While music from the 1990s may evoke visions of flannel-clad young men for some, the crowd at Marymoor Park near Redmond Saturday night proved that grunge wasn’t the only genre to come out of that era.
The sold-out crowd at the I Love the ’90s concert was in attendance to show their love for old school hip-hop.
The show opened with Young MC getting the crowd going, encouraging everyone to “Bust a Move.” Coming onto the stage in a navy blue tracksuit, the rapper played to the local audience when he unzipped his jacket and busted out a No. 24 jersey for former Seattle Seahawk Marshawn Lynch. Young MC’s revelation was met with a loud cheer from the local 12s. Before stepping off the stage, Young MC showed off his skills, performing a short and quick a capella rap — the keyword being quick as he demonstrated how fast he could rhyme. The impromptu rap was a hit among the crowd.
Following Young MC came Tone Lōc. The Los Angeles-born emcee opened with a little “Funky Cold Medina,” showcasing his signature raspy voice. Tone Lōc also gave a nod to others, performing Snoop Dogg’s “Gin and Juice” as well as the song that started it all, “Rapper’s Delight” by The Sugarhill Gang. He finished his set with his hit song, “Wild Thing.”
Coolio took the stage next, performing with a couple of live musicians. Known for his unusual hairstyles, there was some initial disappointment when he came onto stage sporting a baby blue baseball cap. But on second glance, there were a couple of braids that could be seen poking through the top. Another native Californian — this time from Compton — Coolio got the crowd pumping, proving there “ain’t no party like a West Coast party” with his hit “1 2 3 4” as well as another dance floor favorite, “Fantastic Voyage.” Coolio also paid tribute to those who have passed such as Muhammad Ali and Michael Jackson. And no Coolio performance is complete without “Gangsta’s Paradise” and he did not disappoint, closing out his performance with the 1995 hit single made famous by the Michelle Pfeiffer film “Dangerous Minds.”
After three rap acts in a row, the next two artists slowed things down a bit.
R&B quartet-turned-trio Color Me Badd proved they could still croon their way into a girl’s heart, performing some of their hit slow jams such as “I Adore Mi Amor.” But the group also showed they still had their boy-band moves — from before boy bands were even a thing — with their synchronized spinning and arm pulling. The trio finished their set with “I Wanna Sex You Up,” which had the crowd up and dancing once again.
All-4-One followed, serenading the crowd with hit love songs such as “I Can Love You Like That.” The foursome also showed off their harmonizing skills, performing their cover of The Tymes’ “So Much in Love.” And while the original quintet performed the song with minimal musical accompaniment, All-4-One stayed true to their version, singing the song completely a capella, save for a bit of snapping. The group closed out their set with the song that made them, “I Swear,” pledging their love as couples slow danced in the crowd and groups of girlfriends serenaded each other as they sang along.
In addition to singing their own hits, both Color Me Badd and All-4-One gave nods to their 1990s contemporaries, performing Blackstreet’s “No Diggity,” Boyz II Men’s “Motownphilly,” Bell Biv DeVoe’s “Poison” and “This is How We Do It” by Montell Jordan — the first three songs reminding the audience of the era of the R&B groups and highlighting what is missing from the current music scene.
Rob Base was next, bringing on the “Joy and Pain” and getting the party started again. With the crowd waving their hands up in the air like the just didn’t care, the rapper closed out his set with “It Takes Two.”
Then came headliners Salt-N-Pepa. Hip-hop may be known as a boys’ club but somebody forgot to tell this trio, comprised of rappers Salt and Pepa and DJ Spinderella. The ladies showed they could spit rhymes and spin with the best of them. With songs highlighting female empowerment such as “Expression” and “Let’s Talk About Sex,” the trio was all about girl power, even bringing on a group of women to the stage to dance along with them to Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Want to Have Fun.”
And if their act may have seemed a little estrogen heavy, Salt-N-Pepa evened things out with their 1994 hit “Whatta Man” and calling up a group men to the stage while they performed the song. While the song focuses on a woman’s romantic interest, the emcees shared with the crowd that there are “what a mans” everywhere, from fathers, to teachers, to soldiers.
Spinderella also showed off her DJing skills with a set featuring songs ranging from Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” to DMX’s “Party Up.”
Salt-N-Pepa finished off their set, and the night, with their 1986 (not exactly 1990s, but that’s OK) hit, “Push It.” Just before the song started, the stage went dark, only to light up again to show the trio sporting their signature color-blocked varsity jackets from the music video. Salt and Pepa even performed some of the dance moves from that iconic video, showing the crowd that, as they put it, “We don’t quit.”