Tyler The Creator Wolf Tour Review

The young and odd came out of the woodwork to see their hip-hop hero, Tyler, the Creator, when he hit up the sold-out Toronto stop of his Wolf tour at the Opera House.
The young all ages crowd, some of which looked like they were in middle school, were decked out in their Golf Wang tees and hats, awaiting their Odd Future hero to emerge onto the creative set that was assembled on stage that included a cabin, bike and a doll’s head on a stick. During the wait, the crowd chanted “Wolf Gang” while a consistent lineup of fans waited to cop more original merchandise from the booth.
The lights went down and Odd Future DJ, Taco Bennett, came out to deafening screams and high-fived the whole front row, before turning up the crowd with a dangerously hype DJ set, spinning tracks from Chief Keef, Waka Flocka and Schoolboy Q. Things got out of hand during the set as the young crowd began a mosh pit as many Wolf Gang fans began to crowd surf. Security had to dive into the sea of people, pulling out the crying and injured who had almost been trampled by the insanity. A young boy even fell into the media pit while crowd surfing, landing on his head and cutting it open on the grate.
Just as the war scene seemed like it couldn’t get more out of hand, Tyler emerged from the side stage, rocking his usual green cap, white knee highs, golf shorts and a white GOLF tee. Accompanied by Odd Future member, Jasper Dolphin he spit tracks “We Got Bitches”, “VCR/Wheels”, “Yonkers” and “Seven” as the sold out crowd spit along to every word, religiously. With his charismatic and comedic charm and trademarked deep voice, Tyler engaged with his fans and even borrowed a fan’s sunglasses, rocking them through part of his set and returning them after jumping around the stage.
To the joy and excitement of his fans, Tyler performed tracks off of his upcoming, highly anticipated album Wolf that dropped this month. He spit full versions of “Bimmer”, “Cowboy”, “Domo 23” and “Awkward” as fans bobbed their heads, taking in every word, visibly pleased with the sound of the new project.
From start to finish, the show was full of unpredictable surprises and Tyler proved that even though he is the biggest comedian in the game, his live shows are no joke.

Battle Of The Beatmakers 2012

The Battle of the BeatMakers has been supporting talented Canadian producers for years and is considered the ultimate launching pad for producers in the country. This year, the event was hosted by Trixx, at The Opera House, where the 32 qualifying producers, guest judges JD Era, Statik Selektah and Skyzoo, and a packed house of supporters met to crown this year’s beat battle champion.
Guest judge and IceH20 emcee JD Era, who has witnessed the growth of the event since the beginning, said that it was an honour to be a part of this year’s battle.
“It gives up and coming producers some hope and gives them the opportunity to play their stuff for guys that are more established. To hear what’s coming up out of the city is always a pleasure,” he said.

DJs Mensa and P-Plus warmed up the crowd, before the first round, which featured the 32 chosen producers going beat for beat with their opponent, who had been randomly selected at the Beatz-Meets-Rhymes producer lottery the previous day.
Each battle started with both artists meeting on stage to partake in a coin toss, which would determine whose beat would bang first for the 45-second time allotted. Tension was dissolved with Trixx’s comedic antics and it was obvious the crowd just came to support. There was no room for egos on the stage as the beats spoke for themselves. With every beat banging, every head in the venue bobbed while each ear took in the track before the three guest judges held up their votes, determining who would move on to the next round. Some decisions were based on tiebreakers and even double tiebreakers, because the judges wanted to be sure that the best producers moved forward.
Between rounds, emcees Raz Fresco, Rich Kidd and Skyzoo each took a turn to perform for the audience, which was a mix of industry faces and hip-hop heads alike.

Producer Metcalfe, who was eliminated in the second round by Super Smash Bros., made a lasting impression on the audience. The new producer entered the event as his first ever battle and walked away with a lot, despite it not being the title. “I’ve never really played my stuff for a crowd and to see everyone loving it was the best feeling I’ve ever had,” he said.
One by one, round after round, two producers, Mr. Magic, last year’s Battle of the BeatMakers champion and 15-year-old WondaGurl eliminated all 30 producers to face each other in the finals.
In the three round finals, Magic released some heavy beats and showcased them with his animated style on stage, while quiet WondaGurl stood still and straight-faced while her beats played. The crowd went crazy, screaming out their favourite producer.

As the judges deliberated, they each took a turn to choose whom they thought deserved to win. JD Era chose Mr. Magic, while Skyzoo evened it out by choosing WondaGurl.
With a tied score, the decision belonged to Statik Selektah who titled WondaGurl the 2012 Battle of the BeatMakers champion, making her the youngest producer and second female to ever win the prize, the first being 2010’s champion Amsterdam-native Neenah.
After winning thousands of dollars in cash and prizes, which included a synthesizer signed by Just Blaze and the title of champion of this year’s Battle of the BeatMakers competition, the soft-spoken producer queen only had one thing to say about how she felt. “One word: great,” she said.

Photos By: Martika Gregory

Juicy J Live In Toronto

The Opera House was turned up last Friday night as Taylor Gang representative and Three 6 Mafia co-founder, Juicy J rolled into the city. NuDay Entertainment and the Highway Gang presented the event, which brought young and old hip-hop heads out to watch the industry veteran perform for the first time in Toronto.
Toronto’s own Dante Leon, C-Flowz, Hardbody, The 6th Letter and Luu Breeze opened the show, each bringing their own vibe to the stage to hype up the packed venue, while DJ Fresh and Miami’s DJ Ohso spun the records.
Juicy J hit the stage with an intense energy and an unmistakable voice and flow wearing a black “We Trippy Mane” T-shirt and shades, announcing that he had just took two Xanex pills and got drunk with The Weeknd before making it to the show.The crowd lost control as the Academy Award-winning rapper performed “A Zip And A Double Cup”, “Lucky Charm”, “Who Da Neighbours” and “She Dancin”, as well as original Three 6 Mafia tracks such as “Poppin’ My Collar”, “I’m So High” and “Sippin’ on Some Syrup”. The Opera House was smoked out and drinks were flowing as the audience jumped around spitting along with the trippy artist who brought ladies from the audience on stage to dance and poured Bombay Sapphire into the mouths of audience members.Juicy J wrapped up the energetic show with an encore performance of “A Zip And A Double Cup”, but even after he left the stage, it was obvious no one wanted the show to be over as the audience continued to get trippy.