Tonight, Toronto will get a taste of 2000s hip-hop at the Rec Room with Eminem’s band D12 and Shady Records signee Obie Trice.
Considering Toronto’s growing number of old-school artists visiting, the concert is expected to feature the city’s biggest hip-hop greats.
Wu-Tang Clan, Nas, The Lox, Jada Kiss and 50 Cent all performed in Toronto during hip-hop’s 50th anniversary last year, paving the way for more American artists to head north this year.
Read more: Canadian Music Week celebrates 50 years of hip-hop with Maestro Fresh, The Lox and Kardinal Offishall
Supreme Genes, an underground record label led by Asun Eastwood, DJ Merciless and Lord Fury, has helped promote many of these major events, keeping the city’s involvement in hip-hop culture alive.
The label will host a Kool G Rap concert on March 30 at the MOP at the Phoenix Concert Theater.
R-Evolution Media Studio is another Canadian group dedicated to bringing the hip-hop community together by bringing in major artists to perform.
Robbie Gruenbauer, founder of R-Evolution Media Studio, grew up in Guelph and fell in love with hip-hop music at an early age.
“F you. You’re a nobody. We don’t care if you can bring a crowd.” When Gruenbauer tried performing with bigger venues and visiting artists, the promoter reportedly told him, “We don’t have any local actor actress. ”
Since then, Glenn Bauer has spent more than a decade working on creating a promotion company where he could both book shows and guest perform for artists.
Read more: 6 concerts to watch on 6ix in March – from beloved British artists to rising Canadian stars
The company has performed more than 150 shows in Toronto and across Canada, starring Sean Paul, Akon, G Unit, Chaos, Souls of Mischief and Chris Webby. They also work with Live Nation and iconic Toronto venues like the Danforth Music Hall and Opera House.
“Toronto is a big hip-hop city and has huge potential for big events,” Glenbauer told Now Toronto. “Old-school hip-hop shows are back. It’s about bringing people together and making sure everyone leaves with a smile.”
Groups like Supreme Genes and R-Evolution often work with the International Touring Agency, the largest hip-hop entertainment company in the United States, to help artists travel easily between the Canadian and U.S. borders.
Gruenbauer and his team went to great lengths to book Lloyd Banks’ 20th anniversary tour of “The Hunger for More” across Canada. The popular artist will be coming to Toronto’s Lee Palace on June 30th.
Cypress Hill, Ice Cube, Busta Rymes and Janet Jackson will also be arriving in Toronto as the weather warms up.
At tonight’s show at the Rec Room, audience members will have the opportunity to take photos with D12 members Swifty Mcvay and Kuniva, and later with Obie Trice and Robbie G.
Tickets are still on sale tonight until doors open at 8pm.
