Today is a good day! Rap loyalty is in the building, none other than O’Shea Jackson Sr. you might know him as Ice Cube. Tonight he brought the Straight Out Of Canada Tour to Place Bell in Laval. A lesson in West Coast hip-hop was about to be told.
Starting off the night was Peter Jackson, no, not the director of Lord of the Rings but the hardest-working rapper in Canada. He set the tone with some hard-hitting bars and actively warmed up the crowd for Mr. Cube. We even had a visit from the guys in D12 who were in town for their own show that night.
Finally, it was time for Ice Cube to hit the stage; lights went out, and a huge blow-up hand took on each side of the stage with the hand gesture for Westside. Aside from that and a large screen as a backdrop, the stage was a blank canvas. No one was better positioned to deliver this hip-hop history lesson than the legendary rapper, Ice Cube. He shouted out to the Laval crowd, who erupted in cheers, before launching into “Natural Born Killaz,” followed by “Hello” and “Why We Thug.” It was a fantastic way to start, and the hits just kept coming. He asked the crowd to “Check Yo’ Self” before performing “Friday” with classic scenes from the movie playing in the background, and the entire venue sang along.
After five songs, I would have already been happy and felt like I got my money’s worth! But Cube wasn’t done. He performed an energetic 23-song set, including three N.W.A. songs, a diss track for his former bandmates, and a Westside Connection song.
Throughout the show, he showed us why he’s one of the greatest living MCs with a career spanning four decades. The knowledge he dropped between songs was pure gold. Especially when he talked about N.W.A. and how he wrote the best diss track of all time, “No Vaseline” – sorry Drake and Kendrick, not even close, according to Cube! He’s engaging, funny, and he’s Craig Jones in the flesh! Such a great time. I really enjoyed “You Know How We Do,” “Ain’t Got No Haters,” and “We Be Clubbin’.”
It was a great night for hip hop and fans in attendance lapped it up when he went into “Straight Out of Compton” and finally closed out the night with “It Was A Good Day!” He promised to be back soon, and don’t miss the next one!
Review & photos – Eric Brisson
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