Ice Dice introduced his Reality To Energy tour to Atlanta, Georgia on Oct. 14. 4 Many years of Angle was on full show on the metropolis’s State Farm Area which was buzzing with diehard, day one followers of the west coast emcee.
This one-man present didn’t disappoint and gave way over at present’s typical concert events. For starters, the set was a mashup of phases, an higher degree stage outfitted with a pair of low riders and a decrease degree stage that launched fashionable expertise, within the type of amalgamated actuality (AR), to Dice’s nostalgic providing.
Dice built-in the stage backdrop as an overhead projector and digital photograph album to help within the visible storytelling of his life story. The NWA expat paired efficiency with songs and tales that had been laced with a historic narrative, that led the viewers from his pre-Ice Dice period—earlier than he ever picked up a mic— when he was simply younger O’Shea Jackson. After sharing photos from his childhood, Dice paid homage to his older sister Beverly, who died by the hands of her husband, who occurred to be a cop. In that second, it’s crystallized that Ice Dice’s ire towards regulation enforcement just isn’t solely primarily based on profiling and state sanctioned violence in opposition to Black and brown communities—but additionally private. Dice informed followers that Beverly’s dying had a profound influence on him at 12-years-old. The lack of innocence has definitely contributed to his writing, changing into a rapper and a nigga with an angle (NWA). Sharing that perception was the proper segue into the primary music of the evening: “Fuck the Police.”
Dice took the group down reminiscence lane with “Dopeman,” after which to his encounter and camaraderie with Eric “Eazy E” Wright. The friendship morphed into the long-lasting rap group NWA which might go on to be probably the most influential rap teams in Hip-Hop, making gangsta rap a business commodity. The Los Angeles rapper welcomed Lil Eazy, Straightforward E’s son, on stage to carry out the monumental music “Boyz within the Hood.”
Dice went forwards and backwards between commentary and efficiency. He acquired into his NWA bag with “Straight Outta Compton,” and transitioned into story and music round his departure from the group; recording AmeriKKKa’s Most Wished in NYC; the Lench Mob; John Singleton and his critically-acclaimed album Demise Certificates. He gave shoutouts to Friday film alums Chris Tucker and Faizon Love, who had been a part of the viewers. His followers had been “Regular Mobbin” and mouthing lyrics to “Test Ya’self.”
The “No Vaseline” artist pulled no punches whereas expressing his ideas on tensions in Hip-Hop: Ice Dice stated the “East Coast-West Coast beef didn’t begin with Tupac and Biggie,” earlier than reminding concertgoers of the 1991 squabble between him and Tim Canine that truly predates the latter coastal rivalry. It’s arduous to go to the previous with out all three members of Westside Connection however it’s refreshing to see WC crip-dancing alongside Dice to “Bow Down” and different hits, and to witness Warren G carry out “Regulators” as soon as once more. The icing on the cake, although, would have been a cameo from Yo-Yo and Das EFX. These absences, specifically, really feel like missed alternatives. The live performance crescendo, although, is epic certainly. The rapper, producer, filmmaker and icon, concluded the present with “It Was A Good Day,” Ice Dice’s highest-charting single so far, as a Goodyear blimp floated the sector; its ticker learn: “Ice Dice’s A Pimp.”
The rollout, pacing and timing of Dice’s supply is on level from kickoff to shut. The themes round resistance, reclamation, reunification and Black pleasure are aligned with Hip-Hop historical past, weaving via 4 many years of Hip-Hop expertise. The Reality To Energy: 4 Many years of Angle tour commits to reminiscence and music and Ice Dice’s heft as a Hip-Hop legend and pioneer. Ice Dice actually is a pimp.
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