For at least the second year in a row, JD Era is back bringing a special Hip-Hop showcase to The Rivoli on Easter Sunday. Last Easter he brought us the Brooklyn duo Smif-N-Wessun celebrating their 30th anniversary in the music industry, and now for 2024 he’d be presenting a night of Detroit Hip-Hop excellence, with former Slum Village member Elzhi joined by frequent J Dilla collaborator, Phat Kat. It would be the first time in a long time Toronto fans would get to see either of these Detroit legends perform live on stage, in what was sure to be an epic night.

If there was a Mount Rushmore of Detroit’s greatest emcees, you could make the argument that Elzhi deserves to be up there for his longevity and consistent lyrical prowess, with a catalogue worth celebrating as part of Hip-Hop’s 50th anniversary. After making his come up at underground Detroit venues like The Hip-Hop Shop, which famously inspired the battle rap scenes in Eminem’s 8 Mile movie, Elzhi went on to join Slum Village throughout the 2000s, releasing four albums with the group before ultimately continuing on as a solo artist. Over the years he’s released several solo albums, with three new releases in the 2020s alone that he could potentially perform songs off of for the first time in Toronto. With it being such a long time since he was last here, Toronto fans could expect to see a mix of his classic records along with some of the new material.

DJ Law would be holding it down on the 1s and 2s for pretty much the entire night, and played some classic Hip-Hop records to set off the good vibes as fans slowly made their way into The Rivoli. Hosting for the evening would be Friday Ricky Dred of the We Love Hip-Hop network, who’d introduce each artist to the stage. There would be a few local openers performing before we’d get to the Detroit Hip-Hop, most of whom would be making their first impressions with the crowd, and Friday Ricky Dred made sure that the fans in the building gave the artists their attention.

First up would be Le Zeppo from Durham Region, who’d hold it down for a solid 7-song setlist. His beats ranged from mellow to boom-bap, and he’d slice through them with sharp rhymes and a crisp delivery. Ricky would describe it as simply coming in, killing it, and leaving, as Le Zeppo simply served up verse after verse without any talking in between. Following him would be an artist named Jon Kabongo, who immediately grabbed the crowd’s attention by performing a freestyle over Jay-Z’s “Dynasty Intro,” a classic beat you have to come correct on if you’re going to spit over it. Kabongo had the crowd vibing throughout his set, with songs like “Street Games” and “Jon Wick” being standouts.

Next would be a 19-year-old artist from East York representing BKRSCLB Records, Gritfall. He had a bit of an unorthodox style, with flows that didn’t always land on beat, although some of his beats didn’t even have drums. The music was an acquired taste but the crowd was still supportive, as the teen rapper was clearly still working on developing his craft but brought a ton of energy to the stage and delivered his verses with passion behind them.

The final Toronto act to hit the stage would be a special treat, with the group Naturally Born Strangers reuniting with their full roster for the first time in years to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of their 2014 self-titled, Juno award-winning album. While each of the group’s members have gone on to have their own respected solo careers, seeing Rich Kidd, Adam Bomb and Tona reunited on stage was enough to get the energy in the room cranked up. Their setlist would include a few joints off of that Juno-winning album, as they set things off with “A Gun & A Pack Of Sandwiches,” each member getting to stand out as they nailed their verses. Rich Kidd in particular would make an impact early on, as he jumped into the crowd as he’s been known to do at live shows and performed his verse for “Buttered Chicken” among the fans.

Widely becoming known as one of Canada’s most energetic and interactive live performers, that Rich Kidd energy was infectious, as he’d later jump down into the crowd again for a signature performance of his solo joint “Can I Get A (Bom Bom),” getting the crowd to join in on the chorus, and Tona would follow suit a few songs later. Between certified head-nodders like “Tie Breaker,” “The Re-Up,” and a hype performance of their closer “Sriracha,” Naturally Born Strangers may have stole the show, as they had the entire crowd behind them and brought the most energy to the stage. The fans wanted more, as some were shouting for them to perform their single “Jameson Ave,” but the group stuck to their time slot and made way for the Detroit artists to hit the stage next.

The first Detroit act to hit the stage would be the veteran Phat Kat, who would proclaim right away that that this was his first time coming to Toronto in 24 years. That meant for most of the fans in the building, this was probably their first time ever seeing Phat Kat perform live. He’d start things off by performing some tracks that showcase his raw rap skills, with the intro from his 2007 Carte Blanche album, “Nasty Ain’t It,” followed by a new joint off his 2023 EP Re-Dedication To The Suckers, “Revolver.”

The crowd would quickly learn if they didn’t know already that while Phat Kat can spit it raw on the mic with the best of them, a big part of his impact on Detroit Hip-Hop has to do with the work he’s done with some of the city’s greatest producers. He would showcase this by performing some of those key songs, starting with his work with the late J Dilla, with the song “Don’t Nobody Care About Us.” There were definitely J Dilla fans in the building, as the crowd would passionately shout the lyrics to the chorus with Phat Kat, and he’d follow with his feature on Dilla’s debut album Welcome 2 Detroit, on the song “Featuring Phat Kat.” As Phat Kat ended his verse with the lyrics “putting flows to tracks in less than ten minutes flat,” he would tell a dope story about how that song actually took less than ten minutes to make, from J Dilla playing him the beat to him laying down the vocals.

After showing J Dilla some love, the next Detroit producer to get some shine would be Black Milk, as Phat Kat would rock his verse from the Bishop Lamont track “Goatit,” rapping directly into a fan’s phone. Black Milk would get some more love towards the end of Phat Kat’s set, but first he’d make sure to do a segment for the ladies, counting to make sure there were enough of them in the building to appreciate his collabs with singer Melanie Rutherford: 2007’s “Lovely” and 2003’s “Destiny.” With that segment getting the ladies to groove, Phat Kat would quickly get back to that griminess, doing another new 2023 joint with “Re-Dedication” followed by a few more Black Milk-produced standouts, “Danger” and “F.A.N.S.” Phat Kat would jump down and walk through the crowd as he performed that last song, spitting his rhymes with precision while connecting with the fans in a cypher.

Once Phat Kat got done blessing the stage, there wouldn’t be much of a wait before Elzhi came out. Picking up right where Phat Kat left off with the Black Milk beats, Elzhi would kick off his setlist with a couple of his own Black Milk-produced joints from his debut solo album, The Preface, performing fan favourites “Transitional Joint” and “Motown 25.” The crowd was into the performance from the beginning, as they joined in on the hooks and hung on every word Elzhi spit in his verses. He’d also show love to J Dilla of course, pulling out a more obscure joint with “Love It Here” before taking some time to speak on working with the late producer during his come up.

Elzhi had a special treat in store for the Toronto crowd that he’d pull out early in his setlist. Getting the crowd to make some noise if they were familiar with the Detroit duo Frank-N-Dank (who we saw perform in Dundas Square last summer), Elzhi next brought out Dankery Harv as a special surprise guest, and the crowd got hyped! Together Elzhi & Dankery Harv would get into their collab on El’s latest album, 2023’s Heavy Vibrato, performing the song “In Your Feelings” live for the first time ever. While Dank played more of a hypeman on the track, only appearing on the hook, just him being there and the track being a certified head-nodder got the crowd turned up, and Elzhi of course ripped through the complex rhymes in his verses.

After starting off his setlist in the 2000s and then jumping to the 2020s, Elzhi next got into a few songs from the 2010s, pulling from a different album with each song he did. He’d mellow out the crowd with a performance of “Two 16s” off of Lead Poison, and would give a shoutout to Khrysis after performing “Self Made” from their 2018 collab album, Khrysis & Elzhi Are Jericho Jackson. The energy in the room would keep getting higher over the next few songs, as Elzhi performed his monster verse on “Detroit State of Mind” from his Nas remix album, Elmatic, again having the crowd hang on every word and finish some of his lines for him. He’d then take it back in time for the day-one fans, performing his own J Dilla collab off of Welcome 2 Detroit, “Come Get It,” flowing sharp and sounding just as he does on the record.

Nearing the end of his setlist, Elzhi would pull at least one song from his acclaimed 2020 release, Seven Times Down Eight Times Up, getting heads nodding as he performed “Hot Winter Cold Summer.” He’d then ask the crowd what they wanted to hear, saying he didn’t exactly know what joints to bring since it had been so long since he was last in Toronto. Fans had been yelling out the classic J Dilla/Phat Kat/Elzhi collab “Cold Steel” all night, and so El would oblige and bring Phat Kat back out to rock with him. The crowd got as hype as they’d been all night with the song being an absolute banger, and both Phat Kat and Elzhi ripped through their verses, making a true moment of Detroit excellence. After killing the track they’d both humbly thank all the fans and say peace, later on making their way from backstage into the main room to take pictures and sign autographs.

While it would have been dope to see Elzhi & Phat Kat do a few more songs together, like their collabs “Yeah” or the Slum Village joint “Zoom,” it was an overall fun time seeing them both perform live, and the fans were definitely satisfied. They both put on a clinic showcasing what it takes to graduate from the Detroit school of Hip-Hop, nailing all of their flows with impeccable breath control, no backup, and sounding just like the original songs without the need for any overlapping recorded vocals. Phat Kat put on a show and made a lasting impression for anyone seeing him perform for the first time, and Elzhi rocked a solid setlist touching on most of his solo albums throughout his discography. Between these two and seeing Naturally Born Strangers reunite for their 10-year anniversary, it was another epic Hip-Hop showcase.

Big thank-you to JD Era and Roadman Productions for putting on this concert and granting this blog access to review it!

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