Words & Photos By: Lucas Rechtschaffner
On Friday June 12th,Vancouver rapper Ekim and his girlfriend Lien Phan put on a wicked event called Hip Hop for Ethiopia. The show took place at Fortune Sound Club and their famed sound system did not disappoint.
The night started off with a fierce Vancouver rapper named Rasta Farsi. This man spit his bars furiously and through his confidence and presence you could see that it was not his first time on stage. Every single word that flowed out of Rasta Farsi’s mouth had emotion and charisma. He came to the stage with a theme and a message that he carried through his whole set.
The next rapper to take the stage went by the name of Agent Orange. He only played one song but the crowd seemed stoked nonetheless. Agent Orange was a red headed rhyme machine that sounded like a mix between early Kid Rock and Ad Rock from the Beastie Boys. Despite the short performance Agent Orange did a pretty good job getting the crowd going and I’m sure it’s not the last I’ll hear from him.
The next to take the stage was a hip-hop producer from Vancouver called Murphy Chops. Chops played a half an hour set consisting of his own instrumentals and beats. His music had a vintage hip hop sound that made me feel like I was listening to DJ Premier before the fame. Chops would play his samples first and then his drums and melodies would take over the song which I very much enjoyed. Murphy Chops had a wicked set and his beats sounded like they were coming straight off of a record player.
Ekim who was the host and the MC of the show got up on stage and did a few songs with Murphy Chops. Ekim took the stage and spit freestyles off the dome rapping about the event and the people in the crowd. Ekim seemed to thrive off of other people’s energy as he invited the co-headliners brother Nations Prime onto the stage and began to rap with him. Ekim and Nations Prime proceeded to freestyle for the crowd and feed off of each others energy while keeping the theme of the rhymes relevant for everyone. The set was loosely organized on purpose and it worked to the artist’s advantage, as they were
able to take the show in any direction they pleased.
The second last artist to take the stage was a charismatic Toronto rapper named Black Lion. Black Lions energy and positivity shined throughout his set. He made it a point to express that he cared a lot about freedom, positivity and helping those in need. Black Lion got the crowd pumped up with his moves and ability to own a stage. Lion started off with a banger that got everyone’s hands up and proceeded to slow it down after with some calm and collected tracks. Black Lion then decided to invite all of his homies on stage to have a live cypher, the DJ dropped a fat beat and all of Black Lions friends started rapping one at a time. The cypher was a great way for each of Lions friends to showcase their individual style, flow and creativeness. The cypher was super fun and interesting and it went very well with the audience.
Last but definitely not least to perform was the headliner and Toronto based rapper UNKOWN MIZERY. Mizery seemed to be the crowd favorite and the event headliner for a reason. Mizery spit with intention and turnt the audience right the fuck up. Words like unity and community were talked about between songs and Mizery really wanted to get his point across to the audience throughout his performance. Watching him wasn’t just a hip hop show, it was an experience. Seeing all of these rappers giving everything they have to such a meaningful cause was really awesome to watch. Everyone at Hip Hop for Ethiopia held down the stage confidently and I hope Ekim is able to put on more shows in the future.
