Ice Cube, Cypress Hill, AB Original live review: Hip-hop legends bring gangsta rap masterclass to Adelaide Entertainment Centre

West Coast rap legends Ice Cube and Cypress Hill just put on the best (and loudest) hip-hop concert Adelaide has seen in years. Here’s our review.

Cypress Hill performing in Adelaide on March 25, 2023. Picture: Michael Owen-Brown

Adelaide is often skipped by top-tier hip-hop talent. I guess the big US rappers feel more comfortable on the west or east coast than a heartland city.

But in the past fortnight we’ve been honoured with visits from two of the Doggfathers – sorry, godfathers – of gangsta rap. First Snoop Dogg, then on Saturday night Ice Cube, whose volcanic rage fuelled NWA into “the most dangerous band on the planet” in the late 1980s.

As if that wasn’t enough star power, Cube brought along some smoking buddies – legendary Los Angeles stoner rap crew Cypress Hill.

Together, they put on the most vibrant (and deafening) hip-hop masterclass this city has seen in years. Little wonder the Adelaide Entertainment Centre was packed to the brim.

Ice Cube performs in Adelaide on March 25, 2023. Picture: Michael Owen-Brown

It was originally intended to be a triple-header, but The Game pulled out on the eve of the tour – the third time he’s pulled that stunt on his Aussie fans since 2013. Game over, dude.

Homegrown duo AB Original proved an inspired last-minute replacement, with Briggs and Trials doing a stellar job in hyping the crowd. Trials in particular was clearly having the time of his life on his home town’s biggest stage. 


Cypress Hill were scintillating. Their sinister, claustrophobic, weed-fuelled beats gain extra energy live thanks to the frenetic drumming of ex-Beastie Boys percussionist Eric Bobo and nimble scratching of DJ Lord (who fills in for Cypress’s beats guru DJ Muggs on tour).

But it’s the rhyming skills and showmanship of MCs B-Real and Sen Dog that make Cypress an elite act.

Resplendent in military camo, glam shades and a spectacular afro, B-Real’s nasal whine is unlike any other major rapper. And few can match his ability to hype the crowd into a frenzy while spinning compelling tales of street life, all while inhaling industrial amounts of weed smoke.

B-Real and Sen Dog from Cypress Hill.

Their set leaned heavily on early classics like I Wanna Get High, Hand On The Pump, Ain’t Going Out Like That and How I Could Just Kill A Man.

But throughout the set the band mixed things up with fresh beats, fragments of other songs, tempo changes and surprising segues. It was a masterclass in turning old favourites into new art.

Then it was time for Ice Cube, indisputably one of the greatest and most influential MCs of all time.

He prowls the stage like a panther and raps with fury and precision. Despite an eclectic career that took him into the world of family movies, Cube was clearly hungry to show he can still rock the mic like an OG.

Ice Cube returned to Australia for his first tour since Covid (file picture). Picture: Jackie Butler/WireImage

By the end of the show he was sweaty and elated, repeatedly praising the Adelaide audience for being the noisiest crowd on the whole tour.

Cube has a strong respect for the history of hip-hop, sampling the classic riff from The Message for Check Yo Self and keeping the crowd hooked with stories about his rise in the rap game.

A real treat was delving deep into the vault for NWA classic Straight Outta Compton, followed soon afterwards by the hilarious and cutting diss track No Vaseline … although sadly he only performed the first verse when the most brutal (and offensive) putdowns of his NWA bandmates come later in the track. Maybe that’s because fences have been mended and he’s all cool now with his former homies.

Top-tier talent, creative staging and lights, earthquake-grade bass and tons of interaction with a pumped-up crowd. The final song had to be Today Was A Good Day. Damn straight it was.