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Review: It Was a Good Day when rap legend Ice Cube rocked Penticton

The rap icon showed his lyrical prowess in front of thousands of ‘OG’ fans at the SOEC

Rap legend Ice Cube put on a 1.5-hour powerhouse performance to an appreciative, pumped-up crowd on Wednesday night for his Straight Into Canada tour at the South Okanagan Events Centre in Penticton.

DJ Kav got the crowd started early, laying out beats and mixes of hit songs from the 1990s and 2000s while interacting with the audience. After the concert, DJ Kav headed over to The Hub on Martin for the after-party.

Ice Cube didn’t take the stage until 9 p.m., which was a bit longer than hoped for many eager fans lucky enough to snag a ticket to the sold-out show.

Once the rap icon walked on, the crowd went wild and the 53-year-old dove into all his hits, showing why he is such a legend. Cube was quick to note that he was glad to be in B.C. where the weed flows freely. And the weed did flow throughout the smoke-filled arena for the entirety of the concert.

Ice Cube was joined by special guest American rapper Xzibit for most of his songs, the pair riffing off each other, rapping song after song like No Vaseline. Ice Cube did not disappoint with his undeniable charisma, energy and lyrical prowess.

“I’ve been doing this for a long time. I started this gangsta sh$*,” said Ice Cube to the audience who cheered back in adoration of the original gangster.

“A lot of people ask me, when are you going to retire?…. Never. Why would I?” said the Rock N Roll Hall of Famer.

Songs like Check Yo Self and You Know How We Do It brought everyone to their feet with Cube getting people to sing back ‘Westside’ and getting everyone’s hands in the air. His stage included two blow-up hands with fingers held in the OG Westside gangsta symbol.

He told the audience that he wrote his first hit song at age 15 and joined the N.W.A. and had “the time of his life.” He left the wildly popular hip-hop group “when the money got funny.”

He even sang a couple of NWA songs in his Wednesday night set. He also played a lot from his hugely popular album AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted album.

“I’ve been doing this for 30 years and one thing I know is all the haters just fall away.”

While rapping, the big screen behind them showed action scenes from Cube’s many movies.

While touring as a solo artist, Ice Cube also launched a 3-on-3 basketball league and has had a hugely successful acting career.

One of the last songs he played in the concert was one of his biggest hits: It Was A Good Day, and it was a very good day. Thanks, Ice Cube for picking Penticton. And thanks, Penticton for showing Ice Cube what an awesome town we are.

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Monique Tamminga

About the Author: Monique Tamminga

Monique brings 20 years of award-winning journalism experience to the role of editor at the Penticton Western News. Of those years, 17 were spent working as a senior reporter and acting editor with the Langley Advance Times.
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