“Can I keep it gangsta tonight?” Ice Cube asked as he took the stage Saturday at Coachella.
Yes, please, the crowd responded. And so he did — for about half his show.
Going into the festival, the West Coast rap pioneer was widely expected to reunite the living members of his seminal late-’80s group, N.W.A, whose story was dramatized in last year’s hit biopic “Straight Outta Compton.” Earlier this month, the outfit — featuring Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, MC Ren, DJ Yella and the late Eazy-E (who died in 1995) — was even inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
As Ice Cube pointed out Saturday, N.W.A didn’t perform at the induction, the result of what he described as a disagreement with the Rock Hall over what that performance might look like.
“But we at Coachella,” he added, before bringing out Ren and Yella — but not Dre — to do a blistering “Straight Outta Compton.” The partially reunited group also did its unprintably titled song about the police, which Ice Cube said he’d been warned backstage against playing, as well as “Dopeman,” which also featured his son, O’Shea Jackson Jr., who played Ice Cube in “Straight Outta Compton.”
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Axl Rose onstage at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
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Vince Staples performs in the Sahara tent at the Coachella Arts and Music Festival.
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Two women wear lights on their bodies as they listen to a performance at Coachella.
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Festival-goers take photos of the Katrina Chairs art installation at Coachella.
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Zhu performs in the Sahara tent at Coachella.
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Zhu performs in the Sahara tent at Coachella.
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Grimes performs in the Mojave tent at the Coachella Valley Arts and Music Festival.
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An artwork image of Bernie Sanders is projected on the screens during a performance by Grimes at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
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Art installations and the ferris wheel light up the horizon at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
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The “Tower of Twelve Stories” and the ferris wheel light up the night at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
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Vince Staples jumped off the stage and stood near the crowd as his last song ended in the Sahara tent.
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A worker at Backyard Bowls dances to Ice Cube performing in the distance as he makes smoothies and acai bowls in the VIP food section at Coachella.
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Fans watch Ice Cube’s performance at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
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Girls enjoy slices of watermelon in late afternoon at the Coachella Valley Arts and Music Festival.
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Brian Sneed, 27, and Claudia Jerez, 27, jump for a photo being taken by a friend in front of the Katrina Chairs art installation at Coachella.
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A young man plays in the light being tested between performances in the Sahara tent at Coachella.
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Guns N’ Roses’ Axl Rose onstage at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
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Axl Rose and Slash with their band Guns N’ Roses onstage at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
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Guns N’ Roses’ Slash onstage at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
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Guns N’ Roses’ Slash onstage at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
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Guns N’ Roses onstage at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
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A young woman swings lighted balls as she dances to music coming from the Gobi Tent at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
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Kaila Lehr, 20, of Santa Barbara poses for a friend at Phillip K. Smith III’s “Portals” at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
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Smoke from an effects machine creates a gauzy scene at the Gobi Tent during the Coachella Music and Arts Festival.
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Victor Montoya, 27, of San Diego rests against Jimenez Lai’s “Tower of Twelve Stories” at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
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Ice Cube on stage.
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Ice Cube on stage.
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Ice Cube, right, on stage with Dub-C, left.
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Ice Cube on stage.
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Electropop singer Halsey performs.
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Electropop singer Halsey performs at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival on Saturday.
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Roadies prepare the Outdoor Stage for a performance by electropop singer Halsey at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival.
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Fans of electropop singer Halsey wait for a performance.
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Fans wait for a performance by the electropop singer JHalsey.
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Australian singer and songwriter Courtney Barnett performs.
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Australian singer and songwriter Courtney Barnett performs.
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A dancer performs with electropop singer Halsey.
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A couple pause to rest as night falls on the festival.
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Bat for Lashes performs.
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Misting fans provide some relief from the heat.
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Misting fans provide some relief from the heat.
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Coachellans head toward the headliners as the sun sets at the festival.
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Fans watch Chvrches perform.
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Lion Babe joins Disclosure on stage.
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Lorde joins Disclosure on stage.
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Sunset draws near.
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A young woman photobombs the photographer.
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Lion Babe joins Disclosure on stage.
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Disclosure on stage.
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Lion Babe joins Disclosure on stage.
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Lorde joins Disclosure on stage.
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Lorde joins Disclosure on stage.
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The lights of the Sahara tent are reflected in a woman’s sunglasses as she dances to Vanic’s performance at Coachella.
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Matthew Brinkley, 26, and Kari Calhoun, 25, both from L.A., at Coachella.
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Fans dance as Vanic performs at Coachella.
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A girl hoisted onto someone’s shoulders talks on the phone during Vanic’s performance.
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Festivalgoers chill out as Black Madonna performs.
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Festivalgoers rest as Black Madonna performs at Coachella.
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Fans cheer, dance and sing along to Vanic’s set at Coachella.
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Fans cheer, dance and sing along as Vanic performs at Coachella.
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Fans ride on people’s shoulders as Vanic performs at Coachella.
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Fans ride on other people’s shoulders for a better view of Vanic.
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Jack U performs at Coachella.
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A woman holds a flag as Vanic performs at Coachella.
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Fans cheer, dance and sing along as Vanic performs at Coachella.
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A couple listens as Algiers performs on day two of Coachella.
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Algiers performs at Coachella.
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Black Madonna performs at Coachella.
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Umbrellas are a cool accessory on a hot day at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival.
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A group of girls keeps cool with wedges of watermelon as they watch a performance by Jamaican reggae artist Chronixx at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival.
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Colors and styles of the Coachella Music and Arts Festival.
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Coachella goers dance at the Heineken House during the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
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DMA’s vocalist Tommy O’Dell performs in the Gobi tent at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
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A backup vocalist works some dance moves as Proteje performs his style of contemporary reggae at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
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Chantelle Garrett, 25, of Sherman Oaks see-saws and charges her phone at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
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Oje Ken Ollivierre, better known Proteje performs his style of contemporary reggae at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
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Jamaican reggae artist Chronixx performs at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
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Members of Proteje’s band back up the contemporary reggae singer at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) Minus his old bandmates, Ice Cube kept it gangsta with “Natural Born Killaz,” “Check Yo Self,” “Why We Thugs” and “Gangsta Rap Made Me Do It.”
But later he took the show in a friendlier direction by introducing Common — with whom he said he’d squashed an old beef — to perform “Real People,” from Ice Cube’s new “Barbershop” movie. Then he did a string of bouncy club-oriented cuts, including “You Can Do It” and “We Be Clubbin’,” before welcoming his final guest, Snoop Dogg, who arrived onstage wearing a bath robe resembling a giant blue bandanna.
With Cube, Snoop rapped “Go to Church” and, in what might’ve been a kind of apology for Dr. Dre’s no-show, “The Next Episode,” from Dre’s “The Chronic 2001” album.
And when it was time to leave, Ice Cube sat down on a throne shaped like a hand formed into a “W.” He may still be a gangsta — or at least a Hollywood version of one — but he was also telling us he’s a king.
Twitter: @mikaelwood
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