A whole new line up of performers and the release of Ritchie’s latest mixtape. Held at Revival, Ritchie held it down as per usual on the mic, jumping into the crowd and waving his towel around and sweating on everyone. God, I love the Kidd. Check below for the polaroid recap photos!

[Vancity emcee extraordinaire — SonReal]

“Chaaaarrrrr-babyyy!” I heard a man’s voice call out from around the side of the house. “We’re over here!” I stepped down from the stairs leading to the front entrance of the house and made my way over to the familiar voices I had only ever heard in Toronto. It had been not even a few months ago when I had last seen Bizzy and SonReal when they were in Toronto for the DJ Stylus Awards. Originally from Vernon, BC, now living in Vancouver, I had never seen these two guys in my hometown — our interactions have always been over in the east.

As I followed the pied piper’s beckoning towards the back yard gate, I was soon ambushed with hugs and huge welcomes to 1851 — their home and headquarters for all things creative and talented.

Nobody could’ve asked for better weather, for a better turn out of loving friends and family, for a better location right in front of Trinity Bellwoods, or for a better studio/gallery space to foster creativity and inspire brilliant ideas. Miracle Thieves, the creation of Miss Tiffany Naval and Jennifer Maramba, is a multi-disciplinary space that the two artists work out of, as well as invite all to (re)discover the inner child within themselves. Workshopping, gallery/retail spacing, open studio-ing are just some of the things that Miracle Thieves offer — the rest is up to your imagination.

“I go by the name of ODDISEE,” a deep voice with what sounded like a southern accent proclaimed over the mic. Of course, to any Canadian, a voice with that type of American drawl would be easily categorized under the big banner of “Southern Accent”, much like Canadians have an “accent” of politeness or “Eh”.  I soon stood corrected that this cadent voice was genuinely and authentically from the one and only Washington, DC.

From start to finish, I went from intrigue to mesmerized, to trying to tell my fatigued body I should head home early to rest, only to be sidetracked and charmed once again by Oddisee’s story told through his dynamic beats and thought-provoking rhymes. He tickled my ears with the sounds of soul, bass heavy funk, hip-hop, bossa nova and more. Leaving before his set was over soon became a non-existent option. Especially after Shad got invited up to perform an unreleased song with him.