Ice Cube and Cypress Hill, two of the most iconic hip-hop artists of the 80s and 90s, have been touring together on their High Rollers tour. The tour focuses on storytelling rather than flashy staging, but it is a high-intensity show of real fire and focus. The UK leg of the tour kicked off in Glasgow, where Ice Cube asked the crowd, "Can he still get on the mic and do what you like?" ¹.
The veteran rapper was joined by 90s stoner-rap legends Cypress Hill, with MCs B-Real and Sen Dog presenting a slick yet frenzied set of their best work. Flanked by clouds of customary weed smoke, they packed in a wealth of activity – from DJ Lord’s mixing of KRS-One’s Sound of da Police with Metallica’s Enter Sandman to the lone piper who appeared on stage and filled the Hydro with a satisfying rendition of Flower of Scotland. Tracks such as Tequila Sunrise and (Rock) Superstar were given extra weight thanks to the drumming of ex-Beastie Boys percussionist Eric Bobo, while B-Real and Sen Dog’s rhythmic prowess shone on I Wanna Get High, Latin Lingo and the suitably trippy finale of Insane in the Brain ¹.
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The gig would have been a west coast trifecta had opener the Game made his way to Glasgow as planned. Instead he was replaced by a scaled down version of Detroit collective D12, who are just about to begin a 20th-anniversary tour. Swifty McVay and Kuniva served as quintessential hype men for an audience not necessarily expecting their presence, tearing up the stage with their performance ¹.
The High Rollers tour is a must-see for fans of old school hip-hop. The tour is a testament to the fact that Ice Cube and Cypress Hill are still masters of the mic and can put on a show that is both high-intensity and entertaining ¹.
