Photos by Andy Argyrakis

Hip-hop has its fair share of international icons and Ice Cube is right towards the very top of that list, especially in light of the “Truth To Power: 4 Decades Of Attitude” Tour further illustrating such influence and longevity.

Given the fact it marked his first major American tour in a decade, backed by his largest-scale solo production ever, the United Center was more than respectably filled for a mere Monday with a multi-cultural crowd of varying ages.

The old school met the new as Ice Cube traced origins in Rock and Roll Hall of Famers N.W.A. to the “Man Down/Up” era of now, plus practically everything in between over instrumental tracks and a video wall that frequently flashed classic clips.

The A-list rapper/actor began in the days alongside Dr. Dre, the late Eazy-E, DJ Yella, MC Ren and Arabian Prince, wasting no time pointing a finger at institutional racism during “F*** Tha Police,” which dropped decades before it became a national conversation and remains a vitally important track.

Political awareness crossed with creative innovation were regular occurrences as Ice Cube called Lil-Eazy-E out for “Boyz-N-The-Hood,” then continued to command attention on his own when offering the group’s “Gangsta Gangsta” and “Straight Outta Compton.”

“The N**** Ya Love To Hate” kept “Jackin’ For Beats” throughout personal offerings, including “No Vaseline,” “How To Survive In South Central,” “Steady Mobbin’” and “My Summer Vacation,” reaching a midpoint call-and-response climax come “Check Yo’ Self.”

The cross-cultural landmarks only seemed to increase thanks to “Friday,” the George Clinton & Funkadelic shout-out “Bop Gun (One Nation),” “We Be Clubbin’” and “You Know How We Do It” on the way to several tracks featuring WC, both by and surrounding Westside Connection, their supergroup with Mack 10.

“Bow Down,” “The Gangsta, The Killa And The Dope Dealer” and “Gangsta Nation” were just a few of their many chemistry-fueled collaborations until Scarface, formerly of the Geto Boys, appeared for a surprise mini-set and joined the headliner for the current “Act My Age.”

The man born O’Shea Jackson returned for an encore as a Goodyear Blimp flew around the stands and proclaimed “Ice Cube Is A Pimp!,” though selecting The Isley Brothers’ “Footsteps In The Dark”-sampled “It Was A Good Day” was perhaps the most fitting description of this history-making undertaking two impactful hours later.

For additional information on Ice Cube, visit IceCube.com.

For a list of upcoming Live Nation concerts, visit LiveNation.com.

Upcoming shows at the United Center include Ice Cube (Oct. 6); Mumford & Sons (Oct. 8); Laufey (Oct. 10); P1Harmony (Oct. 14); Brandy and Monica (Oct. 18); Adam Sandler (Oct. 20); Tate McRae (Oct. 21); Nate Bargatze (Oct. 23-24); Playboi Carti (Oct. 30); Tame Impala (Nov. 3); Kaytranada and Justice (Nov. 5); Jo Koy (Nov. 7); Druski (Nov. 8); Maroon 5 (Nov. 13); Paul McCartney (Nov. 24-25); Burna Boy (Dec. 1) and 107.5 WGCI Big Jam (Dec. 6). For additional details, visit UnitedCenter.com.

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