Danny Brown and Action Bronson in Toronto

When Danny Brown couldn’t get cross the Canadian border for his Calgary stop of the 2 High 2 Die tour with Action Bronson, many people gave up faith that the XXX artist would ever get in and the Canadian tour would be a bust. That isn’t to say that Action Bronson wouldn’t put on a good show, after all, the last time he was in Toronto, the nearly-300-pound rapper crowd surfed at the Hoxton, but Brown’s Canadian fans were tired of the dream-crushing border. When it came time for the Toronto stop, however, the unexpected happened, and Danny got in.
The anticipation to witness rap history, with Danny’s first Canadian show resonated through the packed Danforth Music Hall as the DJ warmed up the crowd. As Bronson’s DJ set up onstage, he could be heard shouting out profanities over the mic, signaling his fans into screams of applause as he casually walked out on stage to perform tracks such as, “Strictly 4 My Jeeps” and “Bird On A Wire”. Bronson even took the opportunity to premiere two tracks off of his upcoming project Blue Chips 2, which he recently announced would be out in November.
In an act that has created a lot of controversy, Bronson invited a female onstage, where he lifted her face forward over his shoulders before continuing on with his set. For anyone who listens to Bronson’s music and/or has seen his live show, this should come as no surprise, but reviews have stated otherwise, and Bronson was sure to share his responses to the matter over Twitter, following the show.
After Bronson, was the moment so many fans had been waiting for, as Danny Brown hopped onstage and began his insane set, as he performed bangers such as “Witit”, “Blunt After Blunt”, (while smoking with fans) and “Black Brad Pitt”. Danny, who is known for his interesting range in voices, executed them perfectly; as his highs and lows resonated through the crowd; fans moshed and danced and screamed along with him. For someone that is constantly looked at in the media as a gimmick and non conventional artist, Danny put on an intense show with just the music, and it couldn’t have been a better show. One thing is for certain though; it’s not possible to experience the true genius of Danny Brown until experiencing his live set.

Action Bronson in TO for CMW

Toronto was in dire need of a raw, grimy, underground type show and no one was more qualified than Queens’ rapper Action Bronson, who hit up The Hoxton as a part of Canadian Music Week.
The show started promptly at 9:30 p.m. with opening acts. Hip-hop/rock band Anami Vice hit the stage to perform its unique music before Toronto rapper TF House performed an energetic set with tracks from his Young Desperado project, accompanied by DJ Yobi, as the venue began to fill up with enthusiastic concertgoers.
The lights dimmed as the crowd chanted “Bronson”, anxious for the Queens’ rapper to come out, but first Australian rap artist 360 hit the stage. The lanky tatted emcee, with a thick accent, spit over filthy electronic beats that rattled the venue, which became wall-to-wall, shoulder-to-shoulder rammed, making it hard to even dance to the hypnotizing music.
DJ Fathom spun records, as the crowd began to get impatient for Action Bronson and began chanting, some people even throwing water bottles. The show was completely sold out and the venue was at capacity making it next to impossible to even move. Audience members were stuck in limbo, anticipating the Albanian spitter to finally appear, only able to bob their heads to the DJ who spun records from Jay-Z, DMX, Biggie and Busta in hopes of keeping the crowd calm.
Just when it seemed like a riot was about to break out, the 310 pound, bearded emcee reached the stage in shorts and a grey toque with a drink, and sparked a blunt as the crowd did the same. He began spitting acclaimed tracks such as, “Strictly 4 My Jeeps” and “Gateway To Wizardry” as the crowd rapped along. After making the fans that angry, it was unreal how quickly Bronson made them forget, giving them the show they paid to see.
To make up to his dedicated fans for waiting so long, Bronson pulled out a giant bag and began throwing dime sacks of weed into the crowd, which he said that he bagged himself in his hotel room. As he continued spitting tracks off his newest mixtape, Rare Chandeliers, Bronson did the unthinkable and dove off the stage into the crowd, which unbelievably caught him as he crowd surfed. If the venue wasn’t so packed, it could have ended badly for the fans and the overweight emcee, but it made for a shocking moment in show history.
For fans craving a raw, no-filler show, Bronson came through and gave them their fix.

Action Bronson, Killer Mike, Raekwon and Ghostface Killah at Dundas Sq For NXNE

An estimated 25,000 people reached Dundas Square for the NXNE main event, which this year featured hip-hop acts Tasha The Amazon, Tre Mission, Action Bronson, Killer Mike and Wu-Tang legends Raekwon and Ghostface Killah. The forecast, which continuously teased the audience with spits of rain, couldn’t stop the high energy and good vibes of the entire evening.

The show began at 5 p.m. as Toronto artist Tasha The Amazon held it down for the local acts in a pair of high-waisted white shorts, and a black top, her trademark long braids swinging, as she spit her bangers such as “Scallywags” and “Let It Go”. The femcee graciously brought Rich Kidd to the stage to perform his single, “Back In The Day” since his NXNE showcase was cancelled earlier that week. (Many fans believe this was the work of the Toronto Police, although the organization denies being involved in the cancellation.)

Queens’ rapper Action Bronson followed group Tre Mission, and came out in a black tee, drinking who-knows-what from a red cup and immediately sparked up a giant spliff as the audience welcomed him with their screams and followed suit, by lighting their own. While rapping, Bronson jumped into the media pit, grabbing a camera from a videographer nearby and filmed himself as he rapped to the crowd with intensity in his voice. As the 320 pound man took a breather, he told the crowd to keep lighting up. “If they take you, I’m going with you,” he said. After performing songs from his Blue Chips mixtape, Bronson spit a freestyle for the crowd, who responded to his energy with applause.

Killer Mike jumped to the stage with immense force, spitting his verses of Bonecrusher’s “Never Scared” and OutKast’s “Kryptonite (I’m On It)”. The crowd actually began a mosh pit, which is a rarity at hip-hop shows, but Mike’s energy was contagious. After hyping up the crowd, Mike, who is the son of a police officer, got political, asking everyone to raise their middle fingers to Ronald Reagan as he spoke about issues with government.

The energy was electric at 9 p.m. as thousands of people shouted “Wu-Tang” before the two legends Raekwon and Ghostface hit the stage. Raekwon sported a IceH20 tee with a giant red maple leaf on the front, while Ghostface wore a white tee, towel around his neck and a blue Denver Nuggets fitted. Dripping in sweat, The Chef and Tony Starks performed classic hits such as “Ice Cream”, “Scarfaces”, “Da Mystery of Chessboxin” and “Incarcerated” as the crowd rapped along with the icons, with their Ws in the air. Raekwon continuously spoke on how much pride he has for the city and stated that not even New York shows them this much love, changing our name from T-Dot to Wu-Dot.
Halfway through their set, they brought out hometown IceH20 prince, JD Era who performed “Hate Me Later” and “Mount Olympus” from his recent mixtape No Handouts. The crowd showed nothing but love to the hometown hero.

The energy hit a new peak when the legends announced that they were about to perform the first song they ever released, “Protect Ya Neck”, and asked for two audience members to come on stage to perform Ol’ Dirty Bastard and Method Man’s part. They could not have chosen two more energetic people, as the two men took over the stage, jumping around and spitting the renowned verses with everything they had. After that, they had another surprise for the audience, bringing out Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s son, to rap along with “Shimmy Shimmy Ya” as a tribute to the late great and it could not have been more fitting, as it was Father’s Day. Just when the crowd thought it couldn’t get any better, the stars performed “C.R.E.A.M” and “Wu-Tang Clan Ain’t Nuthin’ Ta F*ck Wit”, as a sea of fans chanted along.
Raekwon then got serious with the crowd and addressed the Eaton Centre shooting and said that us as a nation needs to come together and ask ourselves if it is really worth it. “All we got is each other,” he said, before they performed the fitting track “Triumph”, as thousands of peace signs were raised in the air by the energetic fans.

“The show was amazing, the energy was really high. They have some crazy fans, some really amazing fans and everybody enjoyed it, the crowd was going wild,” said Dynasti, immediately after the show.
“They made it perfectly clear that they didn’t want any violence during the show. They just wanted us to represent for Toronto and the hip-hop scene in Toronto and to show that we are just here to enjoy hip-hop and celebrate the culture.”
It is safe to say that Wu-Tang has as much love for Toronto as the city has for them, and the peaceful show proved to non-supporters and doubters of the culture that, even with 25,000 people crowded together listening to hip-hop, the music can unite us.

Photos By: Nic Denny