“We’re doing it for a good cause, but we might say fuck it and turn all the way up on a Wednesday!”

-Grandtheft

The best nights are the spontaneous ones. Sure, it may throw you off the following morning, especially if you have to work since it’s only the middle of the week. However, at times it can be for a good cause, along with some of the best memories.

Grandtheft and Embrace had a massive turn-out at The Velvet Underground for their event, Relief – which was only announced a day in advance, and with very little promotion compared to other events going on in the city. Nonetheless, the venue was packed well before midnight, and there were really no set times – just upwards of 10 different artists, from Strangerman to Pusher to JayemKayem to Skratch Bastid to Keys N Krates‘ turntablist Jr Flo to Hunter Siegel to Shaun Frank to Grandtheft himself, between 4 CDJs and 2 turntables – spinning one after the other (sometimes together) for 4 straight hours as one crazy back-to-back-to-back-to-back, with free reign over what was played. There were also a few appearances by Delaney Jane, who was on the mic singing her collaborative songs with Grandtheft and Shaun. Overall, the party vibe very much resembled that of Hunter Siegel’s No Neon series.

The set starts off with some funky disco samples, to help groove/warm up the crowd as people were trickling in to the venue at a moderately fast pace. As the first hour progressed, the vibes already started getting much harder. We were bestowed with trap, hip-hop, future house and bass house alike, as well as classics like Daft Punk’s ‘Around the World‘. Whatever it was, it was always a song to ensure the energy was kept high until the very end. There was even a solid segment of dubstep, which caused the room to go absolutely bonkers for a solid 10-15 minutes.

At intermittent moments, Delaney would cause a break in the madness to spread some inspirational words to the crowd, which further lifted everyone’s spirits. At one point, she even admitted to having never crowdsurfed, and the crowd fully supported her and helped her float around the room.

There were some repeat tracks, as is to be expected in such an occurrence – A$AP Ferg & Future‘s ‘I’m on a New Level‘ played at least 3 times; Travis Scott‘s ‘Antidote‘ dropped a couple of times as well. More than once, I hollered out “BAYBEEEEEEEEEH” in unison with Ferg’s ‘Work REMIX’.

After the b2b concluded, a few artists and Delaney turned to the mic and gave praise to those who turned out, and took a moment to talk about the devastation left behind by Hurricane Maria, not too long ago. All the proceeds from that night went to Global Giving and International Relief Teams, to give aid to Puerto Rico.

The event left us all energized afterwards, which felt sort of weird, yet rejuvenating for a mid-week evening. Nonetheless, knowing that proceeds were going towards helping Puerto Rico and the Caribbean, we felt like it was very justified, helping out fellow human beings. If this were to happen again, or even become a series based on good intentions, I’m sure that the cityfolk would most definitely be down to help show some support once more.

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This event will take place at Velvet Underground (Queen St. W) on October 11th, and is set to help raise funds for two charities – Global Giving and International Relief Teams, who will be receiveing all proceeds. The roster consists of some local all-stars, including Grandtheft himself, Delaney Jane, Hunter Siegel, Skratch Bastid, Keys N Krates, and likely some special guests as well, for the perfect mid-week turn-up to help out a great cause. You can buy tickets via TicketWeb, and RSVP on Facebook. Join us for a night of good will and good times!

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On Saturday night Craze and Skratch Bastid put on a clinic on real DJing in Toronto. It was a truly incredible night that blended turntablism with a party vibe. One of the first things you’d notice when walking into the event was the multiple screens displaying a close-up view of the DJs’ mixers. I’ve been saying for quite sometime that more clubs should do this, as it forces the DJ to actually put in work and allows fans an inside look at what’s truly going on. Skratch Bastid set it off delivering a set that switched styles numerous times, from west coast rap (‘King Kunta’ ,’Boyz N’ the Hood’), to hard hitting trap and twerk, a sprinkling of reggae and dancehall and even a Talib Kweli minimix (‘Get By’, ‘Get Em’ High’, ‘Definition’). The highlight of the set was definitely when Bastid broke into his ‘NXWXRK’ routine which had people amazed staring up at the screen and back to the stage. Afterword things came down a notch and Skratch Bastid closed out with ‘Spottieottiedopalicious’.

When Craze took the stage the energy was as high as the expectations. He opened it up with an ominous intro that was reminiscent of something you’d hear in a DJ Shadow set or even an early Wu-Tang track. This lead into a vocal loop announcing “the champ is here”; undoubtedly a reference to his 5 DMC crowns. Bringing in something familiar, Craze cut up ‘All I Do is Win,’ flexing his battle chops while also letting everyone know he came to have fun. Throughout the night, he seamlessly blended rap classics with new bangers including going from Kanye’s ‘Power’ into RL Grime’s ‘Core’, dropping ‘Earthquake’ perfectly into ‘Dirt Off Your Shoulders’, and looping OutKast’s iconic ‘ATLiens’ hook before dropping into his TroyBoi assisted smash ‘Baby Gurl’.

When the party was in full swing Craze asked fans if he could break out a new routine that he’d been working on. The crowd response was massive and he proceeded to dissect and destroy ‘The Next Episode’. Other highlights included Craze calling out We Are Your Friends while playing ‘Sucka DJs’ and performing his unforgettable ‘New Slaves’ routine. He closed the night on a surprising note, digging into a wild jungle section that had the place going wild. The drastic change in style speaks to Craze’s versatility and prepared the crowd for Capital J’s closing set.

There’s been a lot of talk around real Djing as of late and Craze’s set embodied everything that defines it. Never have I seen a DJ so perfectly balance flaunting his technical prowess while keeping the party live. Watching his routines left me standing still with my jaw open several times over; from scratching between his legs, behind his back, and with his elbows while working the fader with his back, his turntablism was awe inspiring but didn’t take away from the fun. A lot of great technical DJs can flex their skills but have a hard time putting together a set that fans can really rock with. Craze has perfected the ability balance of both. If you’re a fan of DJing, seeing Craze needs to be on your bucket list, as he is truly one of the greatest to ever do it.

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With expectations high, Thugli took to the stage and put forth a high energy, hard hitting set that absolutely set the place on fire. Their set consisted of a mixture of rap and trap bangers including a number of their originals and remixes. The first transition that really blew me away was when they dropped their Kanye West – Send It Up Remix into Gesaffelstein – Hellifornia. Another highlight was playing Yellow Claw & Cesqeaux – IBETCHU and switching out the final drop for their own track What Happened (Which is a rework of Baby ft. Clipse – What Happened To That Boy.) I’m pretty sure at least a few patrons did “Lose their mind when the sh*t dropped”. All of their transitions were seamless; blending songs perfectly and coming through with an unrelenting pace. Watching them perform you can tell they love every song they play. They are constantly bouncing, dancing and singing along to every tune. This energy is directly felt by the crowd and makes the set that much better. On top of all this, they premiered their killer remix of Diplo & GTA – Boy Oh Boy which was released today. Another amazing exclusive was an unreleased tune from fellow Canadians Keys N Krates & Grandtheft – “Keep It 100“. In a set filled with bangers this one stood out above them all. All-in-all Thugli put on and absolutely amazing show, proving why they are one of the best trap duos out right now. 

Skratch Bastid took the stage after Thugli starting things off with Jay-Z and Justin Timberlake – Holy Grail which progressed into a pretty dope scratch routine. Shortly after he laid down ‘Miley‘ with some live improvisations. His set spanned a wide variety of music from reggae, house, rap, pop and everything in between. One of his most notable transitions was using Action Bronson – Strictly 4 My Jeeps “Need to slow down baby” sample and dropping it into DJ Snake x Yellow Claw x Spanker – Slow Down. Another stand out section of the set was mixing ODB’s – Shimmy Shimmy Ya into Wu-tang Clan’s – Triumph and then “Taking it back to 79′” with none other than Sugar Hill Gang’s – Rapper’s Delight. The thought behind this selection was likely overlooked by many, but it doesn’t make it any less special. Skratch Bastid’s set didn’t have the same level of intensity of Thugli’s but his skills on the decks easily made up for it.

Ryerson’s end of the year party was an excellent event thanks to amazing performances by the headliners and a perfect venue selection. I give Ryerson’s Student Union a lot of credit for putting together such a great event with top-notch Canadian talent (Tom Wrecks is even Ryerson Alumni!). I can easily say this was the best $3 I’ve spent this year. 

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