Audiences can expect the unexpected when hip-hop group La Coka Nostra takes to the stage with the Swollen Members at Troubadour Club on Jan. 21 for the Hip Hop for Hunger event.
La Coka Nostra member Slaine says that when the group performs, they “put it all out there.” Every piece of emotional baggage is released through the rhythms and rhymes of their hip-hop.
Performing rap that is “hardcore, political and neolithic,” Slaine says he never knows what’s going to happen at a show.
“It’s going to be rowdy. You kind of take what’s going on with you that day and bring it to your performance. You don’t know what each show is going to be like,” he said.
“Sometimes the more adversity you face makes the show more interesting.”
Though the Boston-native recently released a solo album in August, this tour he will be reuniting with his La Coka Nostra buddies Everlast, Dj Lethal and DannyBoy from House of Pain and New York rapper Ill Bill. Langley will be the first of eight stops on their Canadian tour.
“I love performing with those guys, it’s kind of rowdy and old-school. That’s the way it’s supposed to be,” he said. “We feed off each other.”
The self-proclaimed “gritty hip-hop” group has been performing together for nearly seven years.
Their first album, “A Brand You Can Trust” was launched in 2009 and debuted at number 84 on the Billboard Top 200 and number 6 on the rap charts.
Their music is known in the hip-hop world as “a breath of fresh air in these days of contrived airbrushed rap music,” according to a press release.
Slaine says he is looking forward to a change from the solemnness of his solo album to the fun dynamic of performing in a group.
“Going solo is more personal than working with a group. It’s like going to therapy versus the bar with friends. It’s completely different,” he said.
“My solo record was very personal and I’m proud of it, but it’s such a relief to go back to a group and do something fun.”
Fighting his own demons of drug and alcohol addiction over the years, the one thing that has always remained constant for Slaine is his music. He has been writing his own rhymes since he was nine-years-old.
“Hip-hop is an obsession for me. I have to do it. If I don’t do it for a week I’m a mess,” he said.
“I’m very real with my music. We all go through ups and downs, and music is an outlet to express it. It always reflects what I’m going through.”
Slaine has also recently broken into the Hollywood scene, playing roles in The Town with Ben Affleck, Gone Baby Gone, the NBC TV series The Cape and Cogan’s Trade with Brad Pitt, Ray Liotta and James Gandolfini which will be released in March, 2012.
Tickets for Hip Hop for Hunger are $30 and are available at Clubzone.com, Clubvibes.com, Nightbat.com or in person at Mint Clothing Boutique, 20416 Fraser Hwy.
Ticket holders are encouraged to bring non-perishable food, unwrapped toys and cash donations for local food banks to the event.
