The multimillionaire rapper who opened for Ice Cube in 2001

Ice Cube is a West Coast icon and has carried out worldwide as a part of NWA and as a solo artist. Nevertheless, in 2000, the emcee (actual title O’Shea Jackson) launched into a 44-day North America tour with Xzibit, Nate Dogg, Warren G, and Kurupt. Nevertheless, a now-legendary lyricist opened up for him.

Jackson was the headlining act of the ‘Up In Smoke’ tour, which boasted an exclusively West Coast bill and even noticed shock performances from Snoop Dogg. Nevertheless, one artist who had simply damaged into the mainstream opened up for the ‘No Vaseline’ rhymer, and that was Eminem.

In 2000, Eminem was fairly contemporary and had solely been within the limelight for one yr. In the meantime, Jackson had been a star for the reason that mid-Eighties. As a gap act, the Detroit star (actual title Marshall Mathers) was underneath the opposite MCs. Nevertheless, in a latest interview, Ice Cube defined how he ran rings round them and likened the lineup to the “hip-hop Avengers.”

Recalling the 2000 ‘Up In Smoke’ tour, Jackson recounted, “That was the first tour that I took my sons on. I’m like, ‘Y’all hanging with me. Y’all ’bout to grow up.’ And you know, I had them rolling with me and just having the energy of all those humongous groups.”

He continued, “I mean, at the time, Eminem was opening up, you know?! Like, after Warren G, Eminem was going on. So that just shows you the level that we were at, that we was on. He could’ve headlined!”

He concluded, “It’s just with the best teams. You talk about the [U.S. Olympic] Dream Team or the ’90s Bulls, the ’80s Lakers, Shaq, and Kobe… it’s up there. You know you’re at a point where it gets no better than this.”

Dr Dre was additionally part of the ‘Up in Smoke’ tour, and the North America leg was an enormous success that noticed over 50 dates throughout the US and Canada. You possibly can hear Ice Cube talking about Eminem on the tour within the video under.