Rap Tour of 1st Magnitude

When the Hard Knock Life tour, featuring rappers Jay-Z, DMX, Redman and Method Man, stops at the Arrowhead Pond on Saturday night, expect a smoothly run program that distances itself from elements sometimes associated with hip-hop concerts: violence, lack of organization and poor performances.

The sold-out show is just the latest in a long line of successful tour stops for the all-star rap lineup. According to touring trade publication Pollstar, arenas at the tour’s stops in cities such as Washington, D.C., and St. Louis have been filled to more than 90% capacity.

“People are looking for problems [with the Hard Knock Life tour], but there haven’t been any,” said Miles Marshall Lewis, deputy editor of hip-hop digest XXL. “These acts all sell millions of records. DMX has sold more records than Marilyn Manson. These artists deserve to be seen.”

Although hip-hop has been one of the biggest-selling music genres over the last couple of years, there has yet to be a tour of the magnitude of Hard Knock Life.

Puff Daddy’s “Bad Boy Tour,” which played to sold-out arenas across the country in 1997 and 1998, featured a number of R&B; acts. The House of Blues’ “Smokin’ Grooves” tour caters to underground audiences and has played at smaller venues each of its three years.

As is traditional for hip-hop shows, Hard Knock Life performers will be rapping over either an instrumental tape of their music or instrumental records played by a deejay who accompanies them on stage.

*

Don’t expect elaborate props or blazing effects. Most rappers usually wear T-shirts and jeans during their shows.

The special effects are normally supplied when a headline act invites one or more lesser-known rappers to perform during their own sets, a practice that highlights up-and-coming talent and reduces the pressure on the star to carry an entire performance.

Although the tour has yet to make it to California, word of its success elsewhere already has made an impact on one of the state’s most prominent rappers.

“The tour is a blessing,” said Snoop Dogg, who, despite selling more than 8 million records during his career, has yet to headline his own national tour. “It opens the door for other tours. We needed somebody to go out there, test the waters, show that hip-hop is positive, not violent.”

Def Jam Records, one of the most significant labels in rap history, puts out the albums from each of the Hard Knock Life artists. The tour is named after a song from Jay-Z’s “Vol. 2 . . . Hard Knock Life” album, which has sold more than 4 million copies.

Full of testosterone-laced narratives of powerful guns, fast drugs and easy women, the album has become a favorite among hip-hop devotees because of Jay-Z’s superior wordplay. It also has attracted an enormous mainstream following because of its driving, dance-inducing production.

“Reasonable Doubt,” the 1996 debut album of the rapper from Brooklyn, N.Y., was rife with vivid images detailing the existence of an intelligent, highbrow criminal. It was embraced by a New York audience thirsty for their own version of gangster hip-hop.

Born Shawn Carter, Jay-Z can tell the most intricate nuances of a life saturated with drugs, guns and disposable women. He seemingly reinvented these topics on his second album, “In My Lifetime, Vol. 1” in 1997, and on the 1998 soundtrack for “Streets Is Watching,” a direct-to-video movie in which Jay-Z was the star.

DMX, the tour’s other star, is one of rap’s best-selling artists. The artist from Yonkers, N.Y., released two albums last year--”It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot” and “Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood”--which have sold nearly 5 million copies collectively. He also starred in the controversial 1998 film “Belly.”

The bald wordsmith meshes lyrical grit and fury better than most rappers, a necessary component for street-level credibility. His stop-and-go delivery and gravelly voice make him distinctive, and his tales of criminal behavior have made him the most popular thug rapper of the moment. And like other iconic rappers, such as 2Pac, DMX isn’t afraid to use his music to expose his insecurities as well as document his at-times uncontrollable rage.

*

Method Man and Redman, two of the most respected lyricists in hip-hop, round out the bill. Method Man’s second album, “Tical 2000: Judgement Day,” has sold more than 1 million copies, as has Redman’s fourth set, “Doc’s Da Name 2000.”

With such a bill, hip-hop fans will be exposed to an evening showcasing some of the genre’s most promising stars for the first time in years, a fact not lost on Snoop Dogg.

“We can go out, do tours where people can go out and enjoy themselves,” he said. “It’s not about trippin’. It’s about having a good time and leaving having seen a good show.”

*

* The Hard Knock Life tour, featuring Jay-Z and Team Roc, DMX, Method Man, Redman, Ruff Riders DJ Clue?, the Arrowhead Pond, 2695 E. Katella Ave., Anaheim. 7:30 p.m. Saturday. SOLD OUT. (714) 704-2500.