A few stops into their North American Tour, PRhyme (Royce Da 5’9 & DJ Premier) descended upon Toronto with Your Old Droog to bring some real hip-hop to the dot. -30 temperature couldn’t stop die hard fans from lining up early outside Tattoo to get a good spot for the sold out show. Luckily for those who arrived late, the venue is quite intimate without a bad spot in the house. As concert goers body’s became acclimated to normal temperatures the house DJ warmed up the crowd with a wide range of hip-hop classics.
Notes to Self shot by Hector Vasquez for FUXWITHIT.
Notes To Self kicked off the night of performances with good energy and represented Canada with class. From Dopey killing’ the decks, to their newest member bodying an acapella showing off his flow, to dropping punchlines around hockey legend Paul Coffey, they had everyone vibing and ready for Your Old Droog. After a brief break Droog’s DJ, Skizz, took the stage showing love to the openers and eliciting excitement for the main event. As Skizz queued up the first beat Droog mic checked off stage before rushing to the front and delivering ‘No Message’ with an ill viciousness. The strong opening set the tone for the remainder of the show.
Your Old Droog shot by Hector Vasquez for FUXWITHIT.
Based off the incredible quality and Nas rumours surrounding his debut EP, Droog became an internet sensation almost overnight. Often times when artists blow up this quickly they don’t have the time develop their live shows and fans leave shows disappointed. This was not the case for our old friend, as he effortlessly flowed from track to track with the stage presence and humour of a seasoned veteran. From cracking jokes about buying his merch to asking “where the bad Asian girls at” he had everyone laughing along. The song selection for the set was on point breaking out some of his best tracks to date including ‘Porno for Pyro’s’, ‘Bad to The Bone’, ‘Free Turkey’ and more. Skizz put in work mixing things up and dropping classic rap instrumentals midway through tracks while Droog continued to rip bars seemingly unaffected by the beat change, adapting his flow with ease.
DJ Skizz shot by Hector Vasquez for FUXWITHIT.
As the set neared it’s end Skizz played out M.O.P.’s classic ‘Ante Up’ before Droog switched into ‘You Know What Time It Is’. Getting the audience involved, the Brooklyn MC had a killer call and response on the hook. The climax was Your Old Droog’s best work to date, the incredibly witty ‘Nutty Bars’. Die hard fans rapped along bar-for-bar while others stood wide-eyed soaking in the astounding wordplay for the first time. The performance proved that Droog isn’t just another internet sensation but one of the most promising new MC’s in the game.
DJ Premier shot by Hector Vasquez for FUXWITHIT.
As it drew closer to midnight DJ Premier appeared on stage eliciting a huge reaction from the crowd. He warmed up the decks with a funky loop that was cut to spell out the group’s name. After going back and forth with the audience Preemo dropped the classic ‘Hip-Hop’ and Royce joined him on stage. Next up came the album’s title track which at least half the audience rapped along to aggressively. Royce’s near 20 years in the game were apparent as he effortlessly rocked the crowd telling stories and going back and forth with Premier (“I worked so hard all these years to say Premier is my DJ”). After a few more cuts off the album they took it back to 98’ with the Royce and Eminem classic ‘Scary Movie’ .
Royce Da 5’9 brings out Kid Vicious. Shot by Hector Vasquez for FUXWITHIT.
As Royce took a bit of a break his younger brother Kid Vishis took the stage to let fans know the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. He dropped an acapella verse riddled with punchlines that aroused ooh’s and aww’s all the way through. Next up it was time for Preemo to demonstrate why he is truly a legend. Giving fans a history lesson, Preemo dropped the classic records that laid the foundation for some of his biggest hits. Letting the original sample play out Preemo began to cut and scratch the samples making them become quite familiar, before dropping into the final product. It was a hip-hop head’s dream to witness Preemo break down some of the most iconic samples of all time. From ‘Quiet Storm’ to ‘10 Crack Commandments’ and ‘NY State Of Mind’ to ‘Nas Is Like’ and ‘Mass Appeal’ each track had the audience amazed.
Shot by Hector Vasquez for FUXWITHIT.
Royce returned to drop a few more cuts off the album including the unforgettable ‘You Should Know’. One thing that needs to be noted is that Premier actually performed all the cuts and scratches live for each song. Something you seldom see these days. It seemed only right that PRhyme ended the night with a ‘Boom’ proving that real hip-hop will never die.
For more photos of the event check out our gallery on Facebook.
