It feels great being back to having a full calendar year of reviewing concerts! As we bring the year to a close, we’re taking a look back at some of the best concerts I got to attend this year. As always, I tried to catch as many Hip-Hop concerts to hit Toronto, Canada throughout the year, with a few road trips mixed in, and reviewed as many as I could on this blog.

While 2023 was the first full year we had of live music returning without any COVID restrictions, the big theme around the concerts that took place this year was the 50th anniversary of Hip-Hop. There were of course plenty of active artists bringing new music to the fans like always, but most of the concerts that took place celebrated the legacies of some of the most iconic legends to influence the music & culture over its 50-year history. Whether it was new artists pushing things forward with their new music, or icons with decades of classics behind them, there were plenty of Hip-Hop celebrations throughout the year, with no shortage of concerts and events to mark the occasion!

2023 also marks the 10th year of this blog being active, and I have to thank all the promoters, booking/media companies, and artist management who helped grant this blog access to review most of these concerts over the years. Major shoutouts to Raw Dog Entertainment for having me on as their official guest judge of the MIXED BREEDS competitive concert series for their 2023 season, allowing me to contribute and be more tapped-in to Toronto’s local music scene, and to anyone who’s ever enjoyed reading one of my concert reviews. Let’s get right to it, here are my picks for the Top 10 concerts I attended this year, starting with some honourable mentions!

Click here to check out my last Top 15, covering 2020-2022.

(All shows were in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, unless otherwise noted)
*Indicates a show I did not write a review for

Honourable Mentions (in chronological order):

J.I.D & Smino at HISTORY
MIXED BREEDS April Showcase at Planet Paradise*
Lloyd Banks at The Opera House
Ab-Soul at Adelaide Hall
The LOX at The Queen Elizabeth Theatre
MIXED BREEDS June Showcase at Planet Paradise
Ashanti at Toronto Jazz Fest*
Ghostface Killah at The Opera House
The Liverpool 4 at Massey Hall*
Haviah Mighty – Crying Crystals Release Party at AMPM*
MIXED BREEDS July Showcase at Planet Paradise
D-Sisive & Friends at The Rivoli
Saukrates & Friends at WAF Unity Fest in Dundas Square
50 Cent at Budweiser Stage
MIXED BREEDS August Showcase at Planet Paradise
YASSiN & Sean Terrio at Cameron House*
The Pharcyde at The Phoenix Concert Theatre
Styles P at The Opera House
MIXED BREEDS October Showcase at Planet Paradise
Conway The Machine at The Opera House
ILL Bill at The Rockpile
YASSiN & Sean Terrio at The El Mocambo*

10. Snoop Dogg & Wiz Khalifa at Budweiser Stage
(July 26, 2023)

Seeing Snoop Dogg & Wiz Khalifa team up again on The High School Reunion Tour was a prime example of how Hip-Hop has made its impact on multiple generations. You had every type of fan at this concert, from kids and teenagers all the way up to young adults, parents and grandparents, all coming together to celebrate the culture. Between Snoop Dogg, Wiz Khalifa, Too $hort, Warren G and Berner, this concert had representation from five decades of Hip-Hop music. Too $hort on his own performed songs from the ’80s, ’90s and ’00s during his long awaited first ever performance in Toronto; Wiz Khalifa held it down for the younger generation with songs from the 2010s and ’20s, and of course Snoop Dogg hit every era in between with seemingly endless party anthems.

While Berner, Warren G, Too $hort and Wiz Khalifa each had their own solo sets, this show felt more like a celebration of Snoop Dogg’s impact and legacy in particular. Each artist in the lineup has collaborated with Snoop at some point in his career, and it speaks to his longevity seeing the range of eras and styles of Hip-Hop he touches on throughout his performance. The ’90s heads were satisfied as he performed plenty of Death Row and G-Funk-era tracks, celebrating the 30th anniversary of his debut album Doggystyle with a surprise appearance from Lady of Rage, and he also got the younger fans turned up by doing an entire second set joined by Wiz Khalifa. A celebration of Hip-Hop’s 50 anniversary just wouldn’t be complete without arguably its most famous and recognizable figure in Snoop Dogg, and he pulled out all the stops to make this a fulsome celebration of his rap career, this being my favourite setlist I’ve seen him perform.

Click here to read the original concert review.

9. Ice Cube at Elements Nightclub in Kitchener, ON
(February 26, 2023)

We’ll see Ice Cube for a second time later on in this countdown, but this show in Kitchener has to make the Top 10 for the rarity of seeing the West Coast legend perform in a more intimate nightclub setting. While Cube has proven he can rock massive festival stages worldwide, this smaller show had him a lot more engaged and interactive with the crowd, taking the time to sign autographs at the front of the stage when he finished, and he may have put some extra energy into this one with it probably being his first time ever visiting Kitchener (shoutouts to Robbie G and R-Evolution Media for making it happen). Plus Ice Cube slightly altered his setlist compared to his other show on this countdown, and I preferred the songs he performed at this one.

Fully aware that we were about to spend all year celebrating Hip-Hop’s 50th anniversary, Ice Cube delivered a masterfully curated setlist that highlighted all of the ways he’s impacted the culture over his 30+ year career. He made sure to rock all his hit records from the ’80s, ’90s, ’00s and ’10s, highlighting major historical moments ranging from his time with N.W.A. to his breakout as a solo artist, to his emergence as a filmmaker and the way he’s always been able to return to rap and consistently have a message to deliver behind his music throughout the decades. The biggest highlight may have been his claim for “No Vaseline” being the greatest diss record in Hip-Hop history, and performing it for its historical significance while still being respectful to the former N.W.A. members he’s since restored peace with.

Click here to read the original concert review.

8. Souls of Mischief at Adelaide Hall
(June 13, 2023)

While it’s cool to celebrate the biggest stars to come out of Hip-Hop, we can’t forget that a significant amount of the music has been considered underground throughout the culture’s history, and that’s what Souls of Mischief/Hieroglyphics represent. Going on a world tour to celebrate 30 years since releasing their debut album 93 ‘Til Infinity, Souls of Mischief rocked Toronto with two sold-out shows at Adelaide Hall, packing the house with fans of raw, underground rap. The four-man group took it back to the roots and delivered just that, serving up intricate flows and only needing their microphones and their DJ to move the crowd. Congrats to them on the single “93 ‘Til Infinity” eventually becoming gold-certified 30 years later, likely off of the strength of this reunion tour!

It’s becoming more rare these days to see Hip-Hop groups from the golden era still able to tour together with all their original members, all alive and healthy enough to rock a stage, which makes this Souls of Mischief show that much more special. It had been almost ten years since the group last performed in Toronto, and even their last time in 2013 had a missing member, so you know Toronto fans couldn’t pass up this opportunity. While the venues and the crowds at underground shows like this may be smaller than the typical big ticket concerts, the fans who do show up are some of the most passionate and energetic you’ll see, and this show at Adelaide Hall was no exception, as Souls of Mischief had this crowd in the palm of their hand off of the timelessness of their music.

Click here to read the original concert review.

7. Smif-N-Wessun at The Rivoli
(April 9, 2023)

1995’s Dah Shinin’ might be my most listened to album of 2023, all off of the strength of this concert. Smif-N-Wessun have had a long history of performing shows in Toronto and the GTA over their 30+ year career, but this was my personal first time seeing them do a full setlist as the headliners, and Lawd did they kill this shit. Being known as one of the first prolific Hip-Hop groups to incorporate Caribbean slang into their raps, this concert by Smif-N-Wessun was effectively a warm up for the Caribana festival that came later in the summer, as they brought a lot of that flavour to the stage in their performance and had the crowd turned up. Shoutout to JD Era for putting this one together.

This show also had a deep lineup of Toronto-based artists opening for Smif-N-Wessun, and you could see firsthand how the Brooklyn duo have influenced Hip-Hop, with a lot of Toronto’s sound & identity also having that Caribbean flavour behind it. This was my introduction to Mississauga’s own J.O. Mairs of the duo RunXGun, who I’d see rock a few other shows throughout the year, and also marked the debut of LOW-U, a duo formed by Toronto vets Adam Bomb & D-Sisive, the latter of whom would also put on their own incredible show at The Rivoli a few months later. With all these Toronto emcees in the building, you felt a sense of community as we all supported our own artists while also celebrating 30 years in the music business for the Brooklyn Boot Camp Clik legends, Smif-N-Wessun.

Click here to read the original concert review.

6. 50 Cent at Pine Knob Music Theatre in Detroit, MI
(September 17, 2023)

With at least 100 amphitheater/stadium-sized shows performed in 29 countries, 50 Cent’s Final Lap Tour was one of the biggest concert tours of the year, and while we did catch one of the two stops at Toronto’s Budweiser Stage this summer, pairing any good concert with a fun road trip will always make a more lasting memory. Not only was the trip to Detroit a great time, but the actual performances at this concert were a bit different than what Toronto got. 50 Cent kept most of his core setlist intact, but he also sprinkled in a few surprise guest appearances just for Detroit throughout his performance, sharing the stage with hometown artists Kash Doll, Peezy, Icewear Vezzo, and the obvious, most notable legend, Eminem. Even though Eminem only came out for two songs, his surprise appearance was easily the biggest highlight of this show with the crowd giving him the loudest reaction, and the way they executed it with him coming out for the second verse on “Patiently Waiting” early in the setlist made the surprise more epic. It was also dope seeing 50 Cent pull out a few songs he didn’t perform in Toronto during the encore, like “Back Down” and “Stunt 101.”

While I’ll admit I haven’t been the biggest 50 Cent fan after 2005 and would’ve wanted to see him swap out some of the songs in his setlist for more of Get Rich Or Die Tryin’, I can’t deny the showmanship he has on stage regardless of which part of his catalogue he pulls from. From the dancers joining him on stage to the props, special effects and even magic tricks, 50 Cent’s Final Lap Tour was a spectacle to see. We also have to highlight how Busta Rhymes killed it as the tour’s opener, and how he similarly altered his setlist to perform some different songs for Detroit compared to Toronto. Seeing Busta perform with an opener’s time slot was just a taste of what a real Busta Rhymes show is like, and he’s about to go on his own headlining tour in 2024 to promote his new album, BLOCKBUSTA. Tickets to his Toronto tour date April 12th at HISTORY can be found here!

Click here to read the original concert review.

5. Ice Cube & Big Boi at Toronto’s Festival of Beer at Bandshell Park
(July 28, 2023)

If you’re a fan of classic Hip-Hop, the Friday night of Toronto’s annual Beer Fest weekend is a must. The combination of the beautiful summer weather with the hundreds of beer samples being poured makes for an incredible atmosphere to have a Hip-Hop concert. Always booking iconic artists with decades of classics behind them, the 2023 edition of Toronto’s Festival of Beer (TFOB) featured two artists who are often considered among the greatest emcees to ever come out of their respective cities, Atlanta’s own Big Boi and Los Angeles legend Ice Cube. These performances paired with the full day of enjoying the weather made for an epic Hip-Hop celebration.

Just as he did in Kitchener earlier in the year, Ice Cube’s performance highlighted his impact on Hip-Hop over his 30+ year career, although he did slightly switch up his set list to do songs that better fit the beer drinking occasion. Plus, it’s always cool seeing Cube perform “Friday” on an actual Friday. Besides the summertime atmosphere, what pushes this concert above what we saw Ice Cube do in Kitchener is the near show-stealing performance by Big Boi (featuring Sleepy Brown), who took us through years of hits both as a solo artist and as one half of the iconic duo OutKast. While the OutKast songs don’t quite hit the same without Andre 3000, Big Boi still ripped through his verses with a ton of energy and had the crowd turned up throughout his set; Cube would even admit that Big Boi is a tough act to follow on stage. Tickets to TFOB 2024 are already on sale and can be found at beerfestival.ca!

Click here to read the original concert review.

4. GZA & The Phunky Nomads at The Phoenix Concert Theatre
(March 17, 2023)

While I’ll still say GZA’s Liquid Swords 25th Anniversary Tour back in 2020 had the greatest performance he’s ever done in Toronto, he still found a way to go above and beyond to make this repeat an incredible experience for the fans. This time having a live band backing him rather than just a DJ, GZA’s performance had some extra energy with the live instrumentation giving the beats an added kick. The Phunky Nomads were just as much a highlight of the show as The GZA, with the late Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s older brother Ramsey Jones holding it down on the drums, and DJ PhearNone seamlessly switching between turntables and violin to make songs like “Reunited” all the more epic. The live instruments also gave GZA the flexibility to pull off some mic mastery we don’t always get to see, like rapping his verse from “Crash Your Crew” over two different drum tempos, and taking his verse from “Destruction of a Guard” and rapping it over an altered version of “C.R.E.A.M.”

Another thing that made this show special was the connection GZA made with the fans. After having seen him perform live more than a dozen times over the years, I decided to upgrade to a VIP ticket for this one, which included a meet-and-greet with GZA to take pictures and sign autographs, and also gave fans the opportunity to play a timed chess match against him. It’s one thing to appreciate the chess themes and imagery in GZA’s album art and the wordplay in his lyrics, but to see him in his element doing his second passion of playing chess, and participating in his thought process around the strategies of the game elevates the entire experience. Even though he methodically destroyed all of his opponents, it was still dope meeting one of my rap heroes and playing a game of chess against him, as you get a vibe of how he takes a similar approach to writing rap lyrics with precision as he does thinking his way through a chess match. GZA made it a fun experience for all the fans, and even took the time to sign autographs at the front of the stage after his performance, regardless if fans got the VIP upgrade or not.

Click here to read the original concert review.

3. Bastid’s BBQ at The Bentway
(July 29, 2023)

During that stretch in July when I reviewed 5 concerts in 6 days, the single most energetic, hype moment of that entire week was seeing Pharoahe Monch perform “Simon Says.” This is just one highlight of what was an action-packed 11th edition of Skratch Bastid’s annual touring music festival, Bastid’s BBQ. Although I only got to attend Day One of the weekend-long event, it was a fun-filled day experiencing The Bentway for the first time, which is essentially an open space underneath the Gardiner Expressway with room for a mobile stage, an open dance floor, graffiti art, food tents and picnic tables, plus vantage points from both a grassy hill and a concrete platform that were all complimented by the summer weather. Along with Beer Fest, Bastid’s BBQ is another one of Toronto’s premiere annual Hip-Hop celebrations, with quality DJs and emcees on stage paired with good food on the grill.

While the emcee/rapper has become the most prominent figure in Hip-Hop as it’s evolved over the years, Bastid’s BBQ is one of the few Hip-Hop festivals that puts the emphasis on the DJ. My favourite highlight of this festival was still seeing Pharoahe Monch put on a rap clinic and showing why he’s one of the most technically skilled emcees to ever do it, but we have to give props to hometown legend Skratch Bastid for the way he brought together quality DJs from around the world, from as far as Tokyo down to our own local artists from Toronto. The DJs who hit the stage throughout the day-long event put on a display of all the different skillsets a DJ can have; Skratch Bastid is obviously a monster when it comes to cutting it up on the turntables, while California’s DJ Syrehn and DJ Nu-Mark each stood out by blending popular hits across all genres, and New Jersey’s own Just Blaze showed his ear for sampling as he took us through years of classic songs he’s produced, highlighting his contributions to Jay-Z’s The Blueprint album in particular.

Click here to read the original concert review.

2. LL Cool J & The Roots at Scotiabank Arena
(August 19, 2023)

Looking to create the ultimate celebration of Hip-Hop’s 50-year anniversary, LL Cool J and The Roots went from curating the Hip-Hop segment at the Grammy Awards to putting together the Rock The Bells Festival in New York City, to then taking the celebrations nation-wide by embarking on The F.O.R.C.E. Tour, with a different group of iconic co-headliners selected to join them in each city. While Toronto may not have gotten as many artists as other cities on the tour, it was still a worthy celebration, as Queen Latifah (with a surprise appearance by Monie Love) showed us that she hasn’t lost a step and is still one of the greatest female emcees to ever rap, Jadakiss brought us some of his solo street anthems after having performed with The LOX earlier in the year, and LL Cool J on his own showcased the kind of longevity only the GOATs have, performing hits from the ’80s, ’90s and 2000s. As with all concerts The Roots put on, it was a constant flow of energy as the music never stopped and the band (with help from DJ Z-Trip and DJ Jazzy Jeff) kept things running smoothly between performers.

For me, it was epic seeing my favourite band, The Roots, perform at Scotiabank Arena for the first time, although they did play more of a supporting role to the other artists and only got to perform a handful of their own songs. It was also my first time doing floor seats at Scotiabank Arena, and I can say after knocking the venue’s sound quality over the years, the sound is actually top notch when you pull out the big budget to be close to the stage. The way The Roots brought all these artists together and kept the music going consistently for over 3 hours straight made this one of the most epic concerts of the year, and LL Cool J in particular put on an incredible show with two sets full of energy. 30 years removed from his last arena tour, with his focus on a Hollywood career in TV and film in recent years, LL Cool J showed that he can still come back to his first love and rock the stage without losing a step, bringing that raw energy and showing off great health and athleticism that was mind-blowing to see him pull off at his age.

Click here to read the original concert review.

1. Wu-Tang Clan & Nas at Scotiabank Arena
(October 1, 2023)

When arguably the greatest Hip-Hop group of all time joins forces the one of the GOAT lyricists, this is the level of Hip-Hop excellence we expect to see. They may not have quite hit the mark on the 2022 N.Y. State of Mind Tour, but Nas & The Wu-Tang Clan definitely righted the ship when they decided to run it back for 2023. While last year’s tour stop at Budweiser Stage was tarnished by sound issues, Wu-Tang infamously missing their full roster, and a no-show from their co-headliner Busta Rhymes, they made sure things were perfectly in-sync for this show at Scotiabank Arena. Both having long careers as two of the most important, iconic entities in Hip-Hop history, this show at Scotiabank Arena was the biggest Nas or Wu-Tang Clan have ever done in Toronto, and they definitely raised the bar to fit the occasion. To put it in a metaphor, this is the 2014 San Antonio Spurs making the adjustments to bring home the Championship after coming up just short in the previous year’s NBA Finals.

In the time between the 2022 N.Y. State of Mind Tour and the 2023 edition, Nas released three new albums, and that consistent hunger and competitive spirit shined throughout his performance on stage, as he put as much energy into new songs off of Magic 3 as his timeless classics off of Illmatic. Wu-Tang Clan meanwhile tightened their coordination, curating their setlists to let each individual member shine both as solo artists and as part of the group, and keeping it Witty Unpredictable by doing both the essential classics and the deep album cuts. History was made as this was only the second time ever all nine living members of the Wu-Tang Clan were together on stage in Toronto, and they had an arena full of passionate fans there to witness it.

There are too many highlights from this show to name them all, but a few include Talib Kweli making a surprise appearance during a bittersweet opening performance by De La Soul, covering vocals for the recently passed Trugoy The Dove; Nas sharing the stage with Raekwon & Ghostface Killah to perform collabs like “Eye For A Eye” and “Verbal Intercourse;” Wu-Tang faking everyone out by waiting for the second half of the show to bring out Method Man; and every emcee filling up the stage for a climactic performance of “Triumph.” This was one for the bucket lists.

Click here to read the original concert review.

That caps off the countdown! What were some of the best concerts you attended in 2023? Hit us in the social media links below!

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