Old school hip-hop fans gathered on Sunday evening for the last date of the “Kings of the Mic Tour” at The Greek Theatre in LA. There was no better way to end the long weekend. The outdoor concert was headlined by LL Cool J and featured DJ Z-Trip, Ice Cube, Public Enemy and De La Soul plus special guest, DJ Chuck Chillout. Some notables that we spotted in the crowd included Tony Kanal from No Doubt, Tony Hawk and actor Joe Manganiello.
The event began with a set by DJ Chuck Chillout followed by De La Soul who got the crowd going before introducing Public Enemy. P.E. took over the stage with our favorite clock wearing rapper, Flavor Flav. He took to the mic to give a shout out to the greatest performer of all time, the King of Pop, Michael Jackson. He preceded to get the crowd hyped with his well known one-liner “Let me hear you say Yeaaahhh Boyyy!”. He continued to make his way into the crowd. He must have been really into his performance as he lost his shoe in the aisle, while running through the theatre.
Next up was Ice Cube who was most interested in finding out if this crowd consisted of old school hip hop fans. Of course the crowd cheered with enthusiasm. He gave a shout out to an important year in hip-hop – 1989 and his tour with L.L. Cool J and NWA as photos of the young rapper in his old school hip-hop attire of black tees and large gold chains displayed on the jumbo screens.
He then introduced the headlining act of the night, L.L. Cool J who represented the East Coast with his purple t-shirt and and matching New York cap. The crowd went wild, but especially the women because “Ladies love Cool James”. The artist stayed true to form, by making hearts melt – licking his lips and working his dimples, while singing some of his classics and romantic ballads like “Mama Said Knock You Out,” “Radio” and “Going Back to Cali”. To further excite the ladies, he asked for females to join him on stage for a “brick house” booty shaking contest. He even joined a couple of lucky ladies with a bump n’ grind as the crowd cheered them on. The concert came to an end when LL introduced Jam Master Jay from Run DMC and they performed crowd favorite, “It’s Tricky”.
All in all it was a great summer concert event and an ode to old school hip-hop with Ice Cube representing the West Coast and LL Cool J keeping it smooth for the East Coast.
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-Sanaz Sarshad
