Live Review: The Beatnuts w/ Emotionz, Brass Tackz and DJ Seko, March 8th, Vancouver, BC
March 9th, 2010 Filed under: Reviews - Live, Shooting Gallery by admin[svgallery name="beatnuts"]
(Shooting Gallery by Jamie Sands | jsandsphotography.com)
Live Review – The Beatnuts W/ Emotionz, Brass Tackz, & DJ Seko
Monday, March 8th, 2010
Fortune Sound Club, Vancouver, B.C.
Something was shakin’ Monday night at Fortune Sound Club and it wasn’t just the martinis. With a full set of fog machines and freaky lasers plus a stack of enormous, futuristic speakers and a stage setup that resembled the command centre of the Turbo Megazord, the folks at Fortune were prepared to have their floorboards rattled and that’s exactly what they got. The night started out with DJ Seko on the lap-tizzie, pumping out a steady stream of mash-ups, remixes, and straight-up hip-hop classics that had the still-sober crowd nodding their heads in approval, a few pockets of dancing even breaking out. Brass Tackz was up next and they instantly upped the tempo and intensity of the show.
A local Vancouver trio consisting of Young Sin, Evil Ebeneezer, and hometown hero Snak the Ripper, Brass Tackz immediately and surgically set about assaulting the crowd with their smooth, flowing raps and high-energy stage presence. Their on-stage chemistry wildly evident, the boys from Brass Tackz hammered the crowd with rhymes until gracefully exiting stage right. Third on the bill was another local act, Emotionz, who came out with a pretty tough act to top and did just that. Starting off slow, the crowd apathetic, Emotionz slowly brought them around with his quick lyricism and precise rhyming, benefitting immensely from the terrific sound system as did every other act on the card.
Once the crowd was sufficiently warmed up, Emotionz hit them with a seriously kick-ass beat-box freestyle, sending them over the top as they hooted and danced while the man’s mouth rattled off beats like a spitfire does bullets. As he took his leave to a roar of approval, he surely knew he’d done his mama proud. With that the opening acts had had their time and the big boys came out to play.
Strutting the stage with supreme confidence The Beatnuts, who were celebrating their 20th Anniversary of pounding out the east coast hardcore the fiends from Queens, did not disappoint as they swaggered back and forth, slowly bouncing around the stage like rap asteroids. The duo banged out tracks like “Watch Out Now ” from their highly successful Musical Massacre album and “Off the Books” from 1997′s Stone Crazy. Words like “nice” damn” and “sweet” were on the tips of everyone’s tongues as Juju and Psycho Les rocked out with their proverbial(and metaphorical) cocks out, their silky-smooth rhymes and jazzy beats making the crowd go bump bump until the white lights came on and the crowd reluctantly staggered on their way.
By A.W. Reid
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Copyright © 2004-2010 ABORT Magazine. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of this publication, in whole or in part, in any form or medium without express written permission from Abort Media Publishing Corporation (AMP Corp.) is prohibited. All use is subject to our Terms of Use.
TONIGHT! March 8th, ABORT Recommends…THE BEATNUTS: 20th Anniversary Tour, Vancouver, BC
March 8th, 2010 Filed under: ABORT Recommends..., News/Calendar/Industry by admin
THE BEATNUTS
Live in Concert
20th Anniversary Tour
special guests
EMOTIONZ
BRASS TACKZ
(Snak + Sin + Evil)
DJ SEKO (The Freshest)
Broke?
We got you!
** $15 TICKETS AVAILABLE**
For 20 years Psycho Les and JuJu of the Beatnuts have been pumping out gritty New York street rap with remarkable consistency and uneven quality. As producers, these two Queens natives, along with DJ Premier, are the architects of a brand of hardcore East Coast hip-hop known by its heavy drums and sparse loops. As MCs, Psycho and JuJu stick to the basics: gunplay and bedroom antics. The subject matter and music may not vary significantly from album to album, but for what they do, the Beatnuts are some of the best. Intoxicated Demons is as good a place as any to start, as it features their anthem, “Reign of the Tec,” a tribute to vengeance as exhilarating as any early-’90s rap track.
147 E.Pender at Main – Chinatown, Vancouver, BC
Copyright © 2004-2010 ABORT Magazine. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of this publication, in whole or in part, in any form or medium without express written permission from Abort Media Publishing Corporation (AMP Corp.) is prohibited. All use is subject to our Terms of Use.
ABORT Recommends…THE BEATNUTS: 20th Anniversary Tour, March 8th, Vancouver, BC
February 27th, 2010 Filed under: ABORT Recommends..., News/Calendar/Industry by admin
THE BEATNUTS
Live in Concert
20th Anniversary Tour
special guests
EMOTIONZ
BRASS TACKZ
(Snak + Sin + Evil)
DJ SEKO (The Freshest)
Broke?
We got you!
Tix as low as $10
For 20 years Psycho Les and JuJu of the Beatnuts have been pumping out gritty New York street rap with remarkable consistency and uneven quality. As producers, these two Queens natives, along with DJ Premier, are the architects of a brand of hardcore East Coast hip-hop known by its heavy drums and sparse loops. As MCs, Psycho and JuJu stick to the basics: gunplay and bedroom antics. The subject matter and music may not vary significantly from album to album, but for what they do, the Beatnuts are some of the best. Intoxicated Demons is as good a place as any to start, as it features their anthem, “Reign of the Tec,” a tribute to vengeance as exhilarating as any early-’90s rap track.
147 E.Pender at Main – Chinatown, Vancouver, BC
Copyright © 2004-2010 ABORT Magazine. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of this publication, in whole or in part, in any form or medium without express written permission from Abort Media Publishing Corporation (AMP Corp.) is praohibited. All use is subject to our Terms of Use.
TONIGHT! January 18th: ABORT Is Proud To Sponsor – RENT MONEY BATTLE 14 @ Monday Night Live at The Modern, Vancouver, BC
January 18th, 2010 Filed under: ABORT Presents..., Made In Canada, News/Calendar/Industry by admin
Fresh Coast and 1derful Entertainment present…
RENT MONEY 14 [MC BATTLE]
Guest judge/performance by…
THESAURUS [WRC/SCRIBBLE JAM CHAMPION]- California
Hosted by Emotionz/Manik
Come check out Vancity’s grimiest freestyle battle. 16 mc’s going head to head for the money, trophy and glory. A hilarious night of comedy, hip hop and overall entertainment
Plus don’t forget the famous”Ultramagnetic 2 bar trade off rounds” which make Rent Money different from any other battle. In the second round of each battle the rappers each have a mic and do 2 bar trade off disses. You gotta be fast and you gotta be good!!!
For mc sign up email emotionz4w@hotmail.com
$12 pre-sale tickets available at Beatstreet and Third
@ The Modern [7 Alexander st]
MySpace.com/Freshcoastbookings
Copyright © 2004-2010 ABORT Magazine. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of this publication, in whole or in part, in any form or medium without express written permission from Abort Media Publishing Corporation (AMP Corp.) is prohibited. All use is subject to our Terms of Use.
Live Review: MNL feat. Lifesavas w/ Cool Nutz, Emotionz, Greg B and East Side Magik, Vancouver BC
January 27th, 2009 Filed under: Reviews - Live by admin
(Photo - Chris Webber)
Live Review: MNL feat. Lifesavas w/ Cool Nutz, Emotionz, Greg B and East Side Magik
Monday, January 26, 2009
The Modern, Vancouver BC
As the snow gently stuck to the sidewalks, minds at The Modern were miles away, falling into the funky grooves of Lifesavas with Chief Xcel. The Portland duo Vursatyl and Gumbo (aka Bumpy Johnson and Sleepy Floyd) were hard-pressed for audience participation – it took several tries to get the crowd to answer “hold on” with an adequate “wait a minute” – but this dampened neither their performance nor the spirits of the sparse crowd.
The night opened with Greg B and then East Side Magik, who continued to abuse intriguing beats with inadequate rhymes. Crowd favorite Emotionz, who runs Monday Night Live, did a short and sweet set including a rather intense beat-box session. Emotionz is continually surprising; he switches up his style between steady and erratic, deep and shrill, sometimes moving so fast the lyrics become mere staccato sounds.
Cool Nutz, a “P-City” counterpart of Lifesavas, delivered a pretty bumpin’ performance with percussion-heavy beats and an unremitting flow. Cool Nutz’ sound is catchy; it’s definitely got soul but isn’t flaky. His music is grounded in the tradition of what he calls “Black Music” and carries a certain historical heaviness.
Lifesavas hit the stage late into the night but it was worth the wait. Playing mostly tracks from their conceptual “Gutterfly” (2007) the pair seamlessly dialogued in rhyme to funk and reggae-influenced beats that forced bodies to move. The swarthy “No Surprise,” made a rather irresistible claim that “it’s no surprise that I’m on your mind…” while the abrupt “Shine Language” used urgent beats to match the “language that’s divine.”
The syncopated rhythms and heavy, repetitive bass lines of “Gutterfly” and “Superburn” characterize Lifesavas’ sophomore album Gutterfly, which is formed around the concept of old blaxploitation movies. The concept is overwhelmingly appropriate to the current state of hip-hop and the cutting-edge flows of Jumbo and Vursatyl make it work as both an ironic storytelling device and a really fucking entertaining album.
Luckily, for those die-hard fans who just had to hear some Spirit in Stone, the pair rocked the crowd-pleaser “Hello-Hi-Hey” which showcases Vursatyl’s ability to spit and the humble intelligence of the song-writing: “Swallow my pride/Now that I’m wise/Sincerely I apologize/For rubbing you the wrong way/ Hello-hi-hey anyway.” As for the ladies, “Fever” is always a great winder and grinder with some major Caribbean flavor.
With Portland just 5 hours from Van City, Lifesavas will surely be back soon with some more delicious tracks to sink your teeth into.
Copyright © 2004-2009 ABORT Magazine. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of this publication, in whole or in part, in any form or medium without express written permission from Abort Media Publishing Corporation (AMP Corp.) is prohibited. All use is subject to our Terms of Use.
