AB-Soul – The Man on The Moon (Concert Review)

If you were a faithful member of the ”Bring Ab-Soul to Montreal” Facebook page, you  were probably at the Petit Olympia last Friday night. It finally happened, TDE’s secret weapon would finally perform in our city.

The show started early with various hip hop performers. I’ve never heard of rappers Jimmy B  or Slick Sterling until that night. Soulful rapper Jimmy B may be the next promising rapper from the DOT and  is already getting love from the hip hop community. You should check out his Youtube channel.

Slick Sterling

 

 

 

Jimmy B

 

 

 

 J.O The Corrupted was also a nice surprise . After asking the crowd if we all knew who Rob”the crook” Ford was (duh), the MTL rapper spit a few bars which felt were like a testimony of his criminal past. Money, crime and Arm & Harmer: his shit ain’t for the kids.

The last time I heard a Montreal femcee rap this good was when I first heard J. Kyll from Muzion more than a decade ago. Generale Q has a pretty commendable flow (good punchlines too) and it will probably remind you of some old Gangsta Boo. No Iggy. No Nicky.Refreshing indeed.

Hope to hear more of her .

Generale Q

 

 

Queens rapper BAS (who is signed to J. Cole’s Dreamville Records) gave the concertgoers a great surprise performance. The big beard rapper performed tracks like Be Alert, Love Souvenir and My Ni**a Just Made Bail. He even gave us a little freestyle before leaving the stage.

BAS

The wait was finally over, Ab-Soul took the stage around eleven o’clock. The messy hair rapper kicked off his set with Dub Sac, Terrorist Threats, TWACT,  and Hunnid Stax. Soulo even showed support to his fellow TDE partner Schoolboy Q while playing Man of the Year and Druggy’s With Hoes Again.

AB-Soul

 

 Le Petit Olympia is probably the best  ventilated venue  and weed smoker friendly. The ambiance switched a little as backwoods were getting rolled, puffed and passed around the room.. It was the perfect time for Gone Insane and the trippy World Runners.It was also  nice to see the rapper sharing weed with fans. Like a real black hippy.

 

  

M.U.L.A. Grade: 9/10.  We will be waiting for the Bring Ab-Soul BACK to Montreal  page.

Man of the Year (Upcoming Concert)

I was trying to understand what all the hype was about several months ago, when I heard Man of The Year from Germany-born rapper Schoolboy Q. So when I asked a friend why this guy was so popular, he suggested me to listen to his previous work before branding him as another annoying-rapper-for-hipsters category. So I listened to his 2009 storytelling mixtape, Gangsta & Soul. Then I listened to Oxymoron. And then I understood.

 

The critically acclaimed Oxymoron LP, was released under Top Dawg Ent. and Dr. Dre’s Interscope records. The album featured big names like Raekwon, Tyler The Creator and Kendrick Lamar. Released in 2013, the album sold less 200K album on it’s first week. Q later admitted he would have preferred staying independent.

 

Schoolboy is a 27 years old ex California Crip gang member who only emerged on the North American music scene a few years ago. Last year, the rapper  graced the cover of the XXL magazine for their annual Freshmen edition.

Schoolboy Q’s laid back L.A. flow and  sometimes sexual wordplay might persuade you to stop at The Olympia this Saturday. Who knows, you will probably change your mind about the kid like I did.

 

Schoolboy Q and other members of Black Hippy. Left to Right: Ab-Soul, Schoolboy, Kendrick Lamar and Jay Rock

 

 

Who: Schoolboy Q, L.A. rapper & one quarter of the Black Hippy rap group, Live in Concert

Where: Theatre L’Olympia, 1004 Sainte-Catherine E, Montreal

When: Saturday September 20th 2014, Show starts at 9pm

How Much: 57$ (student) up to 100$ for VIP treatment

You should only attend if: The new L.A. leaders (Kendrick,YG,Tyler,Earl Sweatshirt)

Visit www.olympiamontreal.com for more info

 

To Download Gangsta & Soul and his other mixtapes:

http://hnhh.co/mbf