Alkaline : The new prince of Dancehall ? (Upcoming Concert)

Let’s step away from the hip hop scene for a few minutes, shall we?

We haven’t heard of Elephant Man for a while now. Mavado is somewhere in Miami partying it up with his new crew, Cash Money. As for Vybz Kartel, well…he won’t be out of jail until your gran,gran,gran,grandchildren have their own kids.

So what better time for  Earlan ”Alkaline ” Barthley to take over the dancehall scene. In an era where being scandalous will get you further than actually having talent,you could say that Alkaline, 20, has  the best of both worlds. I was a bit sceptical about this new kid, who for some reason, decided to tattoo his freakin eyeballs in black. Yes, you read right.

While some of his dancehall peers (Lady Saw, Bounty Killa) don’t support his weird and satanic behaviour nor his use of coarse language, the young singer sees all this as good publicity.

After hearing listening to his biggest hits so far Bruk Out or  Moving Mountains,  I’ve changed my mind.

If you listen to his pref-fame work, like  the song Proof , there was not any doubt that the then-17-year-old would blow up eventually. It’s hard to think that the singer never mentioned Kartel as an inspiration since the young singer decided to take the vulgar/raunchy road like his predecessor. He kind of sounds like him too. This chosen path though, seems  to work pretty well and please a lot of his female audience. It was even reported that one Alkaline crazed fan simulated a fellatio on the singer in a live concert. We’re far from the days where throwing a pair of panties was ludicrous.

 

 

Anyway, let’s hope that Canada has more sense than that and will not go that extreme to get the his attention.

 

 Information

Who:  Alkaline, Dancehall Artist, performing live for the first time in Canada

Where: For Montreal : V-Lounge (662, 90th Avenue in Lasalle)  or  in Ottawa : Saint-Joseph Hall (151 Laurier Avenue)

When: Sunday, June 30th in Montreal and Monday July 1st in Ottawa (doors open around 10pm)

How Much: About 30$ to 39$ . It is recommended to buy your tickets in advance.

You should attend if: You’re looking to do something for Canada day. You like dancehall music. If you’ve followed the new goth trend in Jamaica (i.e. the freaky Tommy Lee).You don’t have sensitive ears. You’re not  expecting to hear any conscious music (because you won’t).

 

For Montreal Tickets: 

TRIPLE AAA 514-344-5353
MANGO BAY 514-875-7082
PRINCESSA 514-595-4894

 

For Ottawa Tickets:

Call number 613-413-7501

Or add DjPhilkid Thomas on Facebook

 

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.