It was a hazy night. It came from the stickiness of the humidity, the fog rolling off the stage’s smoke machines, and the plumes of smoke wafting from the fans on the seventh night of the High School Reunion Tour Sunday night at Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre.
The all-ages, sold-out concert, which had a slightly later start due to afternoon storms, featured six performers all deeply rooted in the hip-hop scene—a scene that is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year and has become much more than just music.
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The stage was made to look like the inside of a high school, with lockers emblazoned with the words “N Hale High.” First up, DJ Drama primed the growing crowd with a half-hour set of energetic beats and questioning if everyone in the crowd was smoking. (That was a running theme throughout the night). Rapper and multi-million-dollar cannabis businessman, Berner, then delivered a half-hour of his easy-grooving style rap. He also took a moment to capture the crowd on video with his phone.
Rapper and DJ Warren G strode on stage next wearing a Regulate T-shirt (referencing his debut album and 1994 single). Best known for his ’90s West Coast rap, he connected with the crowd in a meaningful way. During “This DJ,” he encouraged the crowd to shout out verses of the song, and they were happy to oblige. West Coast hip-hop pioneer Too $hort then brought the crowd 40-minutes of his own rap style, which covers more explicit and controversial topics (and has often been too much for the radio waves). He chatted up the crowd and gave a shout-out to any fans from East St. Louis.
At only 35, Pittsburg-rapper Wiz Khalifa is already a veteran in the hip-hop scene given his early start. He gave the packed house about 45 minutes of his hooks, exuberant charm, and rap swagger amid bursts of bright white lights and even more blasts of smoke. From “Black and Yellow” to “Bad Ass Bitches,” Khalifa had the crowd on their feet and grooving to the beats.
The night’s biggest draw, Snoop Dogg, made his grand entrance at about 9:20 p.m., rolling on stage amid a cloud of smoke in his classic Chevy Impala convertible. Let’s face it, that right there would cement him as the coolest dude in any high school any time during the past 50 years.
Clad in a silk, paisley-printed, purple tracksuit with “Snoop Dogg” emblazoned on the chest, Snoop sauntered out of the car with a spliff, which he continued to occasionally puff on during his nearly two-hour set. Fans went wild as the icon calmly sauntered to the middle of the stage to take a moment before kicking his set off with a cover of Dr. Dre’s “The Next Episode.” Snoop also had a surprise in store for the St. Louis crowd. A few songs in, the familiar intro of “Hot in Herre” piped in, and Nelly strode on stage for a surprise cameo. On the whole, this class reunion was way more of a party than the average gymnasium get-together, and we’re sure fans are still riding the high of seeing this collection of stars on one stage.
Find more photos from the night and https://bit.ly/HSRTour23cz
