The Nineties called. Luckily, they didn't want their rappers back.
They were willing to share them with today's fans via the I Love the 90s tour, which came to Verizon Arena Friday night to the delight of 3,811 screaming fans.
All the rappers showed that age had not slowed down their rhyming skills, including headliner Vanilla Ice. With a stage bearing spooky inflatable props — and an assistant in clown makeup who threw water on fans in the front rows — he performed "Ninja Rap," "Play That Funky Music," and several other cuts before seguing into "Ice Ice Baby."
The real headliners, however, were Salt-N-Pepa, who brought the most songs and elicited the most cheers. With male dancers catering to them onstage and DJ Spinderella setting the mood, they spit — rapper slang snippets and chunks of cuts as "My Mike Sounds Nice," "I'll Take Your Man," "Tramp," "Whatta Man," "Shoop" and "Push It." They donned their signature oversized, color-blocked jackets to finish their set.
The concert kicked off with Young M., who brought his cut "Feel the Love" as well as his big hit, "Bust a Move" and an impressive execution of "Fastest Rhyme," a short rap done in one breath. Tone Loc — voice as gravelly as ever — cussed good-naturedly about Arkansas' humid heat then took the crowed back to early MTV and his hits "Funky Cold Medina" and "Wild Thing."
Dapper duo Kid 'n Play, their high-top fades long gone, pulled off the most energetic and youthful moves of the evening. Performing hits "Ain't Gonna Hurt Nobody" "Do This My Way" and "Kid vs. Play," they threw in a bit of their famous funky Charleston dance, much to the crowd's delight, and did a comedic announcement thanking their "sponsors" ... Just for Men (hair color), Ben Gay and Icy Hot. Rob Base infused a lot of style and enthusiasm into his short act, doing a bit of his "Joy and Pain" hit before going into the hit that defined his fame — "It Takes Two."
Arkansas disc jockeys G-Force and Deja Blu got the crowd pumped before the show, and kept them pumped between acts, with their skillful turntablism and plenty of old-school hip-hop hits.
Many audience members sported '90s hip-hop gear or T-shirts bearing the name of the tour, names of featured artists and lyrics snippets.