‘Can he still get on the mic and do what you like?” Ice Cube asks as he kicks off the UK leg of his High Rollers tour in Glasgow. It’s a question that hangs in the air – semi-rhetorical and positioned as a challenge by the veteran rapper, whose CV has exploded in all directions since his early gangsta rap days.
Ice Cube is joined on this tour 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 pack 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 appears on stage and fills the Hydro with a satisfying rendition of Flower of Scotland. Tracks such as Tequila Sunrise and (Rock) Superstar are given extra weight thanks to the drumming of ex-Beastie Boys percussionist Eric Bobo, while B-Real and Sen Dog’s rhythmic prowess shines on I Wanna Get High, Latin Lingo and the suitably trippy finale of Insane in the Brain.
