Chicago Vibe Alive

Warren G came to the Metro in Chicago and I knew it was something not to be missed. When else would you see such a West Coast legend in a small space that HAS NOT been overblown by their own persona (i.e. Snoop). I ti is hard to think of one West Coast OG who hasn’t turned into something else  - enter Ice Cube.

Warren did not disappoint. His delivery sounds exactly like the first album.

Just look at this cover – it is incredible. Soooo West Coast it hurts and elements of photography here are amazing. I have long loved the rich images of West Coast hip hop film and printed art. Take this more Latino slice of LA lifestyle – Kid Frost La Raza

Seeing these things when I first started listening to hip hop instilled a sense of nationalism. When I would go off to summer camp or travel and meet other kids they all would be either East or West. Rarely would the same listener have a DJ Quik album and a Wu-Tang record in the same bag. I was lucky growing up in the Midwest to have just about zero influence on what I “should” listened to besides what I saw in Yo! MTV Raps and friend’s older brothers.

On to the show…….Like I said Warren was on point and sounding like 1994 all over again. He was creased jeans down and hit all of the hot tracks off his first release. He went into his new stuff some, but it was the nostalgia I went for – which he delivered. At one point he stopped the music and said some words in regards to Nate Doggs health after having two strokes. After his update it turned into a Nate Dogg dance party – the dj flying through all the hits.

When you hear about 15 tracks that Nate touched you realize what an hit maker he was/is. Everyone in the place was dancing and I noticed the on stage entourage starting to grow. There were two characters I have seen before and I could quite figure out who they were. They were def. not with Warren’s crew due to clothing. Later Warren stopped again and introduced the duo as Crucial Conflict.

My history with Crucial is limited – Loved the song Hay (who didn’t) and only other time I have seen them was during the Bun B concert this past winter where a member of the crew sang a new single. It consisted of dude in sunglasses yelling his verses and another dude in a full body Carhartt Suit and orange Ski cap that he would pull down over his face at any moment during their brief performance. When it was his turn in the song he pulled down his hat turned his back to the audience and danced with his drink – CLASSIC.

So when I saw them at the Warren G show I didn’t know what to expect. They fashion is something between a 90′s Mobb Deep video and Outkast. One member fired up a blunt and was quickly denounced by the Metro’s security goons. Let me say this for the record, I have NEVER seen a rap artist be told they can’t smoke on stage. They basicly hung out on the sidelines bouncing to the G Funk and lovin life. Then it came time when Warren allowed a few guys out of the crowd to come up on stage and spit. First dude was horrible and eyes started to dart around on stage wondering how to pull a mic from this guy. Warren introduced Crucial again and I was all ears/eyes wide. They grabbed mics and started to throw down – normal, but then it came out. One member in Andre 3000 sunglasses just started to yell into the mic like he was backup for Bad Brains and his partner followed suite. GREAT!!!! Who else (rapper) you know would do that when given the chance to sing when on stage with a protege. Anyway, I couldn’t have had a better time and Warren couldn’t have sounded better.

West Coast