J. Cole has had a lot of success in Toronto. Every time he came here in 2013, he sold out every show he did and had to do extra shows to meet the demand. While I couldn’t get into his one-dollar small-venue show last summer, I got to see him at his second consecutive sold…
Concert Review: De La Soul at Celebration Square in Mississauga, ON
This concert came up at the last minute, but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see the legendary hip-hop trio known as De La Soul for free. De La Soul’s critically acclaimed debut album came out in the year I was born, so naturally I was slow to become a fan of theirs. I’ve…
Concert Review: eMC at This Ain’t Hollywood in Hamilton, ON
eMC is a hip-hop group I knew nothing about until this year, which is surprising because it is led by hip-hop legend Masta Ace. Masta Ace is like the Tim Duncan of hip-hop; the way Tim’s been consistently great, winning NBA championships in three different decades, Masta Ace has released classic music in the 1980’s,…
Concert Review: The Carnivores Tour (Linkin Park + 30 Seconds To Mars) at The Air Canada Centre in Toronto
The last time I was at the Air Canada Centre for something other than a Raptors game was for Kanye West’s Yeezus Tour back in December. This time, I was here mainly to see Linkin Park, arguably my first favourite band I discovered when I was around 11-12 years old. I know this is primarily a…
Concert Review: Cam’ron at the Danforth Music Hall in Toronto
Finally, Cam’ron has been able to get his business straight and cross the border to go on a Canadian tour. Starting in Montreal the previous night, Cam’ron touched down in Toronto for the first time at the Danforth Music Hall. Dubbed The First Of The Month Tour, Cam is out to promote his new series…
25@25: The Top 25 Most Influential Albums On My Life
A few months ago I saw something very similar to this going around Facebook, where people would post their top twelve albums that have stuck with them through the years. I posted my own list, but I wanted to go deeper and longer (pause) just for fun for my 25th birthday. So here are 25 albums…
Concert Review: Rakim at The Phoenix Concert Theatre in Toronto
Often considered the greatest rapper of all time, your favourite rapper’s favourite rapper’s favourite rapper, The God MC, Rakim has returned to Toronto. While I didn’t grow up on his music, I studied his work years after I got into hip-hop, with my first couple times hearing him being on Eminem’s 8 Mile Soundtrack and…
Concert Review: Apathy, C.L. Smooth & More at The Cookout Festival in Hamilton, ON
The Cookout is a relatively new festival to emerge from the Steel City, Hamilton, Ontario, featuring barbeque cooking and live hip-hop music. In just its second year, the 2014 edition of the festival featured D-Sisive, Saukrates, Apathy, and was headlined by C.L. Smooth performing his entire 1994 album, The Main Ingredient. On top of these four…
Concert Review: Juicy J & Run The Jewels at the 2014 NXNE Festival in Toronto
North By Northeast, or NXNE for short, is one of the biggest music and art festivals in Canada. On top of the many wrist-band concerts and shows put on throughout Toronto every June, there is also a set of free concerts in Dundas Square, with different days dedicated to different genres. I’ve previously attended their…
Concert Review: Classified & Maestro Fresh Wes at The Sound of Music Festival in Burlington, ON
The Sound of Music Festival has been one of the biggest music fests in my area for decades, and surprisingly this was only my first time attending as an adult. Many Canadian artists get to perform across ten stages by the lakeshore in Burlington over the course of a week; the free event I chose to…
Concert Review: The Roots at The 2014 Luminato Festival in Toronto + DJ Questlove at Tattoo
The Legendary Roots Crew, simply known as The Roots, have returned to Toronto for the first time in I don’t know how long. Those who follow me on Twitter already know I was really excited for this show. The first rap concert I ever went to was the 2009 Rock The Bells Festival in Los Angeles,…
Artist Profile + Album Review: 50 Cent – Animal Ambition
“Damn, homie, in high school you was the man, homie…. The f*** happened to you??” –Wanksta That quote pretty much sums up how I’ve felt about 50 Cent. I’ve gone from thinking he was the coolest rapper when I was twelve years old, to the lamest rapper when I was around seventeen, and now I…
SYpherSights 