Classified

“Puff, puff, pass, like its legal to get weeded.” That line didn’t even belong to the headliner Classified; rather it was sung by opener Chad Hatcher, but it pretty accurately summed up the general atmosphere as the mostly Torontonian audience at the Phoenix got a taste of East Coast hip-hop last Saturday. By the time Class took to the stage around eleven, there was already a dense cloud of marijuana smoke billowing above the venue. At an all-ages show nonetheless. Which was just fine with Nova Scotia’s second-best rapper (sorry Class, butBuck 65 gets the title of best) – who is a firm advocate of the green – and even took the time halfway through his set to light a joint, while segueing his own “No Mistakes” into reciting a few lines from Steve Miller’s pro-marijuana anthem “The Joker”. And the crowd, who consisted of mostly parts frat boys and slutty high school girls, ate it up with lots of hand waving (fine) and grinding up on strangers (not so great). Which was kind of unfortunate; because after working four straight nights I was down to party, but I have to say I was just not feeling the crowd. I don’t know why I should have expected anything less at a hip-hop show (a white hip-hop show at that), but it definitely put a damper on a show where the highlights were really high and everything else was just average.

Classified – whose real name is Luke Boyd – has been touring in support of his latest album Self-Explanatory, which is ingeniously modeled after the children’s Choose Your Own Adventure books. And though this guest-heavy (including the likes of Joel Plaskett, Shad and Choclair) album is Class’ first on a major label (Sony), he has been at this rap thing for awhile, and two of his albums (2005′s Boy-Cott-In The Industry and 2006′s Hitch Hikin’ Music) have earned Juno Award nominations for Rap Recording of the Year. Its always refreshing to hear a talented rapper who doesn’t have to always resort to the hip-hop cliches of guns, girls and money, and Classified isn’t one to resort to gangsta rap (as those that have been to his hometown Enfield can attest – the place ain’t exactly Compton). Like any rapper worth his salt though, he brought along an East Coast posse with him (including his little brother Mic Boyd and J-Bru, the latter whose songs were riddled with cliches), yet sadly they all weren’t even close to his skill level. Notable exceptions were Hatcher; who with his acoustic guitar and laid-back nature seemed like the type of guy you’d go surfing with or grab a beer and watch the game (and I mean that as a compliment, not in a Jack Johnson type way), whose hit “Do It All Again” received a generous bout of cheering. He later joined Class for their feel-good duet “All About U”. Also well-received was the charismatic R&B singer Jordan Croucher, also from Halifax, who performed his own hit “Addicted” and sung backup on several songs. Someone needs to give this guy his own headlining tour – he has serious potential to become the Canadian Ne-Yo, except you know…with talent.

Then Class took the stage and performed a lengthy set, that included a mix of his older material and songs from the new album. Unfortunately for every hit – “Hard To Be Hip-Hop” and “Gossip” were standouts – there was a lot of filler, most of it coming from Self-Explanatory. Maybe it was just that the album just came out, and I’ve yet to familiarize myself with the new songs – but none of them seem to me as having the potential to become memorable. Take for example, set-closer “Oh…Canada” which tackles Canadian stereotypes (Canadians like hockey? Really?), and is basically a rewrite of the more successful “The Maritimes” (Note: Toronto stop fronting like you’ve been to the East Coast before. Classified and I see through your lies.) Don’t get me wrong – the man is a talented rapper. But in the end, both figuratively and metaphorically-speaking, the show could have used a lot less smoke and a little more fire.

For more Classified,
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/hiphopclassified