YG…the Real G (Concert Review)

Montreal got a taste from the West Coast on July 24th at the Arena nightclub. Before the C Bompton rapper hit the stage, the enthusiastic (but small) crowd heard some of the city’s rap talents.
If you’re from the East part of Montreal, you’ve probably heard about the rap group Cdx/45 Starz. Although most of us know them for their ”local” hit  Fais pas ton niaiseux, the quatuor decided to play a few tracks in english. It was good seeing them perform.
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Cdx performing

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Blockmode

The audience also enjoyed other performances like Uptown rapper Nyce and the group Blockmode . If their faces sounded familiar, then you probably saw them opening the Bun B show a few months ago. Blockmode’s energy on stage is pretty commendable, but the performance looked  and sounded a bit messy at times. It’s hard to understand when fifty rappers try to sing at the same time. The Jay Z’s cover for Song Cry was not bad though.
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YG showing love

 

YG  finally came around midnight. Wearing a red cap, a plaid shirt  (also red) and white knee socks, YG looked like a real LA resident. And like a true Compton fella, the rapper had to insert  motherf******  or bitch in each of his sentences.  After a warm welcome from the crowd, YG performed his best hits to date like BPTBitches Ain’t  S*** and My N**** .
Having played My Krazy Life  for several weeks now, I was a bit surprised he did not  perform more songs from his latest EP.
Luckily, we got to bounce on  Who Do You Love,  Left, Right  and  the new Blood anthem, Bicken Back being Bool.
But what happened to Toot It And Boot It though?
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Montreal girls showing the rapper some love.

 

 

Between songs, the rapper entertained the fans as he shared a few (gang affiliated) dance steps and even got a brief twerking session from a female fan. She didn’t show him the goods but he got something else instead. Check the video below.
 
Mula Grade : 8/10. The energy YG brought on stage definitely compensated for his short performance. YG definitely showed us the good part of his crazy life.
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Black and White only ! I was wearing a men’s  jersey from Hudson and my pair of Jordan Retro 12 Taxi.

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.

 

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Dj Taco. Also member of the Odd Future gang.

 

 

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

 

 

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Tyler bringing down the house.

 

 

During his hour and a half set, the rapper performed some of his best songs like GoblinsB**** 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.

 

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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.
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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:

 

The Future of Hip Hop/Le Future du Hip Hop

Future, in my opinion has found the perfect recipe to become the new king of the charts. Here are 3 reasons why:

Selon moi, Future a trouvé la recette parfaite afin de s’établir comme le nouveau roi des palmarès. Voici trois bonnes raisons :

 

Number 1:  He took someone’s spot while they were gone / Il a pris la place de son prédécesseur.

Before Future there was T-Pain. Not that we were too happy about the return of the auto-tune but Future kind of made it sound better. Nonetheless, the Haitian-American has both singing and rapping abilities. Sorry T.

 Avant Future, il y avait T-Pain. On ne s’est pas trop réjouit du retour de l’auto-tune. Il faut quand même admettre que Future l’a rendu plus hot. En plus, le chanteur d’origine haïtienne sait chanter et rappel.

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Sorry T-Pain, there’s a new king of hooks/ Désolé T-Pain, il y a un nouveau roi des refrains

 

Number 2:  He stays in the limelight/ Son nom fait souvent les manchettes.

 Whether it’s rumoured beef with Drake,Rich Homie Quan or his tumultuous relationships with one of his baby mamas (excluding newcomer Ciara), the rapper knows a thing or two about getting good and bad press.

 Malgré des conflits entre lui et Drake, Rich Homie Quan ou avec l’une des mères de ses enfants (excluons la chanteuse Ciara), Future sait très bien comment faire parler de lui.

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Future and his new baby’s mother, singer Ciara // Future en compagnie d’une des mères de ses enfants, Ciara .

Number 3: Future has collaborated with everyone…almost / Future a collaboré avec tout le monde…enfin presque

 Amongst the many artists he collaborated with (aka everyone), the Atlanta rapper also penned numerous hit songs like Rihanna’s

Loveeeeeee Song and even created the melody for Beyoncé’s  Drunk in Love.

Parmi les artistes avec qui il a collaboré,  le chanteur d’Atlanta a écrit plusieurs titres populaires comme Loveeeeeee Song de Rihanna. Il a même créer la mélodie de Drunk in Love de Beyoncé.

 

Having seen an energetic Future during Drake’s last concert, I’m pretty sure the show will be  money worthy.

Now prepare yourself to see a lot of dreadlocks shaking and a lot of leather pants.

Après avoir vu Future au dernier concert de Drake, cette prestation en vaudra la peine.

Attendez-vous à voir des cheveux secouer un peu partout… et beaucoup de cuir.

INFORMATIONS:

Who/Qui: Future  rapper, writer/compositeur, producer/producteur  Live in concert/En direct  (Invités/Guests : Rico Love & Que)

Where/Où: Club Olympia, 1004 Sainte-Catherine E, Montreal

When/Quand: Sunday, July 13th /Dimanche 13 juillet 2014, around /vers 8:00pm

How Much/Combien:  33$ (in advance/en avance), 58$ (at the door/à l’entrée) or/ou 100$ (VIP)

You should attend if/Ça vaut le détour si : You know at least 5 hooks Future sings/Vous pouvez chanter au moins 5 refrains auxquels Future participe. If you like/si vows aimed le trap music, Migos, Cash Out, Casino,Gucci Mane and/et Young Scooter

 

 

For more/Pour plus d’informations:

www.olympiamontreal.com

www.admission.com/event/future

 

 

See you there! À bientôt !

Lauryn Hill Live in Montreal- The Unpredictable/L’imprévisible

Way before  the Nicki’s  and the Iggys appear on BET, we had Lauryn Hill.  One third of the multi-platinum selling group The Fugees. She’s stubborn gal who decided to leave the famous trio, leaving Wyclef and Praz and many fans shocked. Lauryn’s the one who came back after, alone and  shared us her own ”miseducation”. She’s the female rapper who shaved her head, turned Rastafarian and married one of the Marley brothers. She’s the one who made several girls Watch OUT for a certain type of guys. She’s the one who made a lot of girls rock high ponytails after watching Sister Act 2. We’ll always love Mary, Kim, Faith, Brat or Missy. But Lauryn was…Lauryn.
On Monday thought, Ms Hill might be the one who will make you wait. A while. Maybe not.  But who knows. She’s so unpredictable.
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The dissolved 1990’s rap group The Fugees. 2 Grammy wins. 3 rappers. 6 platinum plaques. 6 millions albums sold.

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While many were still mourning the death of The Fugees, Lauryn Hill did pretty good on her own. She received several music awards throughout her career and her million selling album, ”The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill” was critically acclaimed all over North America.

Bien avant que les Nicki et les Iggy apparaissent sur nos écrans, nous avions Lauryn Hill. Un tiers du fameux groupe The Fugees. C’est la fille à la tête dure, qui laissa Wyclef et Praz choqués. Nous aussi d’ailleurs. Lauryn , c’est celle qui est revenue peu après, seule et nous a présenté sa ”mauvaise” éducation. C’est la rappeuse qui s’est rasé la tête , s’est convertie en rasta et s’est marié à un des frères Marley. C’est elle qui nous a dit d’être prudente envers certains types de garçons. C’est aussi à cause d’elle qu’on portait notre coiffure haute, après avoir vu Rock’n nonne 2. Oui, on aimera toujours Mary, Kim, Faith, Brat ou Missy. Mais Lauryn…..c’était Lauryn.
Ce lundi par contre, Mme Hill  sera peut-être celle  qui vous fera patienter. Longtemps. Ou pas. Personne ne le sait. Elle est tellement imprévisible.
Informations: 
Who/Qui: Lauryn Hill , Grammy winner songwriter (chanteuse), rapper  (rappeuse) and ex-refugee (ex-réfugiée) , live in concert
When/Quand: Monday June 23rd  2014, Doors open at 7pm, show starts at 8pm (but again, it’s Lauryn)
              Lundi 23 juin 2014, Les portes ouvrant à 19hoo et le concert débute dès 20h00 (tout dépend de Lauryn)
Where/Où: Olympia Theatre, 1004 Sainte-Catherine East, Montreal
How Much/Combien: 70$ (regular admission/générale) 100$ (VIP Treatment/Traitement VIP)
To buy your ticket/Pour acheter votre billet : http://www.olympiamontreal.com

 

 

See you there !

Bun B- Performing live at Cabaret Underworld (May 6th 2014)

 

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The first time I saw UGK on tv was when Jay Z’s ”Big Pimpin” first played on Musique Plus. Even though Bun and the late Pimp C released their first independent album in 1988, it is fair to say that being in a Jay Z video gave these two southern gentlemen a great exposure who would eventually make them popular in the East Coast. Even after the tragic death of his longtime partner in crime in 2007, the big bearded man still continued to do music. Having collaborated with big shots like Jeezy, Rick Ross or Gucci Mane, Bun B clearly has nothing to prove to all you suckas. That’s what he would say.

Since 2005, he released the ”Trill” compilations which could be a short term for too real. his last effort, Trill O.G. has had a great success over North America and has helped the rapper put Texas back on the map after the ”Chamillionaire, Mike Jones and Paul Wall early 2000s era.

If you are not busy tonight, come see this southern legend at Cabaret Underworld. It is rare in Montreal to see a southern rapper grace the stage. So twenty-five dollars is a pretty cheap price to see such an influential rapper.

 

Quick Info

Who: Bun B, well known member of Texas rap group UGK (also performing ThugLi,Montrilla and Grandbuda)

When: Tuesday May 6th around 9pm

Where: Cabaret Underworld (1403, Saint-Elisabeth Street near Sainte-Catherine E)

How Much: around 20$ to 25$ (Tix available at Off the Hook, Moog, Empire or at Cabaret Underworld)

You should attend if: You want to take a break from the East coast music a little bit. If you know how to keep it TRILL.

 

See you there !

 

 

 

 

 

M.I.A. – The girl with the tiger balls / La fille aux couilles de tigre

The UK/Sri Lankan rapper has been quiet ever since she showed her middle finder to the world (Superbowl 2013, remember?). After receiving complaints about her gesture, the NFL is still asking her  to pay  her 16 million dollar fine. These guys must have forgotten about Janet Jackson’s nip slip incident a few years ago.
This is not M.I.A. first controversial ”rodeo”. In 2010, her video Born Free was criticized for being too violent. Shot by Roman Gavras, the video showed cruel U.S. military guards capturing and killing a ”red hair race” for their own pleasure. The 9 minute clip depicted the still existing genocides in many foreign countries. Two years later, Bad Girls shocked the public again but this time in a Middle East decor. Also shot by Gavras (in Morocco by the way), the video consisted of  Saudi Arabian flashing their bling, car racing in the desert and… also showing WOMEN  dancing and driving! If you didn’t know, you cannot put women and driving in the same sentence when you come from Saudi Arabia.
Lucky for us, M.I.A hasn’t let the bad reviews affect her too much. After releasing her Bring the Noize single last summer, she finally released her fourth album effort, Matangi in November.  Kicking off her North American tour also called  Matangi, M.I.A. will make a quick stop to Montreal, city she is now very familiar to.
In this era of twerk and senseless music , it is nice to see a brown woman feeding us with powerful social and political statements through funky and colourful videos.  On May 4th,  I can only expect the hype, crazy or politically incorrect M.I.A. to be on stage.
 Thats’ the M.I.A. we want.

La rappeuse anglaise et srilankaise s’est fait plutôt tranquille depuis qu’elle a montré son majeur au monde entier (Superbowl 2012 avec la Madonne?). Après avoir choqués quelques téléspectateurs, la ligue de football américain attendent toujours qu’elle paie son amende de 16 million de dollars. Ces mêmes personnes ont surement déjà oublié le mamelon de Janet Jackson quelques années plus tôt.
Ce n’est pas la première controverse que M.I.A. suscite. En 2010, son vidéo  Born Free est critiqué pour être ultra violent. Le clip  de 9 minutes réalisée par Roman Gavras montre une armée américaine (très cruelle) qui capture seulement des roux et qui les exécute par simple plaisir. Un genre de génocide qui selon elle, existe toujours dans plusieurs pays. Deux ans plus tard, la vidéo Bad Girls choque encore le public, cette fois-ci dans un décor d’Arabie Saoudite. De nouveau tourné par Gavras (mais au Maroc), le vidéoclip montre des hommes arabes riches, faisant des courses dans le désert et on voit aussi….des FEMMES danser et conduire. Disons qu’en Arabie Saoudite, on ne met jamais les mots femmes et conduire dans la même phrase.
Par chance, M.I.A n’a pas laissé les mauvaise critiques l’affecter. Après avoir sorti son tube ”Bring the Noize” l’été dernier, son quatrième album Matangi a enfin vu le jour en novembre 2013. Avec sa tournée  Matangi qui débute bientôt, elle fera un arrêt à Montréal, une ville qu’elle connait pas mal bien.
Dans cette ère de musique insensée et de TWERK , il fait plaisir de voir une femme ”de couleur” qui nous passe un message social à travers des vidéos tordus et colorés. Le 4 mai, on ne peut s’attendre qu’à la folle ou la politically incorrect M.I.A.
C’est la M.I.A. qu’on veut.
INFORMATIONS
WHO: M.I.A, English and Sri Lankan rapper, 38
WHEN: Sunday May 4th 2014 (around 8pm)
WHERE: Metropolis, 59 Sainte-Catherine East (near Saint-Laurent), Montreal
How Much: between 34,50$ to 39$ (you won’t pay more than 40$ at the door)
You should only attend if: You can listen to electronic, alternative, dancehall and hip hop music all at the same time. If you are familiar to Dj Diplo, Major Lazer, Amanda Blank or Santigold. If you like the UK accent.If you were one of the millions of people singing the hook on Paper Planes. If you want to take a break from this male-dominated hip hop scene and see a girl rock the stage.
QUI: M.I.A, rappeuse d’origine anglaise et sri lankaise, 38 ans
QUAND: Dimanche, le 4 mai 2014 (vers 20:00pm)
:  Métropolis à Montréal, 59 rue Sainte-Catherine Est (près de Saint-Laurent)
C’est Combien: entre 34,50$ et 39$ (vous ne paierez pas plus de 40$ à la porte)
Allez-y seulement si: Vous pouvez écoutez de l’electro, de l’alternatif, dancehall et hip hop en même temps. Si vous êtes familier avec Dj Diplo, Major Lazer, Amanda Blank ou Santigold. Si vous aimez  le rap avec l’accent british. Si vous avez déjà chanter le refrain de Paper Planes. Si ça vous tente de prendre une pause de tous ces artistes mâles qui dominent la scène hop hop et voir une fille chauffer la scène.
Bon show !

 

 

 

 

To get your tickets/ Pour achetez vos billets visitez le http://www.metropolismontreal.ca

The man with the wired jaw

How ironic is this title for a man who lately hasn’t been able to keep his mouth shut.

Mr. West has been on a rough path lately. It seems that people are talking about more about West’s private life (thanks to his well known fiancé) than his latest music effort ‘‘Yeezus”.
If you haven’t heard about the rapper/producer’s feud with radio personalities Sway and Charlamagne The God, then I don’t know where you have been last year.
Who knows what’s going on in this self-proclaimed genius head. Ever since his mother Donda West passed away a few years ago, Kanye’s music took a weird but creative turn. A part of me misses the old Kanye in those Slum village days or when he was just creating hits for the Roc-a-Fella rooster (RIP to Memphis Bleek, Freeway, Peedi Crack and Young Gunz’s rap careers).
On the other side, it’s good to see a  producer, turned rapper, turned high fashion designer. He came a long way from laughing at boogie girls in College Dropout to raise social awareness in ”New Slaves”.Kanye West sure evolved as a musician.
Just in time to celebrate the 10 year anniversary his College Dropout album (already), Kanye West will pay us a visit tomorrow night at the Bell Center for his Yeezus Tour. He might complain, laugh, rant or just scream tomorrow night. That’s the Kanye we love,though.
Quick Info:
Who: Kanye West, one of the greatest rapper and producer of our generation (in my opinion)
When: February 17th 2014
Where: Bell Center, Montreal
How Much: price range from 53$ to 193,50$ (Check the sittings available on http://www.centrebell.ca)
You should only attend if: You’re a Kanye fan, if you enjoy concert with great concepts…and if those Jay Z tickets didn’t ruin you too much)
 

Oh Yeezus.