The Phife Dawg concert at Alex P. Keaton (APK) Live on Thursday, February 16 was quite a special affair, as it was Phife Dawg’s first show in London, Ontario. In addition, there was a strong line-up of South Western Ontario opening Hip-Hop acts, including Young Stunna, Soundminds, and Raz Fresco, who were backed up by highly respected local DJ, DJ Ruckus, who also recently DJ’ed for Raekwon at his concert on January 20th at the London Music Hall
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STS (A.K.A. Sugar Tongued Slim’s) debut full-length album, The Illustrious, which was released in late December of 2011, is an brilliant piece of musical artistry from the highly talented Atlanta, Georgia bred emcee. In an genre where true emceeing and rapping talent are few and far between, STS’ slick emceeing style and poetic lyrics are like a breath of fresh air. However, lately it seems that there has been a re-emergence or renaissance of a significant number of talented artists in the past few years, including, Drake, Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, and Yelawolf (to name a few). Now the interesting thing about STS is that he actually started out as a poet performing at local poetry slams in Atlanta, Georgia to make some money, until somebody told him that he should rap. And the rest was history, or rather, is part of modern Hip-Hop history in the making.
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This past weekend on Saturday February 4th the Harbourfront Centre hosted the event the Known (UN) Known Artist Showcase to kick off Black History month in association with Tika Simone presents and Kumba. Showcasing up and coming Toronto talent, the night had performances from an all-female MC cypher, a grooved out jam session with soul singers Shi Wisdom and Rochelle Jordan, and a head nodding hip hop performance from rappers Spek Won and KJ.
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In support of his latest album Ambition Washington DC rapper Wale made a stop in Toronto to perform for an enthusiastic crowd at the phoenix concert theatre on January 20th 2012. With a number one album and a second chance in the hip hop after releasing a disappointing debut album Wale gave Toronto fans a reason to cheer for the one time underdog. For those who may not know the story, Wale started out being signed to industry heavy weight Interscope records with much buzz surrounding his debut. All the cards seemed to be in place from him being on the cover of XXl magazines freshman class 2009, having crazy blog-sphere buzz, an acclaimed mixtape series, industry co- signs and a Lady gaga hook for the first single the expectations were high for the DC native to make an impact out the gate. Hip hop was bustling with a new generation of artists emerging with wale at the top of the list along with Drake and kid Cudi as the new school generation rapping about emotions and showing vulnerability in their music. Major co-signs came from raps royalty giving the MC’s the torch to carry for hip hop in the coming years. Drake went on to become a mega star and Cudi carved out his own lane with solid debut creating an allegiance of new stoner fans. The same however, didn’t work out Wale, Attention Deficit dropped with disappointing numbers and like that the buzz and allegiance from fans and a major label backing disappeared leaving many to believe he could never come back after such a disappointing debut.
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It has been who knows how long since Raekwon performed in the city of London, Ontario. Friday January 20th was an evening to remember as the Unexpected Tour made its first stop at the Music Hall. Raekwon (A.K.A. “The Chef”) demonstrated that he still has the passion and strong emcee skills that he displayed on his debut album Only Built for Cuban Linx back in 1995. And even though the Raekwon and JD Era concert at the London Music Hall was not sold out on Friday night, there was a good sized crowd of Raekwon and Wu-Tang Clan supporters who had nothing but love and respect for one of rap’s finest storytellers.
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Saturday’s concert at the London Music Hall marked Wale’s second concert in London, since he opened for Jay-Z during his Blueprint 3 album tour in 2009 at the John Labatt Centre. And the Wale fans were definitely out in full force on Saturday night at the London Music Hall, as the venue was practically full to capacity for the Wale and Richie Blackz concert.
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T.I.’s latest mixtape, Fuck Da City Up is a solid effort from T.I. (a.k.a. Clifford Harris), which also features some strong guest emcee appearances from some of the hottest veteran rappers in the rap game, including, Dr. Dre, Pusha T. and Nelly; as well as some young and talented, up and coming rap stars, such as, Future, Meek Mill and Rocko. Moreover the production on T.I.’s Fuck Da City Up mixtape is extremely well rounded and fresh; and includes an all-star cast of the Hip-Hop and Rap industries top hit making producers, including T-Minus, Hit Boy; Dr. Dre and Cut The Check. And in particular, I think that the best produced tracks on T.I.’s Fuck Da City Up mixtape, include; “Hot Wheels” (produced by Canada’s T-Minus); “Popped Off” (produced by Dr. Dre); “Who, What, When” (produced by Toomp); “I’ll Show You” (produced by Cut The Check) and “I See Ghosts”, which was produced by Hit Boy.
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In a time where positive, conscious and intelligent Hip-Hop and Rap albums are scarce, Common (a.k.a. Lonnie Rashid Lynn), is bringing back some much needed positive and soulful rhymes to the Hip-Hop world. Common’s choice to re-connect musically with his old producer friend, No ID from Chicago on “The Dreamer, The Believer” is truly a sonic marriage made in heaven. In fact the last time No ID produced one of Common’s cd’s was 1997’s, “It’ll all make sense in the end”, which is arguably one of the last, most solidly consistently good albums from Common, other than Common’s “Like Water For Chocolate”(2000).
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Hailing from Seattle known mostly for Ken Griffey JR’s glory days on the Seattle mariners and the prodigious space needle, Seattle is not explicitly known for breeding MC’s and hip hop like New York or LA. What others might view as an impediment to mainstream stardom, I think it adds a special element to Macklemore as an MC and performer. Having been to a few hip-hop shows with performers from across the globe I can say I’m all too familiar with rappers from more prominent regions performing with a sense of entitlement and giving less than a 100 percent because they happen to be from a notable city.
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With over nine studio albums to his credit and noteworthy guest verses all over Wu-Tang’s catalogue of music, Ghostface killah arguably the most prolific emcee of the nine man crew touched down to Toronto’s Sound Academy on December 2. Presented by Union events, Ghostface Killah was there to rip the stage and re-introduce himself to his Canadian fans as a part of his cross country Canada tour.
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Droppin’ Knowledge, Friday night at the Rivoli, was a hip-hop show in its purest form. 3 dope acts, an entertaining master of ceremonies, a great resident DJ, and a fun-loving, packed crowd all for the low price of $15. Continue to the full post to read the review and see the full photo gallery.
