After spending most of the summer hitting several large stadium shows and festivals, it’s about time we got back to that grimy, hardcore, underground Hip-Hop with a small-venue show, where the drinks are cheap and the artists are closer. On a night when Hip-Hop fans around the world were celebrating the 44th anniversary of the…
Category: Concert Reviews
Concert Review: J. Cole – 4 Your Eyez Only Tour in Toronto (2nd Show)
After spending years paying his dues and building on his fame, J. Cole has finally reached that level where not only can he perform in large arenas like the Air Canada Centre, but his demand is so high that he can do two stadium shows in Toronto on the same tour. In a busy week…
Concert Review: Method Man & Redman at Toronto’s 2017 Festival of Beer
Toronto’s Festival of Beer (TFOB) is back with their summer fest, and it may be the dopest Hip-Hop party of the entire summer! Taking place at Bandshell Park, the festival consists of several beer tents housing brewers from around the world with 416 different beers to sample, a grilling tent featuring world renowned…
Concert Review: Kendrick Lamar – The DAMN Tour at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto
It’s hard to believe it’s been almost five years since Kendrick Lamar performed in Toronto. The last time he was here was in 2013 opening for Kanye West on The Yeezus Tour, at a time when he was just starting to break ground on a mainstream level with his major-label debut album, good kid, m.A.A.d city. He’s…
Concert Review: Main Source at the 2017 Unity Festival in Toronto
Celebrating its ten-year anniversary, Unity Charity is back with its annual summer festival. While they work throughout the year to engage and support the GTA’s youth using Hip-Hop in their after-school programs, Unity’s summer festival is a celebration of their work, with many young, local artists participating. The festival includes events throughout the week showcasing…
Concert Review: Gorillaz at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto
After a six-year hiatus, singer/songwriter/producer Damon Albarn and visual artist Jamie Hewlett have reunited to bring us a new Gorillaz album, and the band has now embarked on their first tour since 2010. Not known for touring heavily, this would be only the third time Gorillaz have toured in Canada over the near twenty years…
Concert Review: Shad at First Canadian Place Park in Toronto
The tradition continues! As one of Canada’s greatest Hip-Hop artists, Shad continues his streak of performing in Toronto at least once a year. In past years we’ve seen him perform in all kinds of settings, ranging from revered music halls like Massey Hall, to headlining festivals like NXNE, to filling up small nightclubs like the…
Review: The 2017 NXNE Port Lands Festival in Toronto (via CulturedVultures)
This past weekend, NXNE returned with their second annual “festival within a festival” at the Port Lands. After putting on several club shows throughout the week curated by well known artists picking some lesser known favourites to perform, NXNE tried to make their weekend celebration bigger and better than last year. The Port Lands Festival…
Festival Review: Manifesto 11 at Echo Beach in Toronto
After a very successful debut at Echo Beach last year for their tenth anniversary party, Manifesto has returned for the second year in a row with an even more eclectic lineup! They’ve spent over a decade building up and supporting Toronto’s Hip-Hop community by mentoring young artists, providing a platform for them to develop &…
Concert Review: Oddisee & Good Compny at Lee’s Palace in Toronto
Before we get into this review, we send our deepest condolences to those affected by the attack at Ariana Grande’s concert in Manchester last week. The love for music is what brings people together for concerts, and if we stop doing what we love out of fear, then the terrorists win. We will not stop,…
Concert Review: Ab-Soul – The YMF Tour at the Phoenix Concert Theatre in Toronto
After quietly releasing his fourth studio album, Do What Thou Wilt (DWTW) in December of last year, Ab-Soul is back on tour and has returned to Toronto for the first time since 2014! Although the new album has done well both critically and commercially, it feels like it’s flown under the radar, sharing a release date…
Concert Review: Apathy & Celph Titled at Smiling Buddha in Toronto
Always relevant in the underground hip-hop scene, Apathy & Celph Titled have returned to Toronto on the Escape To Canada Tour! Whether it’s as part of the six-man group, The Demigodz, the large collective of east-coast emcees known as Army of the Pharaohs, or just as solo artists, Apathy & Celph Titled remain among the…
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