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Friday, June 26, 2009
Live Reviews / News Live review: Ice Cube
Posted By Mike McCray on Fri, Jun 26, 2009 at 11:03 AM
Ice Cube
Dub Car Show, Charlotte Convention Center
June 20, 2009
The Deal: One of the West Coast gangsta rap originators hits the Queen City with fancy cars and broads, while everyone wonders to themselves how he’s still a headliner.
The Good: Starting with newer music probably wasn’t the best way to grab the audience but Cube, along with WC, managed to eventually be engaging, breaking up songs with back stories. After two newer joints, he got into the classics and the crowd finally came to life. After “Check Yo Self”, “Bow Down” and other hits, Cube stopped the music and asks the crowd, “can I take it back to 1989” which sent true fans into a frenzy in the front. The best part of the show was the classic Father’s Day moment I took from the show, when a dad up front put his kindergarten-aged son up on his shoulders to see and the little man threw up West Side with both hands while rocking to “You Can Do (Put Yo Ass Into It).” Ahh, fatherhood.
The Bad: I wasn’t the only one wondering why the hell “Straight Outta Compton”, “I Ain’t The One” or at least the verse from Lil Jon’s “Roll Call” weren’t in the show? Besides that, Ice Cube struggled to win over a crowd born post-New Jack City that only knows him from Friday movies and Are We There Yet? It was a little awkward to see how hype the people who grew up with N.W.A. and Amerikkka’s Most Wanted Ice Cube was compared to kids who weren’t familiar. Constantly saying “he” started this gangster music thing was annoying and only partially true (you were a part of a crew).
The Verdict: Other than getting my shoes scuffed by a pressed 30-something woman trying to push her stroller up to the front, the show was surprisingly good, surprisingly exciting. Wouldn’t pay a lot to see him solo but when you throw in some cars, games and women... not a bad deal.
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