Hip-hop trio delivers smokin' show

By MICHAEL PATRICK WELCH

© St. Petersburg Times, published August 4, 2000

TAMPA -- Wednesday's Up in Smoke Tour stop at the Ice Palace, featuring rappers Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and Eminem, shook the place with bass and fireworks that brought to mind one of Florida's more threatening thunderstorms. And the rampant marijuana use by artists and many in the audience of about 10,000 gave the four-hour event the feel of a well-organized rally to legalize the weed.

Every word, action and prop was an anti-establishment expression, from the performers' defiant pot smoking to the giant, inflated middle fingers bookending the stage during Eminem's set. To judge from the largely white, college-age crowd's reaction, these kinds of anti-establishment expressions have become mainstream.

Several Tampa Bay Buccaneers lingered on and around the Up in Smoke stage, which approximated an inner-city street corner scene, complete with graffiti, a liquor store and a giant garage door. The door opened to reveal a group of rappers smoking pot as Orlando Magic star Shaquille O'Neal emerged from their marijuana cloud to ride across the stage in a bouncing low-rider driven by Dre and Snoop (who smoked his fifth joint while riding shotgun).

Other stadium hip-hop tours (such as last year's Hard Knock Life show featuring Jay-Z have been visual bores. But Up in Smoke, with its giant talking skulls, false storefronts and rumbling pyrotechnics, had more in common with Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean ride than a traditional hip-hop show.

The beginning of the evening featured short sets by rappers Kurupt, Xzibit and Warren G., among others. But the show really got going with Eminem, whose name was spelled out in lights across the stage with an giant Ecstasy pill substituting for the second "e." Eminem, a.k.a. Slim Shady, backed by his Detroit-based group, D-12, opened with Kill You. From there, he and his crew blazed through a short set of his artfully crafted, triple platinum hits, detailing fantasies of cartoon violence that he manages to make humorous -- to his fans. Multiple video monitors showed the clean-cut, blonde lyricist's habit of literally pushing his tongue into his cheek when asking the crowd unusual questions like: "How many people here get angry?"

But it was Dre and Snoop who had the most elaborate theatrics and won the loudest applause. The duo brought out guests, from baritone Nate Dogg, to Busta Rhymes-ish rapper Xzibit, who entered on a souped-up three-wheeled bicycle.

At times, the stagey tricks and videotaped skits reeked of the Spinal Tap aesthetic abandoned by today's rock musicians. And Dre's proclamations that Tampa was "The hypest crowd on the tour!" seemed a little insincere. But overall, the theatrical cheese was more fun than distracting.

Unlike a lot of rappers, whose live vocal performances are sloppy and indiscernible, the Up in Smoke MC's were all measured and articulate veterans. From hits like Snoop's Gin and Juice, to the Tupac collaboration, California Love, to a eulogy rendition of Boyz in Tha Hood for Dre's departed N.W.A. bandmate, Eazy E., Dre and company proved why they're still in the rap game, all these years after bringing their vision from the inner city.

But one had to wonder when looking around at the crowd: How many inner-city families could afford the $60 ticket?