Big K.R.I.T. – Return of The King (Concert Review)

  It’s always a fun for me to go to shows at the Cabaret Underworld. It’s a small venue and it creates a great intimacy between concertgoers and  great artists like K.R.I.T. Oh and they also make the best rum and coke drinks too.

The Dj hyped up the crowd between opening acts.

Of course the crowd enjoyed a few performances from local artists AND outsiders too, before KRIT hit the stage.

Montreal artists like Jei Bandit and Lazio were amongst the first to perform. Lazio  and his crew gave a good performance and that Get Back to the Money song was pretty catchy. There was also a performance from conscious rap group Label Of Creation, who reminded me of a mix of Wu-Tang and Cypress Hill. I think opening from one of these two groups would be a better fit for them in the future.

Lazio with other performers

One member of Label of Creation.

When I first saw Two-9 rap laid back and rock & roll attitude, I was wondering what part of the city they were from. Turns out this eccentric rap group are from Atlanta. Their music may sound a bit familiar but you will rarely see that much great energy within a group like them.Two-9, I hope you enjoyed our weed as much as we enjoyed your performance.

VNCHY was probably the best revelation of the night. His flow was impeccable and just by looking at him on stage, you could  tell it was not his first rodeo. I have a feeling we will hear more from this Ontario kid more in a near future.

rapper VNCHY

Time for Big K.R.I.T. to hit stage. It was good to see the rapper bringing back the dirty south to Montreal again. The crowd got real hyped  when the rapper performed many hits like Country Sh*t, My Sub, New Agenda and the arrogant Talkin’ Bout Nuthin. It was also nice to see his good friend Big Sant on the stage. The fans went crazy went they both performed the energetic How U Luv That. The rap poet also sang the powerful The Vent  a cappella, which I’m sure gave a few chills to some fans.

M.U.L.A. Grade : 8/10 – KRIT is the real proof that real rap still exists in 2014. We just have to pay attention.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tyler The Creator/ Future (Concert Reviews)

Oh, the joy to see an artist perform on time! I must tip my hat to Tyler. About 30 minutes before Tyler took the stage, his energetic friend/DJ named Taco did a nice job as far as hyping the crowd.

Tyler arrived on stage without any formal presentation which was different than your usual DJ announcement. The young crowd went nuts.

A few minutes after making his entrance, the rapper thanked the fans (which he called assholes) for coming. Jasper, another Odd Future member was not saved either, as Tyler kept making fat jokes towards him. Typical Tyler.

 

Dj Taco. Also member of the Odd Future gang.

 

 

Tyler performed one of his song, while sitting above the stage. Reminds us why we also call him Goblin.

 

 

Tyler bringing down the house.

 

 

During his hour and a half set, the rapper performed some of his best songs like Goblins, B**** Suck D***, Bimmer and Yonkers.

He also got kind of sentimental and even once asked the audience to feel sad once She or IFHY (I f****** hate you) came on.

 

It was also nice to see him perform the melancholic Answer, an opened letter to his estranged father.

 

I would have given a perfect score for the show if it wasn’t from the presence of  talking gaps (sometimes awkward) between each songs. Although watching Tyler looking for a belt or throwing bottles at the audience was quite entertaining, I think his fans would have preferred a longer performance.

 

Future performing for his all age crowd.

 

A week later, it was Future’s turn to hit the stage, this time at the Olympia venue.

The rapper gave a somewhat good performance, since it only lasted a quick hour and a half. If you’ve been a fan of Future since his Pluto days, let’s just say he sticked to his pop music repertoire.

Frime Hustle with one of the candy girls.

Dressed in white and rocking his new blonde hairdo, Future delivered a few of his verses from his best songs/collabos to date, like Day 1, Shit or my favorite Karate Chop.

For the ladies in the audience, he also sang Loveeeee Song (Feat. Rihanna) and Turn On The Lights (Feat. Lil Wayne).  

Check out both of their performance below:

 

LOX – Money, Power and Longevity (Concert Review)

I was ready for the last concert of this long and busy week.

 

The Arena venue located in downtown Montreal was packed with a much older and different crowd than the two last concerts I attended. The pouring rain didn’t stop these hip hop heads to attend this Rap rendez-vous.

Unlike the Bun B show, the crowd got to enjoy fewer guest performances before the main act arrived. The first group to perform was  E.M.G. a Toronto based rap trio. The group  has already open acts for Pusha-T, M.O.P. and even recorded a song with Spragga Benz, better known as Wayne in 2002’s Shottas. Not bad. Not bad at all.

Toronto group EMG were the first to perform.

The second performer was Peter Jackson, a Canadian rapper who has been grinding for a few years now. Having toured with Waka Flocka, Juicy J and even French Montana, Jackson still finds time to work  on his music, which you can find on http://www.peterjacksonmusic.ca

 

Around one o’clock , the wait was finally over. After seeing Styles with Sheek or Ghostface with Sheek again it was  time for The LOX to be finally reunited. The music selection was obvious (from a fan perspective) but oh was it reminiscent of the good old days. The trio kicked off the show with New York City  but  took us back to the 90’s era with several hits like All About The Benjamins , Money, Power, Respect and Ride or Die Chick. Since all tree had successful solo careers, if was only right for us to  knock our fists on Jada’s Knock Yourself Out or cross our two arms while singing Locked Up from Styles P. Of course, Sheek Louch’s Good Love is always a good song to make ladies dance.

 

LOX performing

 

 

It’s a pretty known fact that Styles P loves Montreal weed. What better way to perform his song  I Get High then to distribute cigarillos, blunts and rolling papers to excited fans ? Another great moment of the night was when Styles P (again) jumped out of stage to ride with his fans. Having done that  a few years ago was still surprising to me because this venue is a lot bigger than the previous one. I guess the mass of vultures did not scare the New Yorker.

Styles P lighting up on stage.

Seeing The LOX together for the first time of Canada was a great hip hop moment for myself and everyone who attended this much anticipated reunion. While some rappers run after money and power, this group proves that respect takes time to built and is the only real proof of success.

 

Rule number 1: Don’t rub Styles P in the wrong way, even if you’re his number 1 fan.

Rule number 2:  Message to all Montreal venues : If you’re gonna have a group signing autograph on 300 t-shirts, make sure you have solid tables. Let’s just say hell broke loose at 3 am.

Rule number 3: no rules…Jadakiss is still cute from his Ruff Ryders day. Muaaa

 

 

 M.U.L.A Grade: 9/10…Can’t wait for these 3 to come back. No beef, just crazy groupies.

 

 

From Chiraq to Mtl: SD 300 from GBE (at Cabaret Underworld, March 14th)

Friday night. Last Minute concert. The only way you could know SD 300 is if you are familiar with Chicago rapper Chief Keef and that whole Chiraq (Chicago+ Iraq) movement. I arrived at Cabaret Underworld a bit after 9pm, just in time to see a few Montreal rappers perform. Even though I’ve missed Boy6lue, other locals like Didas and LifeTroop did a great job as far as hyping the impatient and mostly masculine crowd. Other performers like Crome, Gaby and Fito Loyalty were also present.

Not even five minutes after the young GBE rapper finally arrived, the stage was already packed with a dozen of male (not female) groupies. When they finally got down, SD perform a few of his tracks like White Bitchez  and Squad Fulla Killaz. It’s a good thing I was not wearing my favorite sneakers because I got stomped and tossed all over, just like that Waka show, two years ago. His performance only lasted thirty to forty-five minutes. He’s a newcomer, though. Let’s give him a break.

The show was definitely about showcasing Montreal’s upcoming rappers and less about the invited guest. Although most of the performers sounded good, I didn’t really hear anything different. It’s not a bad thing sounding ”American” but it’s important nowadays to be different, especially in the competitive world of Hip Hop. I don’t want to feel like I’m listening to A$AP Rocky  or French Montana when I listen to Montreal rappers. That’s the s*** I don’t like.

SD didn’t reach the border: Yeah right! The rapper shared his arrival in the Real City on his IG account on Friday night.

SD 300 remind us of a young version on Waka Flocka. Photo Credits are courtesy of Cabaret Underworld

Montreal artists performed in front of hundreds of impatient fans. Nice to see them rocking the Montreal brand One Diamond. Nice hoodie !

The very confident rap group Didas was pretty dope. That whole long hair/black shades was working for them.

 

M.U.L.A. Grade : 7/10. If it wasn’t for those ”Stans” taking over the venue’s tiny stage, SD could have performed way longer and end so brutally.

Bang Bang !