Dec. 1
A sea of people flooded the walkways surrounding the Microsoft Theater Fri. Dec. 1, at the first ever Kings of the West concert presented by 93.5 KDAY and hosted by Dee Productions.
The seats filled slowly as opening acts like Czar and other up and coming artists performed some of their best tracks, gained exposure and got fans excited. The main lineup consisted of Cypress Hill, Ice Cube and Snoop Dogg, making this the biggest show some of these acts have been a part of.
Yes, there were only three headliners, but don’t let the lack of other kings fool you, these three controlled the crowd and performed songs from a different era, when music stood for something more than that of “cooking crack in crock pot, pot, pot” heard in today’s music. For unfortunate fans unable to attend, here’s a list of what you missed.
Ice Cube
1964 Chevy Impalas with chrome rims and pristine blue paint jobs sat only inches off the floor on each side of the stage. After intermission the theatre went dark and Cube shouted, “What up L.A.?” He wasn’t on the stage yet, but the crowd’s cheers echoed off the walls at the sound of his voice and the screams only vibrated more when he came into view.
At 48, Cube proved, once again, he hasn’t lost his fire, as he C-walked across the stage with WC throughout his hour long set. But not before calling out any haters who claimed he fell off or is too “Hollywood,” by telling them what to do through the 2010 track, “Check Yo Self.”
He spit tracks from the 90s like, “It Was a Good Day” and “You Can Do It,” while old school photos of him with N.W.A. and other rappers he’s worked with appeared on the screen behind them.
The way Cube made the audience scream for him, regardless of what song he performed, confirmed the fact, Ice Cube is still relevant and killin’ it.
Snoop Dogg
When the thin figure, dressed in a gold and black sweat suit stepped on stage the fans immediately cried out his name,”Snooop Dooooggg.” Those who only came to see Snoop, had to wait over three hours, but it was worth it. When he played old school jams like, “Who am I,” “Drop it Like its Hot” and “The Next Episode,” it sounded like everyone in the building was rapping every word and making their best attempts to C-walk.
It’s no secret that Snoop smokes bud, so it was only a matter of time before he sparked up a blunt, took a couple hits and passed it to fans in the front row, but not before asking, “who wanna smoke with Snoop?” Naturally, even the non-smokers roared.
Of course smoking with Snoop Dogg should be on any smoker’s bucket list. However, Snoop knows how to handle the ladies, so when Chris Brown appeared on stage with his maroon Mohawk and sexy dance moves, the women went wild with screams.
It’s usually obvious when a show is coming to an end, but Snoop’s set was unpredictable. He did “Legend” from his Cool-Aid album, a dope song that strays from his norm, but can’t imagine those lyrics coming from another artist.
He made tributes to fallen rappers like Tu-Pac and Nate Dogg before leaving the stage and leaving the audience with no doubt why he’s a king of the west.
Cypress Hill
The Microsoft Theater erupted with screams when Cypress Hill took that stage. Though their set was almost an hour long, it was uneventful. No discredit to the group, their songs or the positive crowd reaction when they performed, “Dr. Green Thumb” and “I Ain’t Going Out Like That,” but compared to the performers after them, it seemed like they could have added more personality in their stage presence.
Venue
The Microsoft Theater is a beautiful venue, but one that isn’t set up efficiently and houses a lot of rules. Not only were the lines to purchase food, drinks, merchandise or use the restroom seemingly never-ending, but there was no smoking section.
The massive clouds of weed smoke was no surprise at this rap concert, but the venue’s no smoking rule, left cigarette smokers no choice but to light up in their seats, an inconvenience for those who don’t care for cigarettes.
The show filled seats almost to capacity, was organized, impressive and the first of its kind. Hopefully, we’ll be seeing more of this production. They only had three west coast kings, imagine what Dee Productions could do with more.
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