Day 2 at Squamish Festival featured a full day of Canadian Hip-Hop (Minus A$AP Rocky). Many greats were wandering the grounds taking in the show including Shad & Chin Injeti.
The day kicked off on the Stawamus Stage with SonReal hyping the crowd with his energetic set. He’s been relentlessly touring the US all year and his performance was a totally different experience than a couple years ago. His catalogue of hits sounded great on the big stage and ignited the crowd that doubled in size during his set. Fans in the crowd sported WEGO gear and some we spoke to had travelled all the way from the US to see him perform.
Next on the Stawamus stage, K-os & his band were in prolific form delivering a musical onslaught. He played a mix of his classics along with some songs I didn’t recognize that I assume are songs from his upcoming album due out later this month titled ‘Can’t Fly without Gravity’. The crowd was really receptive to his performance and many were commenting that he stole the show.
A-Trak took to the Blueprint arena and treated the crowd to a set that spanned a little over an hour.
Despite the fact there was a scheduling overlap with A$AP Rocky, Jazz Cartier still managed to get a good size crowd for his set on the Garibaldi Stage. Definitely make sure to follow him on twitter @JazzCartier. None of our pictures turned out as good as the one the Festival took:
A$AP Rocky was next and began his set with a short tribute to A$AP Yams. A$AP Nast hit the stage first to make sure the crowd was ready. They were. The only non-Canadian on the bill held it down for America rocking out for the entire hour. He acknowledged the R.I.P Meek Mill sign with a big grin on his face and took a time out from playing his own hits to drop into Jump Around and Smells Like Teens Spirit. He won over K-os who tweeted:
Now @asvpxrocky is my fave rapper
— k-os (@kosinception) August 9, 2015
Watch this clip from his performance!
Sadly there was some scheduling conflict with Drake and P Reign which no doubt detracted fans from taking in his set so they could get a better seat for the Headliner of the night.
Drake was punctual and he started his set right on schedule with a clip from Jungle before making his entrance to the first track off February’s release ‘If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late’.
Drake was captivating, holding the mammoth stage down, assisted by lights and pyrotechnics. The crowd chanted Fuck Meek Mill between songs and before long Drake said ‘I’m the Canadian guy making all the American guys mad’ and launched into ‘Back to Back’. While this beef will forever define Meek Mill, Drake leaned on his larger than life presence and endless supply of number #1 hits to keep the crowd engaged. He indulged in a reggae version of Find Your Love and continuously reaffirmed his love for Vancity throughout the night. He was really one of the only options big enough to follow up last year’s appearance by Eminem at the Festival. Big ups to Drake and all the other Canadian performers that proved we can hold down a full day at a major outdoor Festival.
