The weather was cold but the atmosphere was hot, and everyone in the crowd was bundled up in hoodies, down jackets, hats and toques. There were even a few scarves and balaclavas (face masks) in the crowd. No, this wasn’t no stick up, but rather one of many free concerts at the Telus World Ski & Snowboard festival in Whistler last month.
The event consisted of free concerts by well-known music artists. On this year’s impressive hip-hop bill were Jurassic 5, Blackalicious and Souls of Mischief.
Tajai, A-Plus, Phesto and Opio knew they were a long way from Oakland, California, and – dressed in jeans, hoodies and down jackets – dropped some classic hits for the freezing fans in the crowd.
When the Hieroglyphics single “You Never Knew” dropped, the crowd was worked into a frenzy as everyone threw their hands up and chanted the crew’s name.
As expected, the show ended with the classic joint “93 ’til Infinity,” which fans were not sure would be played as the Souls crew, building up an encore, pretending to leave the stage without dropping the crowd favorite. The end result proved successful and ended with everyone in the crowd rapping along to the words they learned from the first time they heard it back in the day, or from when they learned it watching skateboarding and snowboarding videos with friends.
Judging from responses, everyone in the crowd had a good time, even those who had never heard of the Souls or the Heiro crew. There was alcohol and greenery in the air, but fans seemed more lifted on being able to see the crew perform for them in their own backyard, not to mention for free.
* All photo's taken by MVRemix Media. Not to be reproduced without consent.
