I Love The 90s! – Trusts Stadium June 3, 2017

The roof, the roof, the roof was on fire (not literally, but in a 90’s Hip-Hop kind of way) in last’s night’s I love 90’s tour show at the Trusts Arena. As Salt N Pepa said ‘Hip-Hop is in da house’ and they weren’t lying.

After selling out arenas across America, The I love 90’s Tour landed on New Zealand shores last night, inviting us on a trip down memory lane to witness some of our favourite and most iconic names in rap, hip-hop and R&B.

Kicking off the night was Young MC with his performance of Bust A Move – and that’s exactly what we did! Color Me Badd followed with their 1991 classic I Wanna Sex You Up, to which the arena was filled with high-pitched screams. The R&B trio transported us back to the 90’s as they busted some serious shapes but also gave us a taste of what they could sound like today, performing a rendition of Blackstreet’s No Diggity.

American rapper Coolio brought the house down with his 1995 award-winning hit single Gangsta’s Paradise but the highlight from his set has to be his tribute song to Muhammad Ali, where the entire arena united with their fists in the air. The saxophone solo was simply outstanding and made for an emotional performance.

Bringing it for the girls and the biggest act of the night was the queens of hip-hop, Salt n Pepa. The ladies showed they still have what it takes 31 years after they first burst onto the hip-hop scene. After DJ Spinderella played a variety of covers on the decks, the girls got down to business and performed the most anticipated song of the evening Push It. The arena was filled with chants and simultaneously broke out into the 90’s dance routine that we all know and love.

Vanilla Ice transported the crowd back to their teenage years and demonstrated what a real 90’s party looked like. The stage was filled with a mob of crowd members, who of course looked like they were having a ball. His blast from the past Ice Ice Baby was certainly a highlight of the evening, however it should have been the ending to his set. His lyrics ‘Ice is back with my brand new invention’ rang true as it felt like he was trying to showcase what he can do now rather than celebrate his 90’s hits.

I have to say, unlike today’s artists the crowd interaction is on point and although it is decades after they have performed, boy do they know how to put on a show!

Lauren Sanderson

Click on any image to view a very extensive photo gallery by Ivan Karczewski: