Lupe, Joell Ortiz, and Evidence Provide Hip-Hop Flavor in Toronto
Words & Picures By Samir Siddiqui
Entering through the gates of the sun-baked Wakestock festival, Canada’s
largest of the action-sports and music variety, the sound of upstart MC
Joell Ortiz gave the entrance grounds an undeniable sense of energy.
Preforming on the “independant” stage, Ortiz seemed happy just to be rocking
the mic for his fans, regardless of how many, or in this case, how few of
them there were. Impressively clear for an MC with a unique voice, Joell
started things off with “The Bio” and proceeded to rock with “Brooklyn
Bulls**t” as I made my way towards the main staging area.
Having enjoyed notoriety among Torontonian hip-hop faithful, it was
unsurprising that Dilated People’s groupmember/solo rapper Evidence
attracted a more sizable crowd. Ev, alongside Dilated’s DJ Babu, spent the
majority of his set treating the crowd to new cuts from his latest offering,
The Weatherman LP. Ev clearly had live performances on his mind when
recording the LP, as he rapped track after track with high energy and
booming beats that resinated throughout the island. “I Know,” “Mr. Slow
Flow,” and the soulful “Chase The Clouds Away” all recieved much love from
the fans who came to support the underground emcee, and although cutting his performance 10 minues short, Evidence delivered a set full of adreneline
that was appreciated by the medium-sized crowd.
If it wasn’t obvious already, the hundereds/thousands of skater kids present
at Wakestock indicated which hip-hop act most fans were there to see.
Attracting the largest, most enthusiastic, and seemingly most dedicated
crowd was none other than last year’s critical sensation- Lupe Fiasco.
Staying true to his mixtape come-up, Lupe kicked things off with the
dramatic opener “Conflict Diamonds,” and also strung together a slew of
underground cuts and guest verses, including his “Feel Good Inc” remake
“Happy Industries” and his 16 bars from Kanye West’s “Touch The Sky.” Then,
Lupe was really ready to get things started, and launched into his arsenal
from his debut album Food & Liquor- delivering virtually every song
requested by the voistrous crowd, Lupe kept the fans lively not only with
sharp lyrics, but added in a touch of air-guitar, one-man orchestra, and
entertaining back-and-forth chants for good measure. Although Lupe
sacrificed some lyrical clarity for the sake of completing his bars, and
one-time too often cut into acapella a little early, his performances of
“Daydreamin,” “American Terrorist,” “I Gotcha,” and “Kick Push” engaged the
crowd and left thousands of fans going home entertained.
While the crowds weren’t quite as large as expected, Joell Ortiz, Evidence,
and Lupe Fiasco surely did their part to represent for quality hip-hop music
at Wakestock 2007. Showing off some impressive live-show shops, the trio
will have undoubtably left a positive impression with both long-time fans
and hip-hop newcomers alike.
Suggestion Box
August 4th, 2007 at 9:47 am
1st BYTCHES…
August 4th, 2007 at 10:09 am
lupe is dat dude
August 4th, 2007 at 10:32 am
wow wtf they doing at a skater show…if i known they would be there i would check them out… sounds like lupe killed it…i want to see him live one of these days too.
August 4th, 2007 at 12:53 pm
some ass told realtalkny to post more lupe and less 50,here u go u happy dickhead,look how much comments jay,50 and weezy get and look how much hype and comments these lames have,lol post more lupe and less 50 lmaoo
August 4th, 2007 at 1:06 pm
Joell is gonna take over within the next 2 years
August 4th, 2007 at 4:20 pm
^^ Please……
August 4th, 2007 at 8:14 pm
neva was imprseed by lupe i dont know but joeel is dat niga he gon eat believe dat co sign 4 .5 ………..smh u know joell signed to dre right ?lol not to worried im sure youll catch on in a year lol
August 4th, 2007 at 11:18 pm
He been signed to dre for a long time now. still hasnt dropped. might get dropped. The “he’s signed to dre” argument is irrelevent. So were rakim and raekwon, and theyre both better than joell
August 4th, 2007 at 11:23 pm
Dont mean to ruffle anyone’s feathers though. Saw a post a while back where some dude was talking about black people were hip-hop, and then it became painstakingly clear that joell is the great latin hope from the arguments afterword.
August 4th, 2007 at 11:25 pm
Yo 6, thanks for telling me….smh.
#7 answered you already. Plus, just cause I don’t think “he’s gonna take over within the next 2 years” means I gotta catch up? please….he aight. Definitely doesn’t have the character or personality to take over shit. Believe me. Plus, you know how many people are or were signed to Dre’s label?
At least you said something right about lupe….
August 5th, 2007 at 7:10 am
faggot Joel Ortiz was dissin sunglasses and now hes wearing some .. fuckin cornball … that nigga wants to be big so bad .. but he’ll borderline like everyone else in the game.. lupe missed great opportunities hes nice, but he will never get payed according to his talent .. business first man business first ..they both will always be cool to listen to from time to time good artists. props
August 5th, 2007 at 7:21 am
joel seriously needs an image & a character ..i RECALL HIM MENTIONING BIGGIE & BIG PUN.. he has to understand Big Pun & Biggie smalls were “INCREDIBLE” INDIVIDUALS WITHOUT MUSIC AND THEIR PERSONA AND MANNORISMS WERE SO EXTREME THEY COULD SELL RECORDS REGARDLESS.. AND 2NDLY HE IS NO WHERE EVEN REMOTLEY CLOSE TO THEIR LEVEL OF TALENT REMEMBER BIGGIE PAST AT 25 JOEL IS LIKE 26 RIGHT NOW PUN PASSED AT 28 BUT WAS ALLREADY 8 YEARS IN .. JOEL SHOULD HAVE CAME OUT 4 – 5 YEARS AGO .. RIGHT NOW THE TIMING IS SOUR BECAUSE NO MATTER HOW WELL HE COMES ACCROSS MUSIC IS IN A STATE OF OVER SATURATION .. UNDERSTAND EVEN THE MAIN STREAM TOP MUSICIANS CANT GROSS OVERWHELMING AMOUNTS OF $$ WITH DOWNLOADING AND THE OVER ABUNDANCE OF FANS OF RAP WHO NOW CLAIM TO ALSO RAP , THE ARTFORM IN ITSELF IS EATING AWAY FROM THE INSIDE OUT .. I FIGURED I WOULD JUST LET YOU KNOW THAT REAL TALK.. ALL THESE ARTISTS ARE SOMEWHAT GOOD , BUT IN ALL HONESTY WE LISTEN TO MOST OF THEM BECAUSE THERE ISNT SHIT ELSE TOO.. ALL ARTISTS POP FOR A SECOND AND THEN FADE .. THATS WHY BEEF IS SO ACTIVE .. ITS THE ONLY WAY THESE RAPPERS CAN KEEP LIGHT ON THEMSELVES .. SORRY ITS JUST HOW I VIEW IT.. PLUS 80% OF US WHO EVEN CHAT ON REAL TALK SERIOUSLY DO NOT GO TO STORES AND BUY ALBUMS.. LETS BE HONEST -
August 5th, 2007 at 12:52 pm
^^^^^^^
I used to hate on Lupe too but he different he lyrical he alot better then alot of shit out there he better then Kanye West and I wish I went to that shot it looked hott
August 5th, 2007 at 2:30 pm
Lupe Is the future.
August 5th, 2007 at 5:25 pm
reat latin hope lol naw thats stupid latinos stand up i like joell is ill not cuz he puerto rock im half mexican not pr just like i feel pun y it gotta b cuz he spanish fukin racist
August 5th, 2007 at 5:36 pm
speakin of spanish rappers check out my man nems myspace google him he half pr half white the niggas is nasty straight from coney island brooklynnnnnnnnn google em
August 5th, 2007 at 6:49 pm
im pretty sure that everyone that doesnt like lupe has never heard his mixtapes.
fuck “kick push” and “i gotcha”.
im bout to try and find some of my favorite freestyles of his on imeem, mite even upload them.
and ima post them here so niggas can no longer be ignorant to lupes talent.
lupe. dead presidents freestyle
http://profile.imeem.com/CEjh3C/music/bo4Gg55E/lupe_fiasco_dead_presidents_freestyle/
lupe dynasty freestyle
http://profile.imeem.com/qjTBO2/music/q97g2M2C/absolutely_fiasco/
i dont feel like findin them or uploading anymore.
but those are some. dont sleep on the boy. or gemini.
August 5th, 2007 at 6:58 pm
Joell Ortiz will takeover yall will see
August 5th, 2007 at 10:27 pm
^^^ Not a chance….
August 6th, 2007 at 4:00 am
lupe>lil wayne…
watch the arguement insue
August 12th, 2007 at 5:04 pm
JOELL ORTIZ IS DA SHIT SON