KRS-One live at Fortune - Review

KRS-One Live Show Review
By: b.Lee

KRS- One came through Vancouver this week on the Canadian leg of his Temple of Hip- Hop Tour, which started Monday in Victoria and finishes up on November 22 in Winnipeg. The former Boogie Down Productions frontman brought the vibe and essence of the Bronx, NYC circa 1987, turning Fortune Sound club into an old school hip-hop sweatbox. This was a show literally 10 years in the making and KRS’s first appearance in Vancouver since 1988, so it is only fitting that it sold out more than two weeks in advance.

There were a couple opening acts for the show, the first being Conscience - a local Vancouver hip-hop trio consisting of Noetic, Stokes, and singer Lyndsay Johnston. They put on a good opening performance, hyping up the crowd and reminding us who we were all there to see. Conscience's delivery and flow were on point and their performance was overall pretty decent, expect to see more from this group in the near future.

The next opening act was Killawatt record’s prodigy and VanCity’s own HeatWave. This was my first time seeing HeatWave perform and I have to say the dude killed it like a seasoned veteran. Heat definitely knows how to command a stage, coming out solo (a rarity in hip-hop) and rocking the crowd with lyrical precision and on point flow. Much to mine and everyone’s surprise he brought out Killawatt record’s founder Red1 of the legendary Rascalz crew. Red1 was secretly playing hype man for HeatWave’s performance in the background but then came out on stage, getting the crowd hyped by singing the hook to the Rascalz hit song Top of the World. HeatWave and Red1 proceeded to do a few more songs, keeping the crowd moving and setting the stage for the legendary KRS-One, finishing up the set with the heavy basslines in his song Smoke out the Sunroof off of HeatWave’s 2011 mix-tape “The Masses Vol. 2”. CLICK BELOW TO READ MORE

The crowd was packed and everyone was amped for KRS’s set around midnight. He started his set speaking to the crowd from backstage, just making sure everyone was ready for him to rock the mic, and then he proceeded to storm out on stage with a burst full of energy backed by Vancouver's own DJ Flipout. The sold-out crowd at Fortune was in full effect as KRS blasted out BDP’s hit diss record “The Bridge is Over”. He managed to play all of his own and Boogie Down Productions livest records and fan favourites including - Criminal Minded, 9mm Goes Bang, South Bronx, Sound of da Police, MC's Act Like They Don't Know, and Love’s Gonna Get Cha - all while continuing to insist that the soundman “Turns that shit up”. Throughout his set KRS referenced political and social problems, as you would expect, but balanced this with an amazing performance, and brilliant lyricism. He also delivered on some dope freestyles, making reference to people in the crowd and current events, proving his emcee skills. If that wasn't enough, he stated that he could rhyme over any sound and proved so by flowing melodically over classical music. At one point during the set he extended an invitation to any b-boys/girls to come on stage and do their thing. Dozens of eager breakers emerged from the crowd to show off their skills as KRS laced the beat - a memory I’m sure most of them will keep forever. In the middle of his set KRS also apologized for a botched show 10 years ago - where he no showed because he had to have surgery on his tooth - and promised he would return, stating that he would bring hip-hop legends A Tribe Called Quest with him next time.

As an avid hip-hop fan, I will tell you that this is one of the dopest shows I’ve been to, and that includes a very long list. KRS-One is a hip-hop legend and seasoned veterarn - two things he makes very obvious in his live performance. If you missed it, don’t sleep next time and if you ever get the chance to see KRS-One live, I highly recommend you do. Big ups to everyone involved in making this show happen. The Bronx was definitely in the building.