May 31

May 31 Show Review: Mount Westmore Bring West Coast Hip-Hop Legends to Oakland

Mount Westmore
w/ Warren G
May 27th, 2022
Oakland Arena
Oakland, CA

Photos and Review by Jared Stossel

As I was driving down to Oakland Arena for this show, the sky almost instantaneously changed from bright blue to darkened gray as I crossed into the arena’s territory. I can’t make this up. Storm clouds blanketed the sky, threatening to cover the spectators making their way into the legendary arena with a downpour of rain. Was this a metaphor for the lyrical storm that was about to take place inside the arena, as four of hip-hop’s greatest wordsmiths were poised to take the stage in just two hours? I couldn’t tell you for sure, but it makes for good writing.

Mount Westmore made their debut Northern California performance the night before in Stockton, but this show was set to be an even bigger event. This was the Bay Area, where the hyphy movement and two of the group’s members, E-40 and Too $hort, cut their teeth in the scene. I don’t think I went to a single middle school or high school dance without hearing “Tell Me When To Go” or “Blow The Whistle”. Match those two with the legendary status of both Ice Cube and Snoop Dogg, and you don’t just have a show; you have a legendary event.

I have been to Oakland Arena countless times since I was a child, and I can say with complete honesty that I have never seen that venue as packed as I did that evening. This was one of the hottest tickets in town, with every seat in the house sold out. There was only one opener, Warren G, another mythical figure in the lore of West Coast hip-hop. Warren Gprovided the perfect support set, getting the crowd hyped up and ready to party with the four-piece supergroup that was about to literally ascend the stage.

Around 8:45 PM, the lights went down and four golden thrones rose up from below the stage, each member of Mount Westmore seated amongst them. The group then proceeded to take turns performing their verses from “Big Subwoofer”, one of the only singles to be released from the group thus far (a full-length album is slated to be out later this year via Death Row Records). Shortly after, one by one, each rapper got up and took the stage to perform one of their hits while the others sat back in their thrones and watched. First was Too $hort, then E-40, Ice Cube, and finally Snoop Dogg. I’ve remarked several times this year about how there is nothing like the moment you experience certain songs in a live atmosphere, no matter how many times you’ve heard them. This sentiment can easily be expressed for “The Next Episode”, a Dr. Dre classic from his 2001 that features Snoop Dogg. This was his first song of the night, and I was actually walking to check my camera bag with security when those opening notes hit. I didn’t need to see it; I felt it.

After each artist did their solo tracks, all four rappers congregated to the front of the stage, taking turns on the mic and traversing through hit song after hit song after hit song. There wasn’t a single dull moment throughout the entire two-hour performances, as Mount Westmore performed over thirty songs. After a brief video played on the screen highlighting the current tour and teasing the new album, each rapper returned to the stage, playing four songs at a time (first Ice Cube, then E-40, etc.). This show could have gone until way past midnight, and I guarantee that the energy would never have dipped.

I’ve seen several supergroups over the years and shows end up becoming few and far between; each artist ends up writing new music, they end up doing their own thing, and it could take years before another show happens. Mount Westmore is a spectacle to behold, and a performance that you absolutely cannot miss if they come through your area later this year. This is mecca for West Coast hip-hop, a celebration of some of the best to ever do it.