Concert Photos and Review: Ice Cube shows he can still bring it at The Factory

It’s hard for me to get into hip-hop music these days. There’s no heart to it. A lot of it sounds the same and has no rhyme or reason. Maybe I’m just old school, but the late 80s to the late 90s was one of my favorite periods for hip-hop music. I guess you could call Ice Cube one of the founding fathers.

Along with the other members of N.W.A, Cube set the music world on fire. The group tackled issues that shocked some and angered many, but nonetheless, N.W.A couldn’t be stopped. The group’s story can be viewed in the film, ‘Straight Outta Compton,’ a film where Cube is played by his own son.

While Dr. Dre struck gold with Beats and had his own success, other members had their own success as well. Eazy E, who tragically passed away from the AIDS virus, had a good amount of success on his own, but Ice Cube may have had the most success as a solo artist. Not only did Cube’s albums sell, he became a mainstream star. From his portrayal as Doughboy in ‘Boyz in the Hood,’ to the success of the ‘Friday’ and ‘Barbershop’ franchises, Cube is more than just a rapper these days. However, it’s always good to go back to your roots.

Cube’s 13-city tour made a stop at The Factory on Sunday night, and it did not disappoint. While some hip-hop artists make a habit of being late for a show, as many in the crowd on Sunday were expecting, Cube showed he is a true professional, taking the stage just after 8 p.m. The crowd, made up of mostly 30-40 somethings, enjoyed the opening video showing Cube throughout the years. The rapper then made his way onto the stage with WC (Dub C) and immediately jumped into his song “Natural Born Killaz,” which he performed with Dr. Dre on the Murder was the Case soundtrack. Repping the Dodgers with an LA New Era hat that has almost become custom to see Cube in, he then went into the song ‘Hello.’

Cube’s stage was quite bare, but you wouldn’t even have known. The rapper had two giant hands showing the Westside logo on each side of the stage and that was basically it. A legend like Cube doesn’t need pyro or lasers, he knows how to effectively work a stage, which he did effectively. Cube and WC kept the crowd on their feet and dancing along to his catalog of hits all night. The rapper, who needed no opener, performed 22 songs overall.

While seeing Cube for the third time was just as good as the first, especially at a great venue like The Factory, I felt like there should have been more media there covering a hip-hop legend. It was just me and a house photographer. Judging by the crowd, Cube can still sell tickets and appeals to both men and women, black and white. The crowd was quite diverse, which is always cool to see.

Ice Cube’s concert gets an A.