Legendary hip hop icon Ice Cube kicked off his first Canadian tour in over four years at a sold out show in Victoria on Sunday night. Ice Cube, who has been influencing mainstream 'gangsta rap' since the late 1980s, demonstrated through his energetic performance that he is still one of the most skilled and influential West Coast rappers to date. It was a pretty impressive performance, partly because Ice Cube is now in his 40s, but also because he was much more energetic and interactive with the crowd (chanting numerous times that "Victoria is in the middle of the mutha f**kin' West Coast") than many other artists of his calibre tend to be.
Check out a video below that we filmed in the middle of the madness in the crowd at Club 9one9 on Sunday night, in which Ice Cube performs "Hello" and "Natural Born Killaz":
There is some SERIOUS talent in this young singer/songwriter from the U.K. Adele released her 2nd album '21' to insane chart topping success, breaking U.K records like crazy. Critically acclaimed, its clearly destined for another very well deserved round at the Grammy's. Handled by pros like Rick Rubin and Paul Epworth, the production on this album isn't even a concern, it's flawless. However, she does lose a bit of my attention in some of the slower parts of the album. I believe she really tends shines in the foot-stomping, soul anthems like 'Rolling in the Deep.' A song which has been previously described as "dark, bluesy, gospel disco music." It's spawned remixes from all over, including one from The XX's Jamie XX that dominates Hype Machine. That's not the only hit either, this album is packed full of mind blowing displays of vocal ability that can easily be categorized as 'hits' (Rumour has it, Some one like you). This album sounds great on a first listen but I have to be honest, not every song jumped out to me on the first run through. Each listen though, a new song will sneak its way in to blow me away. Which is a good quality for an album to have. Adele is passionate and real, and at age 22 she probably has more soul and wisdom in her singing voice than most 60 year olds. She also has a one up on most of her competition due to the fact that she plays the guitar and actually writes her own songs. '21' is composed of these simple yet very classical and almost country arrangements with stories of bitter sweet love. Adele has said '21' was written mostly about her love life and most recent break up. She's stated that she was inspired by Mumford and Sons' album 'sigh no more' as it reminded her of her ex boyfriend. Pretty typical inspiration for an artist her age but the maturity in her songwriting and voice is what makes this album so amazing. '21' is a good listen for all types of music lovers.
