HipHopCanada and CapCityHipHop were down at Ottawa’s LeBreton Flats for day nine of RBC Bluesfest 2018.
We caught live shows from Ottawa-Gatineau budding star Hevve as well as Slim Jxmmi and Swae Lee of the Mississippi-born duo Rae Sremmurd.
Check our review below. You can find more photos from the show towards the bottom of the write-up.
Hevve
It was the second last day of this year’s RBC Bluesfest 2018 but basically the last day to catch a hip-hop act. Ottawa-Gatineau artist Hevve graced the stage just after 3 p.m. with Ottawa’s own DJ Alive from the NuBRLRadio show and Gatineau rapper MC Cado on hand for support.
They wasted no time getting started, jumping right into HEVVE’s more older, dominant records like “Formula” off his Year of the Bangers Vol. 3 project. Then the Gatineau artist got into another record called “Roots” which was off of Year Of The Bangers Vol. 2, followed by “Six,” a song dedicated to the 613 which is off his project Year Of The Bangers Vol. 1.
After surprising the fans with his solo tracks, he gave a few more surprises with guests appearances from a few local artists including veteran MC Dynamic aka Ya Favourite Lightskin for a ‘return home’ performance of “Gone” off the Year Of The Bangers Vol. 5. Dynamic is expected to move back to Ottawa towards the end of the month.
HEVVE followed up “Gone” by bringing out rapper London Zigg$ to perform “Savage Pt. 2,” another track from the Year Of The Bangers Vol. 5 project. Zigg$’s was followed by fellow Gatineau artists Chris Keez and NC, who collectively performed the tracks “Ya Don’t Stop” which is Keez’s song off of his Real Talk Matters Vol. 1 project.
With two local talented cameramen – Quest and TalkToTheMik – swaying left and right on stage, getting footage, HEVVE’s set ended off with a bang and served as the perfect introduction to Rae Srummurd. DJ Alive wrapped it with a solo on the turntables to show off the authenticity they bring to the rap game.
Look out for more HEVVE and make sure you take in the Year of the Bangers series. Catch DJ Alive every Friday on NuBRLRadio which airs on CHUO (89.1FM in the Ottawa area).
Rae Sremmurd
When I say that Migos shutdown the show at last year’s Bluesfest, you would think I was downplaying their efforts. With hip-hop as a side view for this year’s Rock n’ Roll themed Bluesfest, you would think that a hip-hop headliner was not in the books. You would be dead wrong. Rae Sremmurd took over the City Stage at 8:30, running through their hits for a performance that lasted over an hour. With the young crowd going insane for the “Black Beatles,” it was clear from the jump that we were in for an insane show.
Machine Gun Kelly was the only other performer that matched their energy and crowd “pull.” The allure of having these modern rock stars taking over the stage was legendary. With “Unforgettable” taking over the entire show and “Powerglide” leading everyone to dance, it was clear that Rae Sremmurd was going to go down in Bluesfest history. Slim Jxmmi attempted a stage dive but security was too tight and it limited him to standing up tall, for exclusive video go to @CapCityHipHop and @SeannViews for the live action videos.
Swae Lee came with a more lyrical freestyle aura, often putting “Ottawa” in his lyrics; during “Unforgettable” he would say “Ottawa you are unforgettable.” This really brought a personal touch to the show. Everyone was dancing and vibing, it was first class. 5/5 clearly! Can’t wait until the’re here performing again.
Written by Sean Jean (@SeanJeann) & Nate G for HipHopCanada & CapCityHipHop
Photography by Sean Jean for HipHopCanada & CapCityHipHop
Our RBC Bluesfest 2018 coverage is brought to you in partnership with our friends at CapCityHipHop.
