Dope-A-Lot

Written by Cristina Allen | Photography by Philip Litevsky

Editor’s note: Clipse were on tour promoting their new Playcloths clothing line, and I snapped a bunch of pics at their Livestock meet-n-greet, which can be seen here. They are a great bunch of guys and were very cooperative for the camera. The show later that night at Jerca Circa was the most frustrating experience I’ve ever had taking concert pics. Circa management did not honour my media pass; I, along with other photographers and a videographer hired by Clipse’s manager, were not allowed to shoot from an appropriate vantage point; the bouncers were extremely rude, and the whole isolating, cold mega-club atmosphere really distracted from what otherwise was a great show. I really hope this was the last show I shoot there.

It sounds conflicting to say that Clipse were the best part of a Clipse show, but frankly, the performers alone are not enough to make for a good show in my books. Aside from the handful of great tracks (Mr. Me Too, Wamp Wamp, Mamma I’m So Sorry, and Keys Open Doors) that Clipse performed, alongside bringing up Ab-Liva for Ride Around Shining and a few others, the show was atrocious (except for the great light show).

After having a terrible time dealing with Circa previously, I tried to keep an open mind up to the show. After all, it is the new “super club” in Toronto. With that as its title, one would imagine that charging an average of $25 to get into the club itself is a steal, with bars in the bathroom, three floors, a gigantic Munny, and live mannequins, right? Except the club failed to dish out a bit of cash for a decent sound system and sound guy. Probably one of the more important parts of having a club, I would think. Maybe they were just banking on everyone getting wasted and not noticing now bad it really was. Especially for a show like Clipse, a bass beat that didn’t come out making me feel like I’m too old for this shit, would have been appreciated. Save that shitty bass for when I’m 70 and it sounds that way because my eardrums are busted from reviewing too many hip hop shows.

Not only was the sound horrible, but the staff was absolutely awful; they were completely incapable of organizing themselves, let alone the crowd coming in. Topping it off with dealing with the result of their inabilities like a bunch of assholes.

Needless to say, as good of a performance that Clipse put on, my overall experience at Circa stuck with me a lot more and unfortunately outweighed any greatness that Clipse provided. So what it comes down to it, the show was, well, a shit-show.

Written by Ace Six | Photography by Philip Litevsky

So, the Bounce 2K Tour aka Videogames are a great excuse to have a rap tour around North America was in Toronto recently and I was delighted to attend. The lineup included newbies The Knux, hipster hop faves The Cool Kids, and balanced out by the Abstract Poet himself, Kamaal aka Q-Tip.

I’ve seen Q-Tip perform with Tribe three times, but didn’t know what to expect from a solo show to be totally honest. I have been checking for the new record, but as of the show date had not taken the whole record in on some smoke a joint and listen to it start to finish shit.

However, this is the man who I constantly have quotes from on my mind and his former group was essentially the soundtrack to my teenage years and early 20′s. The man with the most charismatic voice in rap music, and after listening to recent interviews and podcasts with him, he may possibly be the ideal b-boy. Well rounded, articulate, clever, passionate, dynamic, and incredibly talented. He’s won the hearts of almost 4 generations and continues to make his mark on culture and the world through music.

Not to take away from the openers though, since this was a full tour and I managed to get there early enough to catch all the acts. First up, were The Knux. I didn’t know what to expect but their name is bouncing around a fair bit lately so I was ready to check out what they had to offer.

They reminded me of a west coast rap act from the 90′s with almost matching outfits and similar hair and quirky rhyme structures. I guess a couple of their songs had that feeling too, one in particular had a really heavy bump to it almost like some old The Nonce joints. Their other, more electroish, uptempo shit didn’t do it for me, but it seemed like the crowd was feeling it.

Next up, The Cool Kids. Way more swagger than energy, but that is obviously their style. Their dj was tight, mixing a lot of old instros in with their beats as switch-ups in tracks. They have a good back and forth and are pretty on point, plus their music sounds great on a big system. I might have been too close to the speakers in fact because my ears were ringing for the rest of the night.

Finally, our man “The Midnight Marauder” got on stage with his live band. When I go to shows, I usually have one song in my head that I want to hear. If I hear it, the show is automatically a good one regardless if the rest of the show is trash. If I don’t hear it, a good show automatically gets less props than it deserved. I know, I’m fickle but that’s just how I roll at this point in my concert-going life.

In this case, I needed to hear ‘Let’s Ride’, and much to my delight, that made it into the set. Only one verse, but more than enough to fill my needs! He killed it too, sounded just as good live as it does on record. Common’s live band needs to take notes from Q-Tip’s because every track they did live sounded just as good as it did on record…including ‘Verses From The Abstract’ which I was shocked by. Not only was I surprised to hear it in the set at all, but he did the whole joint and it sounded proper, extremely so. Basically, his set was a perfect combo of new joints, classics from ATCQ and a couple of his solo joints from before. I couldn’t have picked a better set list, he really came correct with the order and songs selected.

Q-Tip’s set totally took my jaded, hip-hop show veteran blinders off and re-introduced that feeling of total euphoria that only a well-executed set filled with tons of energy and great songs can do. I was literally on a hip-hop high at this party, surrounded by good friends and vibing out. First time I’ve mashed up my voice yelling lyrics in years at a show, first time I’ve been ignoring my phone to just pay attention to how amazing this show was. Thanks, Q-Tip for restoring my faith in this music..not only with the show but with the album. I’m a fan for life and proud of it.

Written by Ace Six | Photography by Philip Litevsky | View all photos from this show here.

I have learned a valuable lesson pertaining to any show in Toronto that has Ill Bill or Non Phixion on the bill.  Get there early if you want to see any other act since Ill Bill is guaranteed to be the headliner.  Apparently there is an entire posse of fans that really love everything he does and if he went on before Sean Price, more than half of the crowd would have bounced out the door not unlike what I did about 5 songs into Ill Bill’s set.

Basically, I listened to the first 10 minutes of Sean Price’s set from the sidewalk outside while getting blunted and then stashed my remaining half a blunt behind a gas pipe on the side of the venue to be resumed during the break between shows.

Is it just me, or does he continually get better at rapping?  It’s not like he was a hack in the Heltah Skeltah/Fab Five days, dude had tremendous spit then but it seems like every new project he puts out, the flow is just a bit tighter.  For a rapper to be still improving 10+ years after his first release is nothing to scoff at and certainly the exact opposite of the rest of the rap game.  Did I mention that Ill Bill’s music doesn’t interest me at all and that I was never into Non Phixion?

Written by Noah Goodbaum | Photography by Philip Litevsky

As far as I understand, Toronto isn’t exactly a favourite spot for rap acts. We’re included as a stop on almost every major tour, but mostly in a  token, perfunctory kind of way, and many artists seem to treat us as an interim stop in between more exciting cities and venues. We almost never get the special guests or events. Some artists, especially those from the West Coast and the Dirty South (and even some East Coast hardcore guys), skip us entirely, while showing mad love to places like Austria or Serbia. In songs, skits, lists, and liner notes, shoutouts reveal that most rappers have much tighter links to the UK, Australia, Japan, and most of continental Europe than they do to Canada, and our city’s legendary “screwface” attitude of sullen apathy at hip-hop shows often means they prefer Montreal, where the crowds will more dependably give them the reaction they deserve. Even smaller cities like London and Hamilton have been known to give rap legends more props than Toronto does. But for a small minority of artists, Toronto seems to be a special place; these few palpably look forward to coming here, and go out of their way to show us a good time.
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Written by Crisitna Allen | Photography by Philip Litevsky & Cristina Allen

To celebrate the 10th year anniversary of the independent hip-hop label Hieroglyphics Imperium, Hieroglyphics set out on their North American tour with Blue Scholars, which hit Toronto. This Oakland-based collective of members, each with their own separate careers, includes Casual, Souls of Mischief, Del tha Funkee Homosapien, and Pep Love, amongst others, brought on the meaning of their name and three eye-ed logo to a fan-packed Mod Club on August 6th: Though Del wasn’t part of the tour, Souls of Mischief, Casual, and Pep Love made their appearances.

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