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…
The Top 5 Hip-Hop Concerts To See In Toronto This Summer (2017)
The summer months of July and August are close approaching, and there are plenty of great Hip-Hop artists set to perform in our city! We got you Hip-Hop heads covered with the top five shows you need to see (in chronological order): 5. Main Source at Unity Festival in David Pecaut Square – July 15,…
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…
Concert Review: Papa Roach at Canadian Music Week (via CulturedVultures)
It’s been a long time since the last concert review on this blog, but we’re finally back! Thanks to our friends at CulturedVultures.com, I was able to secure a media pass to Canadian Music Week, and was planning on making that my big comeback with four shows planned during the festival. It started off well,…
Concert Review: Talib Kweli at The Phoenix Concert Theatre in Toronto
Legendary Brooklyn MC Talib Kweli makes his return to Toronto, almost exactly two years since his last show here. Having released some all-time classics in the late 90’s and early 2000’s on Rawkus Records, he has adapted nicely to the shifting music industry and has remained relevant as an independent artist. Ever since founding his…
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