The realization that Nakusp might be ready for a real hip-hop concert came to Aeon Crux over a game of pool at the Leland Hotel.
“I noticed over the last year when hip-hop music comes on, everyone dances,” says Crux, whose real name is Dana Hildebrand. “When rock and roll comes on, everyone talks. And the energy just fizzles.”
His brother pointed out the difference to the Leland’s owner.
“He said,’are you ever going to update the jukebox?'” Crux recalls. “‘You only have 10 hip-hop songs and when they come on, everyone gets happy. Girls dance, and guys buy drinks.'”
“Do the math.”
The lineup in the jukebox changed, and the Leland’s since become the place to hear hip-hop in town. Crux had also found the venue for his hip-hop showcase, happening on Oct. 26.
Crux happens to be friends with Canadian hip-hop artist Fresh Kils, who was planning a tour of small towns in Western Canada. He says they tried to make a Nakusp gig work in August, but couldn’t. Tonight’s show at the Leland was a good alternative.
Kils will be headlining his “Childhood’s Immortal Tour” along with MC, rapper and DJ Emotionz from Vancouver. The bill is filled out with backup artists Mic Dreams and Kosmic Kittie. Crux will also get a chance to perform, having been tapped to help warm up the crowd after another artist couldn’t make this stop on the tour.
Crux says Nakusp residents will be getting a taste of some of the best hip-hop being produced in the country today.
“Fresh Kils is incredible, he’s a producer for all the well-known hip-hop artists in Canada,” he says. “He’s won beat battle championships, was recently invited to New York for the Goldie awards. He’s played at Shambhala. In his show, he produces music live on stage. He uses a machine called an MPC, a sampling pad, and creates instrumentals as he goes, layering snippets of beats and melodies with audio samples from kung fu flicks and lines from Happy Gilmour.
“It’s engaging music, and he has a bright personality,” says Crux.
You can hear examples of Kils’ music here.
His co-headliner, Emotionz from Vancouver, has performed more than 1,500 shows over the last 20 years. He’s an MC, rapper, beatboxer, and DJ, and has a big fan in Crux.
“It’s really going to be neat for me to meet him and be the same stage,” he says.
Nakusp will be a fill-stop on the Western Canadian tour, between larger centres. But Crux says landing these hip-hop stars can mean big things in the future for the community’s music scene.
“So it not only opens doors for them but they’ll say to other people who are touring, ‘try Nakusp, a lot of people support the music’,” he says. That might mean acts can book a string of nights in the area, in places like Winlaw and Edgewood, making the area viable to travel through for more musicians.
“They want to do smaller towns,” Crux says.
But is Nakusp ready for a hip hop concert? Crux thinks so.
“A lot of teenagers who’ve grown up with hip-hop are now in their 20s,” he says. “They’re asking, ‘where can I go to see this? Do I have to go to Vernon, or pay to go to Vancouver or Nelson?”
“So the way I see it going, it will let people say ‘wow, we can handle something like this,” he says. “And for owners of bars like the Leland, they’ll see they don’t have to just do rock and roll all the time. “It’s not that era anymore. It’s still nice to do it, but today’s pop music is hip-hop.”
“It’s important for them to stay relevant, and give artists who want to come here a venue.”
And it helps that the Leland’s not a large venue. He says it’s more important to have the energy of a small crowd in a smaller space, than a huge space that’s not filled.
At the time of writing Crux, who’s a stay-at-home dad by day, is practising his rhymes for his big break in the local hip-hop scene. The Arrow Lakes News put him on the spot and asked him to come up with a rhyme to promote the event.
He obliged.
“I’ll still rap attack
And make sure it’s all in line like a railway track
So when you come out next Thursday
I’ll make sure it feels like it’s your birthday
Or the first day
You ever saw a guy rhyme in your town
And you won’t have a frown
Or a smile upside down like a sad kind of clown.”
Crux grins sheepishly. He’ll be ready for more on Thursday. The show is free and starts at 9:30 p.m.
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