Blackalicious DJ Shadow Lifesavas Lyrics Born

Halfway through the Quannum Tour’s recent stopover in Toronto, DJ Shadow grabbed a mic and broke things down for those he thought were probably scratching their heads and saying, “Yo, I thought I was going to hear ‘Midnight’.” Judging from his speech, it’s not a far stretch to envision that he’d encountered more than a handful of fans on the first several dates of the outing who were waiting patiently for something from Endtroducing… or The Private Press to be thrown into the evening’s mix. Tonight wasn’t about Shadow showcasing his solo skills though. Instead the event was meant to bring together and celebrate all the artists associated with Quannum Projects.

Formed in 1991, the Sole Sides crew was made up of several friends who hosted college radio shows at KDVS at the University of California, Davis. Included in this group were DJ Shadow, Lyrics Born, Lateef the Truth Speaker, and Chief Xcel. The collective began to release records on their own under the Sole Sides moniker to great acclaim. Several years later they changed the name of the imprint to Quannum, which pretty much brings us to the present. Having all toured on their own to support their respective albums over the course of the last fourteen years, a decision was made that the whole crew should embark on a tour. As a result, Toronto was given the opportunity to witness DJ Shadow, Blackalicious, Latyrx, The Gift of Gab, DJ D Sharp, Lateef and the Chief, Joyo Velarde, Lifesavas, and Lyrics Born perform together.

DJ D Sharp started things off by playing some records behind a huge table that stretched the length of the stage and had a banner with “Quannum” scrawled across it. He was soon joined by Shadow and Xcel, who each took their place behind a set of turntables. Demanding that “Toronto make some noise,” Lyrics Born burst out of the shadows and began dropping rhymes all over the 1,000 people huddled up front. As he spit out the words to “Do That There” the mix of young hip-hop headz and indie kids in attendance waved their hands and danced along. After finishing the track he walked off-stage and out came Lateef the Truth Speaker to perform “Best Verse”. Lifesavas quickly followed with a tight rendition of “Soldierfied” from 2003’sSpirit in Stone. Not to be outdone, Gift of Gab threw down Blackalicious’ “Paragraph President”, much to the delight of the crowd. Lyrics Born, Lateef, and Lifesavas rushed back out and joined Gab on the track “Battle Beat” while D Sharp, Shadow, and Xcel held things together.

Essentially, this was the show. Each MC would come out on stage and perform for a few minutes before the next one would shuffle out from the back to take his place. Every now and then a “spontaneous” duet would break out, but for the most part each artist concentrated on solo stuff. After several songs Joyo Velarde began singing backup on everything, adding a sweet, soulful vibe to the numbers. Meanwhile, the three DJs would scratch, mix, and do whatever else was necessary to ensure that the venue was filled with loud pumping beats.

The fast changeovers gave the show a “don’t blink or you’ll miss something cool” vibe and definitely strived to keep things interesting in the age of ADD (whether it be of the medical or self-imposed variety). However, with so much happening on stage, it was easy for the casual fan to get lost as things unfolded. The show took on an MTV Video Awards-like feel when Gift of Gab spent several minutes promoting everyone’s upcoming projects and stated several times during his speech when everything was coming out and how everyone should rush right out and buy it. The only thing missing was a Macy Gray- like article of clothing proclaiming, “My new album drops on (insert date here). Buy it.”

On the plus side, after Gift of Gab’s long-winded spiel, fans were treated to fantastic versions of “Writz”, “Rat Race”, and “Just Because” of off his much talked about (at least by him anyways) solo effort Fourth Dimensional Rocketships Going Up. Gab would further redeem himself when he reemerged later in the show and sent the crowd into hysterics with a smokin’ rendition of “Deception” from Blackalicious’ hip hop classic, NIA. By far the strongest MC on the bill, only the Lifesavas came anywhere close to matching his intensity and skill.

Aside from way too many annoying cries of “Toronto make some noise” or “I though we was in Toronto, Canada. All my people from Toronto let me hear ya” from Lyrics Born (he managed to mention Toronto at least a dozen times every time he walked out on stage) the Quannum crew made a strong showing. The show could have benefited from placing a bit more focus on the skills of each individual DJ, who for the most part were hidden in the back, but beyond that few in attendance would have little to complain about. Except maybe the blisters that most likely covered their dancing feet by night’s end.