Recap: Talib Kweli & 4th Pyramid @ Toronto

It was dreary weather in Toronto last Friday. Rain poured heavily on the streets all day, so much that Union Station flooded and commuters had to rely on other methods to get to and from work — or they simply had to walk. Yet, as it got to be rush hour, and the sun went down behind a shroud of storm clouds, as well as the Absolute World Towers to the West, a wholly different vibe swept across the docks of Queen’s Quay. Hip-hop fans of all stripes and colors — stoner kids, backpackers, hip-hop geeks, Rastas, Somalians, Islanders, whatever – showed up at the Sound Academy on Polson Pier to see Talib Kweli perform alongside native openers 4th Pyramid and J. Pinder.

First to perform — not counting the DJ, Big Jacks, whom I have in my Gonzo notes as a “master of expressing different voices emanating from his sound machine” — was 4th Pyramid. According to 4th himself, who recounted his origins during a mid-show skit, he “packed his bags when [he] was twenty and got signed to a little label called Def Jux, and then released [his] single, ‘Aquatic.’” Now, a couple years later, 4th is out with his new LP, The Pyramid Scheme, which he claims was at least “five years in the making.”

At around 10:30, 4th swaggered confidently onto the stage in a pair of Guess jeans, his trademark braids, and a black New Era cap pulled down over his brow. He spit fire on “So Balboa,” “Creep Quick,” which is a phonky beat by Toronto rapper/producer Rich Kidd, “Webslinger,” the first single off the project, and “Can’t Stop.” “Can’t Stop,” performed live, may have been the only misstep in a convincingly taut set. The record is a melancholic lament on the loneliness of being an artist, but somehow it clashed with the reality of 4th performing the track to the couple hundred curious fans.

After 4th was a second opener by the name of J. Pinder, another local fare. Although Pinder commanded the crowd well, I have in my notes that he was merely “young,” for better or worse. His music sounded like the theme song to a Japanese cartoon.

Unsurprisingly, it wasn’t until after midnight that anticipation for Kweli began to swell inside the venue. The place was now packed, at least 1000 people, and fans rushed in from the smoking section by the Lake to get a good spot for the main show. When Kweli rushed the stage in a Warhol-inspired ODB t-shirt he did so with his two bandmates, a bass guitarist, and a shirtless rock n’ roll drummer with dreads swinging – a true rock n’ roll-meets-hip-hop crew. Kweli and co. dove right in to records off the new album, Prisoner of Conscious, ascending rock n’ roll anthems, and then mellowed things out with some tracks from the Black Star collaboration. The highlight of Kweli’s set however came via a rock n’ roll rendition of The Beatles’ “Eleanor Rigby,” which Kweli has reinterpreted, in classic hip-hop fashion, to knock harder and rise higher. As Kweli extended his arms to the sky, his brusque black frame shining amongst the strobe lights, belting along to the female-assisted chorus of “Lonely People,” fans got a true taste of why they still go out to shows in the wake of the blogosphere phenomenon: to ‘feel’ the magic and to dance.

And so, it wasn’t until at least 2 a.m. that the 1,000 or so sparkly-eyed hip-hop enthusiasts filed out of the Sound Academy into the cool night air. The rain had stopped and the mist was clearing from overtop the breaking waters of Lake Ontario. From the parking lot of the Sound Academy ($20 for the whole night) you could see the entire Toronto skyline, the tall buildings holding firm against the strong June breeze. Somewhere among those buildings was Union Station, flooded and out of service, but after 4th, J. Pinder, and Talib Kweli’s electrifying performances, no one was complaining about walking home.