For Hip-Hop’s 50th anniversary, LL Cool J and The Roots have played a major role in the celebrations going on throughout the year. It started with their curating of the the 2023 Grammy Awards’ Hip-Hop 50 segment, where they somehow gathered dozens of artists to represent each decade of Hip-Hop from the 1970s all the way through to the 2020s, all performing in a tightly coordinated 13-minute time slot. LL Cool J would proclaim on that Grammy stage that this was just a taste of the celebrations he had in store for the year, and time has proven him right. He would go on to assemble an epic lineup of all-time Hip-Hop greats to perform at his annual Rock The Bells Festival in his hometown Queens, New York, before hitting the road and embarking on The F.O.R.C.E. Tour with The Roots, DJ Z-Trip and DJ Jazzy Jeff all backing him.

Although the tour is named after his upcoming 14th studio album, Frequencies Of Real Creative Energy, this wouldn’t simply be LL Cool J returning to headline his first stadium-sized tour in 30 years, as he’d be joined by an epic lineup of artists sharing the stage with him. The F.O.R.C.E. Tour was originally announced with over 20 of Hip-Hop’s most iconic legends, including names like Queen Latifah, Rakim, De La Soul, Salt-N-Peppa, Method Man & Redman, Goodie Mob, Slick Rick and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, among many others, with a different group of them joining LL and The Roots for select tour dates. LL Cool J and Questlove of The Roots have described the show they’ve curated for each city as their Grammys segment on steroids, as it would be a continuous flow of different artists and music on stage rather than traditional openers and headliners, with enough stage time for each to dive into their discographies. The hype was high going into this one, as the fans had no idea what to expect besides a list of names slated to join the touring group for the Toronto stop at Scotiabank Arena: Queen Latifah, Jadakiss, and Rakim (the latter of whom would sadly be removed from the bill just a day prior to the show).

We got to Scotiabank Arena early, me being particularly excited to have floor seats at this venue for the first time. With Pop stars The Jonas Brothers performing this same night at the only bigger venue in town, the Rogers Centre (Skydome), this Scotiabank Arena show was far from sold out, with the entire upper level being closed off and fans being upgraded to have seats in the lower bowl/floor level of the arena. The merch booths had t-shirts and hoodies commemorating Hip-Hop’s 50th anniversary, and DJ Shortkut would be spinning classic records with their vintage music videos playing on the big screens. You could tell Shortkut curates his set for each city, as this Toronto show had local legends Kardinal Offishall and Saukrates mixed in with the vintage ’80s and ’90s Hip-Hop videos, along with some Reggae/Dancehall chunes to add some Caribana flavour. He’d close out by playing a music video by one of Toronto’s Hip-Hop pioneers, Maestro Fresh Wes, with the 1989 classic “Let Your Backbone Slide” before The Roots came out on stage.

The Roots would set up on their instruments as an intro played through the speakers with dialogue reminding fans of the occasion we were all here to celebrate, along with hundreds of names of Hip-Hop artists representing the 50-year history being displayed on the jumbo screens behind them, from Melle Mel to Ice Spice. Staying true to their name and really painting a picture of Hip-Hop’s origins, The Roots began their set by performing covers of 1970s Funk and Soul records that were the foundations to some of Hip-Hop’s most iconic breakbeats sampled over the years. They’d get the crowd grooving as they covered 1972’s “It’s Just Begun” by The Jimmy Castor Bunch, complete with the trumpet solo, as well as Sir Joe Quarterman & Free Soul’s “I’ve Got So Much Trouble On My Mind,” giving some room for the trumpet and bass players to shine with some solos. DJ Jazzy Jeff would also get set up behind the turntables and the band would let him cut up some samples to get some love from the crowd, eventually moving on into some of their own original songs.

Always ones to give you a different experience on stage from what you hear on their studio recordings, The Roots would maintain the Funk and Soul grooves, never letting the music stop from their previous segment, and would transition into their 2006 track “Here I Come” over that ’70s style groove they were in. Being one of the most versatile emcees to ever perform live on stage, Black Thought effortlessly adapted his flow to fit the Funk groove, performing his own verse as well as covering Dice Raw and the late Malik B’s verses with impeccable breath control. As he’d been doing for the ’70s covers, Questlove would join in on the mic for the hooks while playing drums, and he’d pull it back to let Black Thought really show off his flow on the third verse over just the bassline by itself, the band’s bass player getting some extra shine.

The band would next transition into an epic performance of their Grammy award-winning 1999 single “You Got Me,” with Captain Kirk of course taking the spotlight by covering Erykah Badu’s vocals on the hook and doing one of his staple 7+ minute guitar solos he’s known to drop after Black Thought’s third verse. He’d mesmerize the crowd with his ability to match his high pitched vocals with the chord he played on guitar and would take the crowd through a range of emotions, going from playing the instrument above his head to lying down center stage at one point. Keeping it Hip-Hop, he’d also somehow mix in a cover of Dr. Dre’s “Xxplosive” along the way, with Black Thought covering the hook. While The Roots usually save “You Got Me” to perform towards the middle or end of their shows, with Captain Kirk’s guitar solo always making it an epic, stand-out moment, you knew this was going to be a special show with the way they pulled it out just 2 songs in.

Whether they’re in the main spotlight or playing a supporting role, each of The Roots’ band members showed that they can do both before they’d all fall back as support, and Black Thought would introduce the original G.O.A.T. emcee who coined the term in the first place, LL Cool J. With a cloud of smoke and bright light coming from backstage along with The Roots playing an epic intro, LL Cool J came in like a superhero, cranking the energy up with his 1987 hit “I’m Bad,” still sounding smooth as ever on the mic. By now DJ Z-Trip had joined The Roots on stage and would perform the cuts on most of LL’s songs, and as The Roots always do, the music would never stop but rather continuously transition between songs. LL would take us through a medley of hits from the mid ’90s, getting the ladies to dance to “Doin’ It,” giving Black Thought some shine as they both got to rap on “4, 3, 2, 1,” (Thought doing his verse from Money Making Jam Boys’ “We Not Playing”) and getting heads to nod to the boom-bap Bad Boy-era classic “Flava In Ya Ear (Remix).”

Living up to the LL part of his name, Mr. Cool J had the ladies loving his next segment of songs, going from the teenage heartbreaker on “Big Ole Butt” to the more grown and romantic “Luv U Better,” which transitioned smoothly into the throwback “Around The Way Girl,” all while showing off all the muscles he still has even in his mid-50s. He’d follow up with one of the most hype songs of the evening, with DJ Z-Trip teasing the hook to LL’s 2004 club hit “Headsprung” as The Roots built up the beat, and they’d get the crowd to jump once the beat dropped, remixing it to throw in a classic sample from “The Champ” by The Mohawks. The energy was cranked once LL dropped that classic opening line, “they call me Big Elle,” as he’d go on to rap the entire first verse while jumping up and down, and had the crowd jumping and waving their arms with him.

Keeping the dance vibes going while still jumping between eras to showcase his longevity, LL Cool J next pulled out a throwback with his feature on EPMD’s 1991 single “Rampage,” with Black Thought getting to spit another verse. They’d follow up with a couple 1989 tracks, performing “It Gets No Rougher” and “Going Back To Cali,” with The Roots along with DJ Jazzy Jeff and DJ Z-Trip cutting up the samples and building up the instrumental between songs. LL would switch up the lyrics in the last chorus of “Going Back To Cali,” saying “I don’t think so… I’m staying in Toronto!” before leaving the stage and mentioning that he’d be back. It was time to bring out the first special guest of the evening, as following one of the original Kings of Hip-Hop would be the first Queen of Hip-Hop, none other than Queen Latifah.

Similar to how LL Cool J made an epic entrance, The Roots would build up the beat to play in Queen Latifah, and she’d come out spitting her 1991 throwback “Latifah’s Had It Up 2 Here,” spelling out her name in the first verse to introduce herself. The jumbo screen behind Queen Latifah would depict a throne room filled with all her gold plaques, magazine covers, and Grammy, Emmy, BET and Golden Globe awards as she performed. With Queen Latifah’s career so focused on TV and film over the years, some fans may have forgotten what kind of a beast she was on the mic, and she made sure to remind us as she absolutely ripped through her verses on her 1988 debut single “Wrath of My Madness,” and had everyone singing along to “Just Another Day.” Clearly the Queen’s still got it.

Queen Latifah would bounce between eras, taking us to 1997 with her more soulful RnB track “It’s Alright” before bringing it back to the ’80s for the day-one fans. She’d bring out surprise guest and fellow Native Tongue member Monie Love, and together they’d do a hype performance of the classic “Ladies First,” both emcees nailing their rapid-fire verses word for word. Monie would get a little extra shine, as “Ladies First” smoothly transitioned into her single “Monie In The Middle,” and she’d nail every verse on the track by herself, with Black Thought playing hypeman on the hook. The Queen would return with another RnB hit, doing her feature on Brandy’s “I Wanna Be Down” before getting the DJs to play some House records for the crowd to dance to. This would eventually turn into the groovy “Come Into My House,” as Queen Latifah flowed smoothly to the up-tempo beat and kept the crowd moving.

To close out her set, Queen Latifah would do an epic performance of her Grammy award-winning single, “U.N.I.T.Y.,” not even having to ask the arena to sing along with her, as we all naturally joined in on the iconic Hip-Hop anthem. It had been a long time since the Toronto fans got to see Queen Latifah perform live, this actually being my first time personally, and you could tell this crowd appreciated seeing her rock the mic, showing she hasn’t lost a step when it comes to rapping live in person. Her synergy with Monie Love on stage was also incredible, as they both killed their performance with raw skill and no gimmicks.

As Queen Latifah and Monie Love headed backstage, The Roots kept the music going, building up the instrumental to their ode to Hip-Hop, “Act Too (The Love Of My Life).” They’d use this as a bit of an interlude, as Black Thought did a little call-and-response to check the crowd’s energy levels before diving into a full performance of the track. He’d then highlight Stro Elliott and Questlove of The Roots, along with DJ Jazzy Jeff collectively controlling the sound while other band members got a rest, and together they’d jump into a medley of classic Hip-Hop tracks, playing the samples before transitioning into the song itself. Black Thought would perform covers as they flipped a horn sample to recreate C-Murder’s “Down For My N’s,” and similarly recreated Jay-Z’s “Public Service Announcement” and Camp Lo’s “Luchini.”

The Roots and Jazzy Jeff would continue to showcase their sampling techniques as they moved into some tributes to fallen Hip-Hop legends, covering The Notorious B.I.G.’s “Unbelievable” with Black Thought rapping part of his verse from The Roots’ “Game Theory” over the beat. They’d also do Big Pun’s “Still Not A Player,” and Black Thought would stand out with an on-point cover of DMX’s cadence for “Ruff Ryders’ Anthem,” but the most epic might have been when they played Stevie Wonder’s “Knocks Me Off My Feet” and isolated that piano sample used to create Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s “Shimmy Shimmy Ya.” DJ Jazzy Jeff would close out the tribute segment by doing some more wicked cuts on the turntables, and the rest of The Roots bandmates would return as Black Thought introduced the next special guest, Jadakiss.

Again picking a perfect track to introduce the artist to the stage, The Roots played the beat from The LOX’ “Money, Power, Respect” to bring out Jadakiss, cranking the energy up from the beginning as ‘Kiss nailed his verse word for word. Shouting out Canadian customs agents for letting him cross the border with no issues this time, Jadakiss would then remind the fans where he’s from, performing his feature on Ja Rule’s “New York” and getting everyone to sing the chorus with him. While much of Jadakiss’ set was similar to when we saw him perform with The LOX at Queen Elizabeth Theatre back in June, including classics like “Knock Yourself Out” and “It’s All About The Benjamins,” having him perform solo opened him up to doing more songs from his solo albums. He’d particularly lean into his 2004 Kiss Of Death album, doing deep cuts like “By Your Side,” the Mariah Carey-assisted “U Make Me Wanna,” and the standout single “Why.” These slower-paced songs had the crowd swaying and bobbing their heads.

Picking up the energy towards the end of his set, Jadakiss would do his classic 2001 single “We Gonna Make It,” the fans ready to rap along with him and wave their arms to the beat. With the original version of the song having Styles P rapping bar-for-bar on a back and forth with Jadakiss, you’d think Black Thought would step in to cover Styles’ vocals, but instead Jadakiss effortlessly performed both his own and Styles’ bars, making it seem like one fluid verse. ‘Kiss would then close out with what’s become known as the show-stealing moment when The LOX had their Verzuz matchup against The Diplomats back in 2021, performing his 2010 freestyle over Biggie’s “Who Shot Ya.” The crowd was with Jadakiss for every word, shouting out his punchlines even though he rapped the entire verse by himself, Black Thought doing minimal hypeman work.

Jadakiss would make his way backstage, passing DJ Z-Trip who was returning to his turntables, ready to scratch some records and play a bit of an interlude between artists. DJ Z-Trip would mash up some classic Hip-Hop songs, blending eras as he went from the ’80s with Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five’s “The Message” to the 2000s with Missy Elliott’s “Work It,” then back to the ’90s with Black Sheep’s “The Choice Is Yours.” The interlude gave The Roots a chance to rest and fans a moment to run to the washroom and re-up on drinks, although most didn’t want to miss Z-Trip chopping it up on the turntables. Pretty soon, The Roots would return, and it would be time to bring back the one who put this tour together, LL Cool J.

Returning to the stage wearing a shirt that read Hip-Hop Champion, LL Cool J would start things off slow, doing his groundbreaking romantic hit “I Need Love” to set the tone, the crowd lighting up their cell phones to fit the vibe. He’d keep up similar themes with his Grammy award-winning single “Hey Lover,” performing the track over the beat from The Notorious B.I.G.’s “Big Poppa” to give it some extra energy, and would get the crowd to wave their arms as they let the Biggie song play in tribute to the late legend. LL would do one more romantic track for the ladies, performing his Jennifer Lopez collab “All I Have” with a video playing on the jumbo screen of JLo singing into the camera, before getting into his more hardcore tracks.

After showing fans how he first popularized softer, more romantic songs in Hip-Hop, LL Cool J then reminded us how he also handled his rap battles back in the day, performing more aggressive tracks like “I Shot Ya (Remix)” and “Jack The Ripper,” with 1985’s “I Can’t Live Without My Radio” thrown in between. LL would walk around stage with a portable mic stand in hand, swinging it around and showing off his mic mastery as he rapped these more energetic verses and nailed his flows. Being sure not to simply stick to the hits, LL also performed some deep album cuts and rarities, including “Kanday,” “Eat ‘Em Up L Chill,” and “Ill Bomb” to show off more of his raw rap skills. Finding the perfect balance between the bar-heavy verses hardcore fans want to hear and the grooves the ladies want to dance to, LL Cool J would serve up a mix of some more of his hits from over the years, including “Paradise,” “Phenomenon,” and “Loungin,” with deep album cuts like “1-900-LL Cool J” and “Mr. Goodbar” sprinkled in.

With LL Cool J’s second set showcasing his impact on Hip-Hop, from the diverse range of styles to the longevity, the jumbo screen would display each of his album covers as he got into my personal favourite song of his, “Momma Said Knock You Out.” Smoke machines would shoot out from the front of the stage as the beat dropped, and Questlove’s drums added an extra punch to give the beat more energy, LL reciprocating that through his aggressive raps. After working up a sweat, LL Cool J would take a moment to thank the crowd for embarking on this journey through Hip-Hop history with him, calling Hip-Hop his first love despite having moved on into TV and film over the years. He would then close out with one final song for the day-ones, The Roots and him coordinating perfectly to nail the timing as he kicked off “Rock The Bells.” “LL Cool J is hard as hell!!!”

LL Cool J, DJ Z-Trip, DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Roots all tore the house down with that final performance, capping off what was an epic concert that honoured Hip-Hop’s 50th anniversary. While the lineup of artists Toronto got may have been smaller than other cities on the tour, some fans being disappointed that Rakim was pulled from the lineup last minute, we still got one hell of a show from the artists who were here. The Roots proved yet again to be one of the greatest bands to perform live, as they kept the music going for the entire 3-hour set, making it look effortless with the way they adapt to every artist they collaborate with. Black Thought brought a ton of energy to the stage, playing hypeman and backing up each of the other emcees with perfect timing with his mic presence. My only gripe with this show is that he didn’t get to rap more; The Roots have one of Hip-Hop’s best discographies spanning over a dozen albums that they barely tapped into.

While The Roots may not have gotten to celebrate their own music to the same extent, they played the perfect support for all the other artists, each having their own legacies worth celebrating. Representing that authentic, true-school Hip-Hop, each emcee who blessed the stage killed their performances and showcased that raw skill that the foundations of emceeing and DJing were built on. Queen Latifah & Monie Love took us back to that Native Tongue era of Hip-Hop, delivering meaningful messages in their raps that still hold up to this day, while Jadakiss brought the hardcore late ’90s/early 2000s vibe. LL Cool J of course put on an epic performance, showing incredible health, energy and athleticism for his age as he put a ton of passion and enthusiasm into each song he performed, not to mention the synergy and choreography he had with The Roots as they backed him. Covering over 3 decades of Hip-Hop with just his own discography, LL still has the juice when it comes to rocking a stage and dominating the mic.

The F.O.R.C.E. Tour continues through the USA throughout August and September with a different lineup in each city, tickets can be found here.

Check out the SYpherSights Youtube channel for more concert videos.

Also follow SYpherSights on social media below:
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram