Just before COVID happened, Reel Wolf Productions celebrated their 10th anniversary with a special concert that highlighted their legacy and the impact they’ve had on underground Hip-Hop. The video production company has been behind some of the grimiest, most hardcore music videos in the underground, collaborating over the years with artists including R.A. The Rugged Man, Jedi Mind Tricks/Vinnie Paz, D12, Tech N9ne and Kool G Rap, to name a few. For this event, they would be celebrating the 10-year milestone of their first compilation album, The Underworld, which marks their expansion into becoming a record label housing several Toronto-based artists on their roster, and also arguably their most successful music video of the same name, featuring 13 of underground Hip-Hop’s most prolific figures all rapping on a posse cut over a hardcore beat. While this show would celebrate some of the local artists who have collaborated with Reel Wolf over the years, it would also be headlined by one of those 13 emcees who appear on “The Underworld” single: Brooklyn, New York’s own ILL Bill.

This show at The Rockpile felt like a homecoming, as not only has the Reel Wolf family been part of several concerts put on at this venue over the years, but a lot of Toronto’s local Hip-Hop scene came out to celebrate the milestone with them, whether they were performing or not. It was personally my first time seeing a show here in over five years, and it felt great returning to that grimy, underground atmosphere the venue provides. Reel Wolf’s founder, lead director and producer, Tom Vujcic would say some words to start things off, welcoming the fans and speaking on the milestone we were there to celebrate. He’d also hype up the fans who were there to see ILL Bill, mentioning that they’d been filming two music videos while Bill was in town, and would introduce the first of many local artists performing for the evening.

Myself having been the official guest judge for the 2023 season of the monthly MIXED BREEDS competitive concert series, seeing the lineup for this show was like seeing some of the tournament’s top competitors perform without the pressure of having to vote on a winner at the end of the night. The October showcase’s main event winner, Dirty Doc, would set things off along with Stax, who together have formed a group called Lethal Injection. They would perform their new song “Incinerator” for the very first time, and would go back and forth performing some of their solo tracks, including Stax’s Young Stitch-featuring “The Shining” and Dirty Doc’s “Shooter,” which got him the W at MIXED BREEDS. The duo had a solid set warming up the crowd, and were hyped to spend the rest of their night just being fans ready to see ILL Bill.

Next up would be the main event winner of the August MIXED BREEDS showcase, MLNY, and similar to what he did to win that matchup, he brought a raw approach to the stage, spitting straight bars over traditional boom-bap beats. He’d bring a ton of energy to get the crowd hyped and seemed to have endless bars as he performed songs like “Give It Up” and the Moka Only-assisted “Still Paying Dues.” MLNY’s energy brought the crowd in and his sharp delivery on the mic kept them engaged, that old-school vibe resonating with the crowd.

I took a break to re-up on drinks and ended up missing the next group of artists performing, but by the time I got back, Mic Gutz was about to take the stage. With his new album Iron Mic dropping on November 24th, he’d perform a few songs off of that upcoming album, including the latest single “Holyfield,” and got Dre Specz to join him for the first single “F’d Up.” Just as we saw him do at the last MIXED BREEDS event, he got the crowd tuned in as he finished with an acapella verse that used wordplay to name-drop several Toronto legends like Maestro Fresh Wes and k-os.

Following Mic Gutz would be some more familiar faces from MIXED BREEDS, as the hosts of that tournament, Raw Dog Entertainment, got their own segment. Raw Dog’s founder JDon would perform some familiar songs he usually uses to kick off the events he hosts, getting the crowd to join in on his trademark “JDon – Fuck that guy!” call-and-response routine. With plenty of potential new fans in the building, he made sure to nail is flows on songs like “Fuck What They Say” before letting Blaxxx Bossalini take over the stage. Bossalini would cut through sharp on the mic with his gravelly voice, turning the energy up as he ran through a 5-song setlist including “Stash House,” and would close out the set with his latest single, “Numbers.” Raw Dog would make their Reel Wolf connections known, as some of the songs they performed had beats produced by Reel Wolf artist Swann.

Next would be an emcee I hadn’t seen perform in a long time, and one who’s actually featured on a few songs off of The Underworld album, Suspect of Marmel Entertainment. Joined by Big Gat, he’d perform some new material, including a track just released within the same week, “Bar Slang,” with dope bars and sharp flows on full display. Suspect’s set would include a few special appearances, including Stacee Brizzle, who had been hosting all night and introducing each artist to the stage, but would get her own moment to shine as she sang the hook on the throwback weed anthem “Mary Jane.” Having seen the Marmel crew perform this song a few times over the years, seeing it live at The Rockpile again brought that nostalgia factor for longtime supporters of the local Hip-Hop scene who were in the building. After killing one more hardcore track with “Face Down,” Suspect and his crew would make way for Reel Wolf’s flagship artists to take the stage, The Wolfpack.

While the full Wolfpack crew couldn’t make it out, emcees Swann & Resin held it down for the group, setting things off with their verses on “Warfare.” The duo brought nothing but that grimy, hardcore energy as they ripped through songs like “Dark Ages,” and Tom Vujcic would pause their set to give a quick shoutout to the late Louie Rankin, who played a major role in Reel Wolf’s success both as an actor and Reggae/Dancehall artist. The Wolfpack would pay tribute to Louie with the song “Chaotic Methods” which features him on the hook, and would have the whole building give a moment of silence for the late legend before continuing on into “Carnage.”

With the host for the evening, Stacee Brizzle also being the First Lady of Reel Wolf, she would get to join in on The Wolfpack’s set for their last few songs and show off some of her flows. The group would perform the song “Invasion,” with Resin, Stacee and Swann each nailing a rapid-fire flow to the fast-paced beat, and would close out the set with an anthem for themselves, “Wolfpack,” getting the crowd to chant their name on the hook. With much of the crowd being there to celebrate Reel Wolf’s milestone, The Wolfpack got a lot of love during their set, as most of the songs they performed were off of more recent albums released through Reel Wolf, showing that they’ve been able to build off of the success of The Underworld.

While Tom Vujcic was also supposed to perform with his Metal band, Dominant Species, it seemed they opted to keep the evening strictly Hip-Hop and next went straight to the headliner. After holding it down all night for every artist who performed, DJ Chino would make way for DJ Eclipse to set up his gear, and Tom and Stacee would toss some free merch into the crowd to keep the fans engaged. Once DJ Eclipse was good to go, it was soon time to bring out ILL Bill.

Joined by fellow New York emcee Chubs as his hypeman, ILL Bill came out to the intro off of his 2004 debut solo album, What’s Wrong With Bill?, performing part of his first verse from “What’s Wrong?” before diving into track two with “Overkill” to turn the crowd up. While Bill has toured through Toronto with the various groups he’s been a part of over the years, from Non Phixion to La Coka Nostra to Heavy Metal Kings, many fans including myself were seeing him do a solo set for the first time, and were hyped to hear these tracks off of What’s Wrong With Bill?. He’d give Chubs a chance to shine with his own track, who’d get the crowd to join in on shoutouts to ILL Bill, DJ Eclipse, himself, and even “Timmy Hortons” for some laughs, before letting Bill return to the album with the standout “Peace Sells.”

Bill would take a moment to talk to the crowd, reflecting on how long it’s been since he was last in Toronto, and admitting he was still getting used to his solo setlist after having just come back from a European tour with Non Phixion. With Non Phixion on the mind, the fans were into it 100% as Bill and DJ Eclipse pulled out one of the group’s rarities from the ’90s, performing the Public Enemy-sampling “Refuse To Lose” over the beat from Black Rob’s “Woah,” and Eclipse showing off his turntable skills with some live cuts. Seeming to ease his way through his set, Bill would give Chubs the spotlight to perform another song, and would take time out to bring Tom Vujcic back on stage to give him his props on Reel Wolf’s milestone.

When ILL Bill got back on the mic, he’d perform another Non Phixion joint with “Futurama” before dropping some new 2023 music with the song “Smarten Up,” which appears on ILL Bill’s latest solo album, BILLY. They’d keep up that grimy, underground New York feel with another Chubs joint before bringing in some west coast flavour with the Snoop Dogg-assisted La Coka Nostra track, “Bang Bang,” the beat being a certified head nodder that pumped some energy into the crowd. Bill & Eclipse showed off some dope chemistry as Eclipse laced Bill with some perfectly timed cuts for some call-and-response at the end of “Bang Bang,” and they’d get into a medley playing classic records by other artists, including Mobb Deep’s “Shook Ones,” Cypress Hill’s “How I Could Just Kill A Man,” and The Notorious B.I.G.’s “Who Shot Ya.”

With some Hip-Hop classics on the mind, ILL Bill would next drop a joint that many fans consider to be held in that same regard, performing the Non Phixion classic “Rock Stars.” The DJ Premier drums on “Rock Stars” definitely make the song hold up amongst other timeless classics, and Bill would keep the Preemo vibes going with La Coka Nostra’s own DJ Premier-produced joint, “Mind Your Business.” After another Chubs joint, ILL Bill would give one more nod to Preemo and also shoutout Nas as he performed a cut off of his 2023 mixtape, BILLmatic, which of course has him rapping over beats from Nas’ classic Illmatic album, the joint he performed being over DJ Premier’s “Represent” beat.

For the next few songs, ILL Bill would perform his verses from some Non Phixion classics, the group having recently celebrated 20 years since The Future Is Now was released. The energy turned up as he performed fan favourites like “Cult Leader” and “The CIA Is Trying To Kill Me,” and he even threw in the group’s first single from 1996, “No Tomorrow.” Chubs would get to shine again with his own single “See Through Motorola Beeper,” and him and Bill would get the entire crowd to raise their middle fingers as Bill performed “Black Helicopters,” which transitioned smoothly into Bill spitting his verse from “I Shot Regan” acapella. The crowd was completely tuned in for this segment, as Bill and Chubs nailed every verse they spit word for word.

Knowing we were all here to celebrate “The Underworld,” ILL Bill would make an effort to perform his verse from the song, although you could tell he hadn’t rapped it in years, having to read it off a sheet of paper first before attempting to spit it over the beat. Being pretty confident that he’d mess it up, Bill had fun with it and actually got through most of the verse before trailing off for the last couple bars. With so many emcees in the building, it would’ve been dope if ILL Bill brought back Suspect and some of the Wolfpack to open up a cypher over that “Underworld” beat with their verses from the “Cold North Remix” version of the track, but he instead left the track alone after his verse and moved on. He’d revert back to his throwbacks to close out the set, going dark with the psychological “The Anatomy Of A School Shooting” before bringing us back to positive vibes with Non Phixion’s “If You Got Love” to end on a high note. Tom Vujcic would close out the event by thanking all the artists and fans who came through, and announced that Reel Wolf has started working on The Underworld 3 album.

Overall, this was an epic celebration of underground rap as well as Toronto’s local Hip-Hop scene, and it felt almost like a family reunion seeing all of the artists come together to celebrate Reel Wolf’s 10-year milestone for “The Underworld.” ILL Bill himself looks like he’s lost a lot of weight, and his performance on stage is that much more energetic from it, with the passion coming through as his raps his verses. He seemed genuinely humbled to be celebrating his own decades of music with the fans, performing new 2023 joints along with the throwbacks, although it would’ve been cool to see him dig more into his discography and touch on albums like 2020’s La Bella Medusa or 2010’s Kill Devil Hills. This was also my first time experiencing any of Chubs’ music, and the few songs he performed fit well into ILL Bill’s set, bringing that rugged New York energy with sharply written bars.

ILL Bill, along with DJ Eclipse and Chubs will be embarking on the BILLY Tour through the U.S. in December, tour dates and tickets can be found here.

Special thank you to Tom Vujcic and the Reel Wolf family for granting this blog access to review this show!

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