The Hard Knock Life Tour, featuring Jay-Z, Method Man, Redman and DMX, was forced to battle some brutal winter weather conditions to make it to Cleveland last week -- and even then, the rappers ended up performing on a bare stage under the preset house lights.

A snowstorm on the East Coast had stranded the all of the acts' tour buses and trucks, leaving the Hard Knock performers without time to sound check or even build their respective stage sets. But as Jay-Z told MTV News' John Norris, the show had to go on.

[article id="1442982"]"We got stuck in a snowstorm in like Pennsylvania,"[/article] Jay-Z said, [article id="1442982"]"but we went around it. So we was all right. But all the trucks with all our equipment and everything -- they was all stuck in the snowstorm for like five hours. It was crazy. We had to use the house lights [for the show], the lights that are already there. We might not have our special pyro equipment and all that stuff that we

usually use for the show. But, you know, everything else -- the show goes on. Everything else gonna go on just as planned."[/article]

After his own no-thrills set in Cleveland, Method Man gave the Tour a thumbs-up in its response to the adversity caused by the cramped timetable and a questionable sound system.

[article id="1442982"]"[There was] no time to sound check,"[/article] Method Man told MTV backstage after his set, [article id="1442982"]"[we just had to go] right out there to do it, you know. I thought, in my opinion, that tonight the show didn't exactly suck because the crowd still gave us energy. But you could tell [something was wrong] with the sound. It was a lot of stuff missing -- humming in the microphones -- things like that, you know. But so far, so good with this tour though."[/article]

The Hard Knock tour ran into more problems on Saturday, when DMX suffered an asthma attack after performing, apparently caused by all the smoke

machines used during Jay-Z's set.

Although DMX did need to seek treatment at a local area hospital, the rapper did stick around long enough to perform "Money, Cash and Hos" with Jay-Z. According to a Def Jam spokesman, DMX is OK, and the next show in Houston went off without a hitch.

The Hard Knock Life Tour heads to Canada this week and will play the Air Canada Centre in Toronto on Wednesday. For more from Jay-Z, DMX, Method Man, Redman and the rest of the Hard Knock outing, be sure to check out this week's edition of "MTV News 1515," airing on Friday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 10:30 a.m., Sunday at 10:30 a.m. and Monday at noon.