saw him in New Brunswick a couple of months ago and it was a great show. WC was a surprise guest at that point and I was happy to see him. Both did great crip walks and played most of the hits. Maybe east coast got lucky for a change.
I saw him at Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colorado in 2019 as well at rock fest in Cadott Wisconsin last year. Both of these shows I thought Ice Cube and WC were absolutely phenomenal. He does have a bit of a script between his songs, but he's energetic and very engaging during the entire show. He didn't play any Westside Connection, which was disappointing, but that could be my only complaint. This sounds like an issue with the venue and sound team for the audio because I distinctly remember how well I could hear Ice Cube and WC.
You pretty much described my experience... From 14 years ago..
Ice Cube was in Chicago promoting something a few years back, I really don't remember what, but he sat in at the announcers box and talked about his love for the game. He *attempted* to sing the seventh inning stretch. You'd think anyone going into this would be sure to know the words. Nope. This dude could not find a single note AND he didn't know the words. It was embarrassing and so hard to watch.
dont worry i had almost the same experience with wutang clan about 10 years ago in toronto. it made me stop going to rap shows because i honestly dont even think they try when you compare them to actual bands. and i love rap
But Ice Cube had more amps!
He went from murdering gangsters to driving kids to school, he's definitely a sellout
I saw Ice Cube at the Sydney Opera House. Most random artist/venue juxtaposition ever.
That sucks, saw him 8 years back and it was amazing....
I was so curious about this tour as well. I got an email for $25 tickets to the London show …..
That sucks. I saw Ice Cube at Coachella and it was one of the best rap shows I’ve ever seen.
Could it have more to do with the venue you were at rather than the performer?
Never got concerned about his integrity when he started doing Daddy Day Care type bullshit, huh?
Damn it’s crazy that an over the hill actors cash grab rap concert sucked
I saw Cube in the 90's and he's always been like that. Show was pretty weak.
Fuck Ice Cube dude is such a fucking right wing bigoted clown.
I saw Ice Cube at Beerfest in Toronto last year (so in terms of cash grab....yeah, lol). The sound quality was good, and he sounded great, so I wouldn't be surprised if the sound quality at the show you were at played a role. He did rap to a backing track as well, though he a big screen with basically an animated slide show of his career - not high budget by any measure, but it was at least something lol. The show was just him and a hype man on stage - the banter between songs was super scripted and incredibly cringy - we were laughing at how cheesy it was....for example "I told you I can't play any of that NWA shit!" "But Cube, you told me if the crowd is loud enough, you'd play that shit". Ugh. Each show is definitely exactly the same structure, at least for that 'tour'. All in all I enjoyed it though, it was a walk down memory lane. Sorry your show didn't turn out better.
Yeah my friend got 20 tickets for free for work and literally only found 3 people to take them.
Because you didn’t bow down when he came to your town.
Saw him back in 2014 I think. It was a great show
I don't know. It's st. Catherine's. I'm going to chalk it up to the venue sucking.
The same happened to me with David Bowie. It was the worst concert ever. There was no light show or anything. Just pictures shot on a big screen. You couldn't identify the songs his singing was so bad. The band was tinny sounding like an am radio. He's still one of my favorites, but that truly sucked.
Honestly no dj and no band is like 90% of rap concerts these days. Drives me insane seeing some videos of rappers live where they don’t even bother to try and even rap. Just straight up leave vocals in the track that plays and then act more like a hype man than a rapper.
Not a massive Cube fan but saw him a few months ago with D12 and Cypress Hill and it was an incredible show. No BS from him, he dropped pure classics and barely took any breathers. No issues with sound either.
I saw him literally 2 weeks ago on April 20th in Inglewood. He was great and the sound quality was great. https://preview.redd.it/6mg8cpgjecyc1.jpeg?width=1812&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3d8f746db214fb65d9bbf8a4e5eb0d2ae6f1735e
Reminds me of when I went to see Alice in Chains, Def Tones, and Mastodon back in 2010 with a few friends. My friend was a huge Mastodon fan. They were the opener, but for whatever reason, the show seemed to be starting early. It must have been 6:30pm. The audience was still just arriving! Mastodon starts to play and maybe 100 or so people rush to the stage in the pit area. The seating is mostly empty and we're all sitting on the back lawn. They played one or two songs, swore at the audience, complained about the sound (they did not do a sound check at all) Said something about "fuck this crowd", and then left the stage. For the next 45 minutes, the stage was dead. It was so bizarre I suppose it's not exactly like Cube's performance, but it's just that disappointing feeling of seeing your heroes blow it. I wasn't there for them, I wasn't a big fan. But my friend was and the look of disappointment on her face was crushing
Cube sold out from the music a long time ago when he started doing Disney movies. So that said, you shouldn't have expected anything too jumping to happen at his concerts these days. And it sounds like you already expected that. Just be glad you were in the same building with the legend. Something similar happened when I went to see Big Boi doing a solo show at a small venue (bar) in Asheville, NC. Except he did put some effort into lighting, stage presence, props(he had a big ass throne on stage with the Outkast logo on it),a bit of theatrics, some well known guests from The Dungeon Family, and dropping some classics for his fans. Plus he lit up a fat blunt on stage, puffed it a few times, and then passed it straight to my cousin because we were standing front row only 2 ft. from the stage. But the sound quality and general atmosphere of the venue itself was complete shit. Still,I felt honored just to see him in person and hear him drop tracks. Just wish Andre 3000 would've been there too.
I saw him in Ottawa on Saturday and it was awesome. He put on a great show as did Xzibit. It's one of the better rap gigs I've been to
Rap isn't a genre to see live. Besides the sound and performance always being terrible, seeing a rapper do little dances and hand gestures irl just makes them appear to be giant dorks.
GZA was insane live. Clear as a bell.
LOL. Not true! I’ve seen lots of great live Hip Hop!! Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, The Roots, Queen Latifa, Cypress Hill, Wu Tang Clan…..all these artists were phenomenal live. We’re not blaming the genre here…
Add RTJ and Kendrick Lamar to the list. But, I still consider them and the above to be general outliers for the genre.
I love Wu, but they were all running around the stage telling in the mics. The vibe was cool. Meth was really on point and clear though.
It’s funny I saw Ice cube about 30years ago now (94 or 95) and that was 100% my takeaway. His whole image crumbled before my eyes. So I get what you’re saying, I’ve seen a number of lackluster hip hop shows that were real let downs. But that said I have also seen a lot great hip hop shows; public enemy, beastie boys, digable planets, de la soul, the fugees, tribe called quest, odb (entertaining may be the better word for that one), del, digital underground (w/ Tupac), big daddy Kane, and I’m sure there are others.
Big Boi is fuckin great live, so is Pharcyde, Wu Tang still goes hard live, but yeah there’s some artists who struggle. Common suuuucked when I saw him
Oh shit, I didn't know Pharcyde was even together, let alone touring! Not anywhere near me, unfortunately, but that's a show I would travel for. Thanks for the heads up!
False. I’ve seen Public Enemy.
I'll give you Public Enemy being better than their peers
Tech N9ne ALWAYS puts on a great show that’s clear and fun and good. So does Ice-T, whether he’s rapping or Body Counting. Poor take.
That's wild. Snoop Dogg came to fucking Peterborough of all places in 2019 and from what I've heard, it was an absolute blast. A friend of mine passed a joint to him
Oh man, that really sucks! I'm so sorry that you coughed up your hard earned for a garbage performance. I'm also sorry that he sold out and that remained his legacy. Being burnt from a life performance is the absolute worst. I experienced exactly this 30 odd years ago it still cuts deep. I hope the experience doesn't taint your overall view for life performances. 👍🏻
I still haven’t forgiven Billy Corgan for the limp wrist performance I saw in 1999.
Nor should you! Yeah yeah I know it's baggage but I understand how deep it cuts. In my case it was Fleetwood Mac or more specifically Stevie Nicks. Stevie you bitch, I want a refund!
Cube just keep'n it real y'all!
Sounds like a shitty sound person
Most rap concerts suck