Cypress Hill rolled up on a cool and breezy May night in Toronto. Bringing with them a legendary hip-hop lineup to Coca-Cola Coliseum that included The Pharcyde and De La Soul. Hip-hop heads young and old were in for a high time.
The Pharcyde got things started with a concise set of classics. Fans went wild for the big hits Oh Shit, Passin’ Me By and Runnin’.
I was grateful to be able to see De La Soul live. Two years ago when Dave Jolicoeur A.K.A. Trugoy the Dove or Plug Two passed away, it felt like that would be the end of the influential trio. Mase hyped the crowd with a short DJ set and gave shout outs to Toronto’s hip hop scene. Noting Choclair, k-os, Kardinal Offishal and Skratch Bastid as their contemporaries. Posdnuos joined shortly after digging into Potholes In My Lawn. Stakes Is High, A Roller Skating Jam Named “Saturdays” and the quintessential Me Myself and I were other memorable moments.
DJ Lord rocked the block with some heavy, pounding tracks to get the audience fired up before the main attraction. The arena became a thick cloud of haze and smoke as the rest of Cypress Hill took the stage. B-Real and Sen Dog swaggered onto stage, spitting out a hits laden performance. Hand On The Pump, A To The K and When The Shit Goes Down providing the crowd with plenty of opportunities to shoot finger guns towards the sky.
A weed smoking medley that included Roll It Up Light It Up Smoke It Up, I Wanna Get High, Cisco Kid, Dr. Greenthumb and Hits From The Bong delighted the masses. Eric Bobo and DJ Lord showcased drum beats versus breakbeats in a back and forth battle.
The set closed out with How I Could Just Kill A Man, Insane In The Brain and (Rock) Superstar. A surprising and welcome encore followed. Crouching down at the front of the stage with all the performers on the bill, B-Real encouraged everyone in the building to get down before springing up to the recognizable intro to the House Of Pain’s joint, Jump Around!
Nearly three decades since their debut, the group’s unique blend of beats and buds is still intoxicating.
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