August 08, 2016
A hip-hop time machine called the ‘I Love the ’90s' tour took concertgoers back to the past on Saturday at BB&T Pavilion. With eight main artists — including headliners Vanilla Ice and Salt-N-Pepa — it was a night of fun, carefree nostalgia.
After an unannounced opening by modern artist Amen Ra, Young MC kicked off the evening with his classic “Bust A Move.” Tone Loc (and his lovable rasp) was up next and Camden got down to “Funky Cold Medina.” Coolio, backed by a live band, came next, doing “Gangsta’s Paradise” and more.
Color Me Badd was the first of many groups to cruise onto the stage. Their harmony power could still be heard on “I Wanna Sex You Up.” The humorous Kid ’n Play then delivered one of the night’s most engaging sets. And I swear: All-4-One still had the vocal goods to melt anyone’s heart on this humid night.
Salt-N-Pepa were the penultimate act. Complete with male dancers and DJ Spinderella, they got the crowd revved up. There was certainly some “Shoop” and discussions about lovemaking in their hour-long set. The crowd thinned out a bit after that, but the majority of the fans stuck around to have their time travel mission completed by Vanilla Ice on a stage decked out with inflatable monster plants and a death figure. And so, the ’90s came to an odd close once again.