ICE CUBE
Precisely as night fell over Auditorium Shores' sprawling sea of funnel cake and curly fries booths, a hip-hop legend strode on stage. He came; he rapped; he crip-walked in front of two gigantic blow-up hands signing W's. ''For everyone out there that wants Ice Cube out the [rap] game, that thinks I should just make movies, I only got one thing to say,'' he shouted in a hoarse yet commanding tone. ''Check yo self before you wreck yo self!'' The former N.W.A. rapper spent a third of the night playing cuts from his political new album Raw Footage, and the remaining two-thirds went to undeniable classics dating back to his Jheri-curled days. It was likely the biggest audience at any show this week, and Cube has earned it — even if he did make Are We Done Yet?...
DOWNLOAD THIS: ''Gangsta Rap Made Me Do It''

CHROMEO
The Montreal duo was a real sight to behold at the Vice day party at Stubb's: On one side was lanky, geeky chic guitarist/Columbia U. grad student David ''Dave 1'' Macklovitch, while beside him was stocky keyboardist Patrick ''P-Thugg'' Gemayel, rocking a gold chain and an old-school talkbox tube hanging out of his mouth. Together, they share lead vocals on slick, stylish electro-pop tunes about dating and the fast life. Are they kidding?! Well, in the flesh, at least, Chromeo seem pretty dead serious about their music. After about least 20 fizzy minutes, the guys busted out the gritty guitar riff and ethereal vocal hook from Dire Straits' ''Money for Nothing,'' then segued into ''Bonafied Lovin'' — now a bona fide MTV hit, thanks to a fun video patterned after that very song's clip. (''Pret-ty, pret-ty, pret-ty good!'' judged Macklovitch, evidently a Larry David fan.) A couple more songs and they left, only to return within minutes for another full set, this one anchored by a colossal Journey medley (''Don't Stop Believing,'' ''Any Way You Want it''). After all that, their performance still ended way too soon for most of the crowd.
DOWNLOAD THIS: ''Bonafied Lovin''

TALIB KWELI/JEAN GRAE/STRONG ARM STEADY
Brooklyn's Talib Kweli calls himself an ''MCEO'' nowadays, so of course he turned his free, public, late-afternoon show at the enormous Auditorium Shores field into a showcase of sorts for his label, Blacksmith Records. From 5:30 to 7 p.m., the stage was occupied by various combinations of Kweli, South Africa's Jean Grae, and L.A. trio Strong Arm Steady, plus the MCEO's new bandmate Res. The crowd had clearly come to see the big boss, but to their credit, Grae and SAS both managed to keep everyone's attention with their smart, passionate rhymes. Can't fault that kind of hustle.
DOWNLOAD THIS: Talib Kweli, ''Hostile Gospel Pt. 1''; Jean Grae ''LoveThirst'', Strong Arm Steady, ''One Step''