Ahead of the Game 2 matchup between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees on Fox, L.A. hip-hop legend Ice Cube performed a number of his hits songs cleverly remixed as a “diss track” towards the Yankees. But unfortunately, the performance was ruined in the eyes of some by a pretty noticeable echo that could be heard on the Fox broadcast.
Ice Cube opened up with the song “Bow Down,” then transitioned to perhaps his most famous song “It Was a Good Day.” But before he changed to his second song, he offered a tribute to the late Dodgers legend Fernando Valenzuela.
Ice Cube was vintage Ice Cube with his typical L.A.-based references and rhythm. But unfortunately, it was fairly obvious shortly into his first song for viewers on Fox that the sound during his performance was echoing throughout the stadium.
“We’re doing this for Fernando baby,” said Ice Cube before going on to his second song.
Ice Cube on the mic ahead of Game 2 of the World Series in Los Angeles. ⚾️🎙️🎵pic.twitter.com/8V0M58RFiY
— Awful Announcing (@Awfulannouncing) October 27, 2024
One feature about Dodger Stadium that has been picked apart this offseason is its P.A. system, which is typically extremely loud in comparison to other teams around the MLB. During the NLCS, Mets radio play-by-play voice Howie Rose publically aired his grievances about the excess in volume within the stadium.
It seems like the volume from the P.A. system was largely what made Ice Cube’s performance a bit difficult to understand. Of course the louder any sound system is, the more reverb (otherwise known as the bouncing of sound within the stadium) there will be during a live performance.
Regardless of whether this was indeed the issue or there was an issue on Fox’s side on the TV broadcast, viewers took to social media to share their experience with the echoes.
So they didn’t know Ice Cube would echo?
Was there no sound check before this?#WorldSeries
— Tony Pierce (@TonyJPierce) October 27, 2024
There’s so much echo I can’t understand a word Ice Cube is saying
— Steve Markham (@steve_markham) October 27, 2024
I’m sorry but I can’t hear Ice Cube… Is the audio feed wonky for anyone else? There was like a reverb echo 😮💨 #WorldSeries2024
— Rafa (@thesageRR3) October 27, 2024
You can similarly hear the reverb in Dodger Stadium during the National Anthem, which came before Ice Cube’s performance.
LET’S PLAY BALL! 🇺🇸
Game 2 of the #WorldSeries starts now on FOX pic.twitter.com/zCO4eDwC7Y
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) October 27, 2024
The main difference between the National Anthem performance and Ice Cube’s performance is the sheer difference in the style of music. Ice Cube’s songs are naturally at a far quicker pace, so the reverb is far more noticeable throughout his performance.
If you are a fan of Ice Cube, you probably enjoyed the performance either way. But as far as the general sports fan’s opinion of the performance, it left a lot to be desired due to the sound quality issues.
