NXNE Review: Killer Mike, June 16, Wrongbar

What better way to get across from College and Spadina to the west end to catch Killer Mike at Wrongbar on a beautiful Saturday night but to walk. I left around 12:40am and speed-walked about forty-minutes and you’ll not believe the bizarre things you see at this time. But since it wasn’t part of the entertainment and I’ve lived in cities for most of my life, I’ve become desensitized to this stuff. Regardless, thanks to Rival Schools playing a longer set than normal, I made it on time and it was definitely worth it. Of the twenty plus artists/bands/groups/clowns I saw since Wednesday, Killer Mike was the highlight. Not only was it a highlight, but while looking for my sacred pass that I dropped at the bar, I found a fiver. Bonus beer.

The show started around 1:30am and everyone outside soon came in and pushed up to the stage. Rap music and the white kids loving it. The hipster girls starting to grind up against one another making sure to not spill their $7.25 tallboys of Labatt 50 (I swear) on one another. Based out of Atlanta, Killer Mike found fame through his ties with Outkast back in 2000 on their album Stankonia. My first experience was hearing “That’s Life” in 2008 off his I Pledge Allegiance to the Grind, which basically says that if you don’t like what he’s saying, then then don’t listen. Idiots. He was there promoting his new release R.A.P. Music and the controversial new video to “Big Beast,” which is a nine-minute convenience store robbery/car chase with a bit of zombie apocalypse theme going on that features T.I., Bun B, and Trouble. On stage though,Killer Mike is more of a loveable cuddly teddy bear though. Way less threatening than so many other popular hip hop artists out there these days. After the first couple songs he said, “I see security looking a little uptight. A big black with so many beautiful drunk white people.” I heard this from where I was as “beautiful CHALK white people” which is way more racist and way funnier but I’m guessing he said the former.

His crowd favourite, “Reagan” started off with another story about his mother, who he made sure we knew was both a “convicted drug trafficker and college graduate,” and even though she’s still a mother who calls her son “Michael,” she still lets her opinion be known that Ronald Reagan didn’t just set progress back with his war on drugs and his conservative economic policies, he caused more of a divide between working class black communities and white America. “Fuck Ronald Reagan” indeed. Killer Mike had the crowd fromthe time he stepped on stage and even let them know how much he appreciated playing in Toronto and may have even said that this was his best show ever.

Posted on by Brent in Everything, North By Northeast